Lilyan Tashman
Encyclopedia
Lilyan Tashman was a Brooklyn-born Jewish American vaudeville
, Broadway, and film actress. Tashman was best known for her supporting roles as tongue-in-cheek villainesses and the bitchy 'other woman'. She made sixty-six films over the course of her Hollywood career and although never obtained superstar status
, her cinematic performances are "sharp, clever and have aged little over the decades."
Tall, blonde, and slender with fox-like features and a throaty voice, Tashman freelanced as a fashion and artist's model in New York City. By 1914 she was an experienced vaudevillian, appearing in Ziegfeld Follies
between 1916 and 1918. In 1921, Tashman had a role in her first film, Experience
, and over the next decade and a half she appeared in numerous silent film
s. With her husky contralto
singing voice she easily navigated the transition to the talkies
.
Tashman married vaudevillian Al Lee
in 1914 but they divorced in 1921. She married openly gay actor Edmund Lowe
in 1925. Her lesbian affairs in Hollywood were an open secret, and her wardrobe and lavish parties the talk of the town.
She died of cancer in New York City on March 21, 1934, at the age of 37. Her last film, Frankie and Johnny, was released posthumously in 1936.
with rising stars Eddie Cantor
and Al Lee
. In 1916, she played Viola in a Shakespeare-inspired number for the Ziegfeld Follies
and remained with the Follies for the 1917 and 1918 seasons. In 1919, producer David Belasco
gave her a supporting role in Avery Hopwood
's comedy The Gold Diggers
. The show ran two years with Tashman understudying, and occasionally filling in, for star Ina Claire
.
In 1921, Tashman made her film debut playing Pleasure in an allegorical segment of Experience, and when The Gold Diggers closed she appeared in the plays The Garden of Weeds and Madame Pierre. In 1922, she had a small role in the Mabel Normand
film Head Over Heels
. Her personal and professional lives in 1922 were not entirely satisfactory (best friend Edmund Lowe moved to Hollywood, for example, and she was fired from Madame Pierre) so she relocated to California
and quickly found work in films. In 1924, she appeared in five films (including a cinematic adaptation of The Garden of Weeds) and received good reviews for Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model and Winner Take All. She freelanced, moving from studio to studio, but signed a long-term contract in 1931 with Paramount. She made nine films for the studio.
In 1925, she appeared in ten films including Pretty Ladies
with Joan Crawford
and Myrna Loy
. From 1926 to 1929, she appeared in numerous films, became a valued supporting player, and even starred in the independent Rocking Moon (1926) and The Woman Who Did Not Care (1927). She played supporting roles in Ernst Lubitsch
's farce So This is Paris (1926), Camille
with Norma Talmadge
(1926), A Texas Steer with Will Rogers
(1927), director Dorothy Arzner
's Manhattan Cocktail
(1928), and Hardboiled
(1929). Her Variety reviews were good.
She managed the transition to "talkies" easily, making a total of 28, and appeared in some of the very first, including United Artists
's Bulldog Drummond
(1929), The Trial of Mary Dugan
(1929), the now-lost color musical Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929), and New York Nights
(1930) with Norma Talmadge. She starred as a murderess in the melodrama Murder by the Clock
, as a self-sacrificing mother in The Road to Reno
(1931), and as a chorus girl in Wine, Women and Song (1933). In 1932, her health began to fail but she appeared in The Wiser Sex, Those We Love, the film on the Russian Revolution, Scarlet Dawn, Mama Loves Papa with Charlie Ruggles (1933), and the musical Too Much Harmony (1933). In early 1934, she appeared in Riptide with Norma Shearer
. Her last film, Frankie and Johnny, was released posthumously in 1936. Director George Cukor
described Tashman as "a very diverting creature [...] outrageous and cheerful and goodhearted."
Tashman was a lesbian and had numerous backstage same-sex liaisons as a New York City chorine and actress. In Hollywood, she was known to initiate sex in rest rooms with women of all ages, and, if repulsed, would forge ahead with a promise of complete silence on the matter and assurances that such sexual activity was common and very pleasureable. In 1928, Tashman was introduced to Greta Garbo
and began a relationship with her the same day. The two became inseparable companions. Tashman was a fiercely jealous person however and had frequent altercations with her lovers. By November 1932, Garbo's patience had worn thin and she ended the relationship, leaving Tashman devastated.
