Dorothy Gish – The Girl on the Cover, By Elizabeth Borden (Photoplay 1925)

The Girl on the Cover

By Elizabeth Borden

Photoplay Magazine – August 1925, Vol. XXIX No. 3

DOROTHY GISH had gone down to Clinton Street, in the heart of New York’s East Side, to do some shopping. To be exact, she had to buy some costumes for her new picture. “The Beautiful City,” in which she plays a member of New York’s Four Million.

In a little hat shop—one of those funny burlesques of the Fifth Avenue establishments—a typical East Side flapper engaged Dorothy in conversation. After some talk of fashions, the girl stopped and looked at her.

“Do you know,” she said, “you look the image of Lillian Gish? Yes, you certainly look just like her! Did anyone ever tell you that before?”

“That’s what my mother says.” answered Dorothy.

The flapper sighed. “Lillian Gish looks like an angel.”

“Do I look like an angel?” asked Dorothy seriously.

Again the flapper studied her.

“No,” she said, finally, “you don’t look a bit like an angel, but you do look like Lillian Gish.”

Nell Dorr (1893-1988); [Portrait of Dorothy Gish view 7]; nitrate negative; Amon Carter Museum of American Art; Fort Worth TX; P1990.47.3554

And there, in a little anecdote, you have the history of the career of Dorothy Gish. Because Lillian looks like an angel, Dorothy has played the role of an imp. Because Lillian has been a tragedienne, Dorothy has been asked to play the comic. As soon as she finds a suitable story, Dorothy will be starred. Just at present she is playing opposite Richard Barthelmess. Barthelmess considers her an ideal leading woman. She is one of the most versatile and resourceful actresses on the screen. She is intelligent and keen-witted, and her suggestions are invaluable. Dorothy is one actress whose mental horizon is not limited to the screen and the studio. Her friends and her interests are varied. Just as her viewpoint is always fresh, so she imparts to her work an unfailing variety and vitality.

Her presence in a picture is valuable, not only because of her popularity, but because of the clear, analytical quality of her mind. When Lillian departed for Hollywood she left these instructions with Dorothy, “Watch my work and watch it carefully. “If you find me doing anything wrong, if you feel that I am being influenced by the accepted Hollywood standards, wire for me to come home immediately.”

Dorothy is married, as you know, to James Rennie, one of Broadway’s most popular actors. It is not only a happy marriage, it is a genuinely congenial one.

She lives in New York, near Gramercy Square.

The Girl on the Cover – Dorothy Gish – Photoplay Magazine – August 1925, Vol. XXIX No. 3

Photoplay Magazine – August 1925, Vol. XXIX No. 3 – Dorothy Gish

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