On September 21, 1925, Tashman married openly gay actor and longtime friend Edmund Lowe
, presumably to present a heterosexual façade to the world. The two became the darlings of Hollywood reporters and were touted in fan magazines as having "the ideal marriage". Tashman was described by reporter Gladys Hall as "the most gleaming, glittering, moderne, hard-surfaced, and distingué woman in all of Hollywood". The couple entertained lavishly at "Lilowe", their Beverly Hills home, and weekly parties became full-blown orgies with A-list celebrities seeking invitations. Her wardrobe cost $1,000,000 and women around the world clamored for copies of her hats, gowns, and jewelry. Servants were ordered to serve her cats high tea and for Easter brunch she had her dining room painted dark blue to provide a contrast to her blonde hair. She once painted her Malibu home red and white, asked her guests to wear red and white, and even dyed the toilet paper red and white.
In 1932, Tashman entered hospital in New York City for an appendectomy that is now considered a concealment for abdominal cancer. She left hospital thin and weak. Although she made five films in her last years, performing with her usual artistry and professionalism, she weakened significantly in the months following her hospitalization and her role in Riptide was trimmed because of her ever-worsening health.
In February 1934 she flew to New York City to film Frankie and Johnny for Republic Pictures
but her condition necessitated a week of rest in Connecticut with Lowe. She resumed work in March, completing her film role on March 8 and then appearing at the Israel Orphan's Home benefit on March 10. When she entered hospital for surgery on March 16 it was too late for the doctors to help her.
Tashman died, age 37, from cancer at The Doctor's Hospital in New York City on March 21, 1934. Her funeral was held on March 22 in New York City synagogue Temple Emanu-El on Fifth Avenue with Sophie Tucker
, Mary Pickford
, Fanny Brice
, Cecil Beaton
, Jack Benny
, and other distinguished celebrities in attendance. Eddie Cantor delivered the eulogy. The burial in Brooklyn's Washington Cemetery attracted 10,000 fans, mourners, and curious onlookers; it became a near riot when people were injured and a gravestone was toppled. Tashman left no will, but the distribution of her $31,000 in cash and $121,000 in furs and jewels provoked contentious discussion among her husband and sisters, Hattie and Jennie. Her last film, Frankie and Johnny, was released posthumously in May 1936 with her role as Nellie Bly cut to a cameo.
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
, Broadway, and film actress. Tashman was best known for her supporting roles as tongue-in-cheek villainesses and the bitchy 'other woman'. She made sixty-six films over the course of her Hollywood career and although never obtained superstar status
Superstar
A superstar is a widely acclaimed celebrity.Superstar or superstars may also refer to:-People:* Warhol Superstar, associates of Andy Warhol* WWE Superstar, the term used to refer to entertainers from the WWE...
, her cinematic performances are "sharp, clever and have aged little over the decades."
Tall, blonde, and slender with fox-like features and a throaty voice, Tashman freelanced as a fashion and artist's model in New York City. By 1914 she was an experienced vaudevillian, appearing in Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
between 1916 and 1918. In 1921, Tashman had a role in her first film, Experience
Experience (1921 film)
Experience is a silent drama morality/allegory film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The picture was directed by George Fitzmaurice and starred Richard Barthelmess, and was based on George V. Hobart's successful 1914 Broadway play of the same name...
, and over the next decade and a half she appeared in numerous silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
s. With her husky contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
singing voice she easily navigated the transition to the talkies
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
.
Tashman married vaudevillian Al Lee
Al Lee
Al Lee was a Boston-born American actor, producer and manager in vaudeville and silent films.He married actress Lilyan Tashman in 1914, but the couple divorced in 1921. Tashman met Lee while working on a double act with Eddie Cantor...
in 1914 but they divorced in 1921. She married openly gay actor Edmund Lowe
Edmund Lowe
Edmund Dantes Lowe was an American actor. His formative experience began in vaudeville and silent film. He was born in San Jose, California.-Film career:...
in 1925. Her lesbian affairs in Hollywood were an open secret, and her wardrobe and lavish parties the talk of the town.
She died of cancer in New York City on March 21, 1934, at the age of 37. Her last film, Frankie and Johnny, was released posthumously in 1936.
Professional life
Lilyan Tashman's entertainment career began in vaudeville, and by 1914 she was an experienced performer, appearing in Song Revue in Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
with rising stars Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
and Al Lee
Al Lee
Al Lee was a Boston-born American actor, producer and manager in vaudeville and silent films.He married actress Lilyan Tashman in 1914, but the couple divorced in 1921. Tashman met Lee while working on a double act with Eddie Cantor...
. In 1916, she played Viola in a Shakespeare-inspired number for the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
and remained with the Follies for the 1917 and 1918 seasons. In 1919, producer David Belasco
David Belasco
David Belasco was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director and playwright.-Biography:Born in San Francisco, California, where his Sephardic Jewish parents had moved from London, England, during the Gold Rush, he began working in a San Francisco theatre doing a variety of routine jobs,...
gave her a supporting role in Avery Hopwood
Avery Hopwood
James Avery Hopwood , was the most successful playwright of the Jazz Age, having four plays running simultaneously on Broadway in 1920.-Biography:...
's comedy The Gold Diggers
The Gold Diggers
The Gold Diggers can refer to:* The Gold Diggers , a 1919 play by Avery Hopwood, the source material for the 1923 film, as well as Gold Diggers of Broadway and Gold Diggers of 1933* The Gold Diggers , a Warner Bros...
. The show ran two years with Tashman understudying, and occasionally filling in, for star Ina Claire
Ina Claire
Ina Claire was an American stage and film actress.-Career:Born Ina Fagan in 1893 in Washington, D.C., Claire began her career appearing in vaudeville...
.
In 1921, Tashman made her film debut playing Pleasure in an allegorical segment of Experience, and when The Gold Diggers closed she appeared in the plays The Garden of Weeds and Madame Pierre. In 1922, she had a small role in the Mabel Normand
Mabel Normand
Mabel Normand was an American silent film comedienne and actress. She was a popular star of Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios and is noted as one of the film industry's first female screenwriters, producers and directors...
film Head Over Heels
Head Over Heels (1922 film)
Head Over Heels is a 1922 film starring Mabel Normand and directed by Paul Bern and Victor Schertzinger. This is a surviving comedy at the Library of Congress. The supporting cast includes Raymond Hatton and Adolphe Menjou.-Cast:*Mabel Normand ... Tina...
. Her personal and professional lives in 1922 were not entirely satisfactory (best friend Edmund Lowe moved to Hollywood, for example, and she was fired from Madame Pierre) so she relocated to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and quickly found work in films. In 1924, she appeared in five films (including a cinematic adaptation of The Garden of Weeds) and received good reviews for Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model and Winner Take All. She freelanced, moving from studio to studio, but signed a long-term contract in 1931 with Paramount. She made nine films for the studio.
In 1925, she appeared in ten films including Pretty Ladies
Pretty Ladies
Pretty Ladies is a silent comedy-drama film starring ZaSu Pitts and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film is a fictional recreation of the famed Ziegfeld Follies. Directed by Monta Bell, the film was written by Alice D.G...
with Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
and Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
. From 1926 to 1929, she appeared in numerous films, became a valued supporting player, and even starred in the independent Rocking Moon (1926) and The Woman Who Did Not Care (1927). She played supporting roles in Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch was a German-born film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch."In 1947 he received an Honorary Academy Award for his...
's farce So This is Paris (1926), Camille
Camille (1926 film)
Camille is a silent film based on the 1852 novel and play La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The film was adapted by Fred De Gresac, George Marion Jr., Olga Printzlau and Chandler Sprague, directed by Fred Niblo, and starred Norma Talmadge, Gilbert Roland, and Lilyan Tashman...
with Norma Talmadge
Norma Talmadge
Norma Talmadge was an American actress and film producer of the silent era. A major box office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among the most popular idols of the American screen.Her most famous film was Smilin’ Through , but she also...
(1926), A Texas Steer with Will Rogers
Will Rogers
William "Will" Penn Adair Rogers was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s....
(1927), director Dorothy Arzner
Dorothy Arzner
Dorothy Arzner was an American film director. Her directorial career in feature films spanned from the late 1920s into the early 1940s, a time period in which there were very few—if any—other women working in the field.- Biography :Born in San Francisco, California, Arzner grew up in Los...
's Manhattan Cocktail
Manhattan Cocktail (film)
Manhattan Cocktail was a part-talkie film, directed by Dorothy Arzner, and starring Nancy Carroll, Richard Arlen, and Lilyan Tashman...
(1928), and Hardboiled
Hardboiled
Hardboiled crime fiction is a literary style, most commonly associated with detective stories, distinguished by the unsentimental portrayal of violence and sex. The style was pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s, popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the decade, and refined...
(1929). Her Variety reviews were good.
She managed the transition to "talkies" easily, making a total of 28, and appeared in some of the very first, including United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
's Bulldog Drummond
Bulldog Drummond
Bulldog Drummond is a British fictional character, created by "Sapper", a pseudonym of Herman Cyril McNeile , and the hero of a series of novels published from 1920 to 1954.- Drummond :...
(1929), The Trial of Mary Dugan
The Trial of Mary Dugan
The Trial of Mary Dugan is a play written by Bayard Veiller.The melodrama concerns a sensational courtroom trial of a showgirl accused of killing of her millionaire lover. Her defense attorney is her brother, Jimmy Dugan. It was first presented on Broadway in 1927, with Ann Harding in the title...
(1929), the now-lost color musical Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929), and New York Nights
New York Nights
New York Nights is a 1929 crime film directed by Lewis Milestone. It is based on the 1928 play Tin Pan Alley by Hugh Stanislaus Stange. The film is known for being leading actress Norma Talmadge's first sound film.-Plot:...
(1930) with Norma Talmadge. She starred as a murderess in the melodrama Murder by the Clock
Murder by the Clock
Murder by the Clock is a murder mystery film starring William "Stage" Boyd and Lilyan Tashman. It is based on the novel of the same name by Rufus King and the play Dangerously Yours by Charles Beahan. After a wealthy woman dies, her heirs start to follow suit.-Cast:*William "Stage" Boyd as Lt...
, as a self-sacrificing mother in The Road to Reno
The Road to Reno
The Road to Reno is a drama film, directed by Richard Wallace.-Plot:Twice divorced Jackie Millet tries one more time with number three...
(1931), and as a chorus girl in Wine, Women and Song (1933). In 1932, her health began to fail but she appeared in The Wiser Sex, Those We Love, the film on the Russian Revolution, Scarlet Dawn, Mama Loves Papa with Charlie Ruggles (1933), and the musical Too Much Harmony (1933). In early 1934, she appeared in Riptide with Norma Shearer
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
. Her last film, Frankie and Johnny, was released posthumously in 1936. Director George Cukor
George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and...
described Tashman as "a very diverting creature [...] outrageous and cheerful and goodhearted."
Personal life
Lilyan Tashman was the tenth and youngest child of Brooklyn, New York clothing manufacturer Maurice Tashman and his wife Rose. She freelanced as a fashion and artist's model while attending Girl's High School in Brooklyn and eventually entered vaudeville. In 1914, she married fellow-vaudevillian Al Lee, but the two separated in 1920 and divorced in 1921.Tashman was a lesbian and had numerous backstage same-sex liaisons as a New York City chorine and actress. In Hollywood, she was known to initiate sex in rest rooms with women of all ages, and, if repulsed, would forge ahead with a promise of complete silence on the matter and assurances that such sexual activity was common and very pleasureable. In 1928, Tashman was introduced to Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
and began a relationship with her the same day. The two became inseparable companions. Tashman was a fiercely jealous person however and had frequent altercations with her lovers. By November 1932, Garbo's patience had worn thin and she ended the relationship, leaving Tashman devastated.
On September 21, 1925, Tashman married openly gay actor and longtime friend Edmund Lowe
Edmund Lowe
Edmund Dantes Lowe was an American actor. His formative experience began in vaudeville and silent film. He was born in San Jose, California.-Film career:...
, presumably to present a heterosexual façade to the world. The two became the darlings of Hollywood reporters and were touted in fan magazines as having "the ideal marriage". Tashman was described by reporter Gladys Hall as "the most gleaming, glittering, moderne, hard-surfaced, and distingué woman in all of Hollywood". The couple entertained lavishly at "Lilowe", their Beverly Hills home, and weekly parties became full-blown orgies with A-list celebrities seeking invitations. Her wardrobe cost $1,000,000 and women around the world clamored for copies of her hats, gowns, and jewelry. Servants were ordered to serve her cats high tea and for Easter brunch she had her dining room painted dark blue to provide a contrast to her blonde hair. She once painted her Malibu home red and white, asked her guests to wear red and white, and even dyed the toilet paper red and white.
Death
In February 1934 she flew to New York City to film Frankie and Johnny for Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
but her condition necessitated a week of rest in Connecticut with Lowe. She resumed work in March, completing her film role on March 8 and then appearing at the Israel Orphan's Home benefit on March 10. When she entered hospital for surgery on March 16 it was too late for the doctors to help her.
Tashman died, age 37, from cancer at The Doctor's Hospital in New York City on March 21, 1934. Her funeral was held on March 22 in New York City synagogue Temple Emanu-El on Fifth Avenue with Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...
, Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, Fanny Brice
Fanny Brice
Fanny Brice was a popular and influential American illustrated song "model," comedienne, singer, theatre and film actress, who made many stage, radio and film appearances and is known as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series, The Baby Snooks Show...
, Cecil Beaton
Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, CBE was an English fashion and portrait photographer, diarist, painter, interior designer and an Academy Award-winning stage and costume designer for films and the theatre...
, Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
, and other distinguished celebrities in attendance. Eddie Cantor delivered the eulogy. The burial in Brooklyn's Washington Cemetery attracted 10,000 fans, mourners, and curious onlookers; it became a near riot when people were injured and a gravestone was toppled. Tashman left no will, but the distribution of her $31,000 in cash and $121,000 in furs and jewels provoked contentious discussion among her husband and sisters, Hattie and Jennie. Her last film, Frankie and Johnny, was released posthumously in May 1936 with her role as Nellie Bly cut to a cameo.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | Experience Experience (1921 film) Experience is a silent drama morality/allegory film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The picture was directed by George Fitzmaurice and starred Richard Barthelmess, and was based on George V. Hobart's successful 1914 Broadway play of the same name... |
Pleasure | First feature film | |
| 1922 | Head Over Heels Head Over Heels (1922 film) Head Over Heels is a 1922 film starring Mabel Normand and directed by Paul Bern and Victor Schertzinger. This is a surviving comedy at the Library of Congress. The supporting cast includes Raymond Hatton and Adolphe Menjou.-Cast:*Mabel Normand ... Tina... |
Efith Penfield | ||
| 1924 | Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model | Nita | ||
| Manhandled | Pinkie Moran | |||
| Winner Take All | Felicity Brown | |||
| The Garden of Weeds | Hazel | |||
| The Dark Swan | Sybil Johnson | |||
| Is Love Everything? | Edythe Stanley | |||
| 1925 | Ports of Call | Lillie | ||
| The Parasite | Laura Randall | |||
| Declassée Declassee Declassée is a 1925 silent film drama of manners produced and released by First National Pictures in association with Corinne Griffith as executive producer. Griffith also stars in the production directed by Robert G. Vignola which is based on the 1919 play by Zoe Akins that starred Ethel Barrymore... |
Mrs. Leslie | |||
| A Broadway Butterfly | Thelma Perry | |||
| I'll Show You the Town | Fan Green | |||
| Pretty Ladies Pretty Ladies Pretty Ladies is a silent comedy-drama film starring ZaSu Pitts and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film is a fictional recreation of the famed Ziegfeld Follies. Directed by Monta Bell, the film was written by Alice D.G... |
Selma Larson | |||
| The Girl Who Wouldn't Work | Greta Verlaine | |||
| Seven Days | Bella Wilson | |||
| Bright Lights Bright Lights (1925 film) Bright Lights is a 1925 comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. The film stars Charles Ray, who achieved stardom by playing ingenious country boys. It is presumed lost... |
Gwen Gould | |||
| 1926 | Rocking Moon | Sasha Larianoff | ||
| The Skyrocket | Ruby Wright | |||
| Whispering Smith | Marion Sinclair | |||
| Siberia | Beautiful Blonde | |||
| So This Is Paris | Georgette Lalle, a dancer | |||
| For Alimony Only | Narcissa Williams | |||
| Love's Blindness Love's Blindness Love's Blindness is a 1926 silent film directed by John Francis Dillon. The film stars Pauline Starke, Antonio Moreno and Lilyan Tashman. Written by Elinor Glyn, the film was produced under the direct supervision of the author. The film is considered lost... |
Alice, Duchess of Lincolnwood | |||
| Camille Camille (1926 film) Camille is a silent film based on the 1852 novel and play La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The film was adapted by Fred De Gresac, George Marion Jr., Olga Printzlau and Chandler Sprague, directed by Fred Niblo, and starred Norma Talmadge, Gilbert Roland, and Lilyan Tashman... |
Olympe | |||
| 1927 | Don't Tell the Wife | Suzanna | ||
| Evening Clothes (uncredited) | Undetermined Role | |||
| The Woman Who Did Not Care | Iris Carroll | |||
| The Prince of Headwaiters | Mae Morin | |||
| The Stolen Bride | Ilona Taznadi | |||
| A Texas Steer | Dixie Style | |||
| French Dressing | Peggy Nash | |||
| 1928 | Happiness Ahead | Kay | ||
| Phyllis of the Follies | Mrs. Decker | |||
| Lady Raffles | Lillian | |||
| Craig's Wife | Mrs. Passmore | |||
| Take Me Home | Derelys Devore | |||
| Manhattan Cocktail Manhattan Cocktail (film) Manhattan Cocktail was a part-talkie film, directed by Dorothy Arzner, and starring Nancy Carroll, Richard Arlen, and Lilyan Tashman... |
Mrs. Renov | |||
| 1929 | Hardboiled | Minnie | ||
| The Lone Wolf's Daughter | Velma | |||
| The Trial of Mary Dugan The Trial of Mary Dugan The Trial of Mary Dugan is a play written by Bayard Veiller.The melodrama concerns a sensational courtroom trial of a showgirl accused of killing of her millionaire lover. Her defense attorney is her brother, Jimmy Dugan. It was first presented on Broadway in 1927, with Ann Harding in the title... |
Dagmar Lorne | |||
| Bulldog Drummond Bulldog Drummond Bulldog Drummond is a British fictional character, created by "Sapper", a pseudonym of Herman Cyril McNeile , and the hero of a series of novels published from 1920 to 1954.- Drummond :... |
Irma | |||
| Gold Diggers of Broadway | Eleanor | |||
| The Marriage Playground | Joyce Wheater | |||
| New York Nights New York Nights New York Nights is a 1929 crime film directed by Lewis Milestone. It is based on the 1928 play Tin Pan Alley by Hugh Stanislaus Stange. The film is known for being leading actress Norma Talmadge's first sound film.-Plot:... |
Peggy | |||
| 1930 | No, No, Nanette | Lucille Early | ||
| Puttin' on the Ritz Puttin' on the Ritz (film) Puttin' on the Ritz is a musical film, directed by Edward Sloman and starred Harry Richman, Joan Bennett, and James Gleason. The screenplay was written by James Gleason and William K. Wells, based on a story by John W... |
Goldie Devere | |||
| On the Level | Lynn Crawford | |||
| The Matrimonial Bed The Matrimonial Bed The Matrimonial Bed is a 1930 American Pre-Code comedy film produced and released by Warner Bros.. It was based on the French play by André Mouézy-Éon and Yves Mirande... |
Sylvaine | |||
| Leathernecking | Edna | |||
| The Cat Creeps The Cat Creeps The Cat Creeps is a crime/mystery film, and a sound remake of The Cat and the Canary . It is one of the many lost films of the early talkie film era.... |
Cicily | |||
| 1931 | One Heavenly Night | Fritzi Vajos | ||
| Finn and Hattie | The 'Princess' | |||
| Millie Millie (film) Millie is a Pre-Code drama film directed by John Francis Dillon and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on the novel by Donald Henderson Clarke, the movie stars Helen Twelvetrees, Lilyan Tashman, James Hall, and Joan Blondell.-Plot:... |
Helen 'Hel' Riley | |||
| Up Pops the Devil Up Pops the Devil Up Pops the Devil is a film about an advertising man who quits his job to become a novelist, upsetting his wife and straining their marriage. The film was directed by A... |
Polly Griscom | |||
| Murder by the Clock Murder by the Clock Murder by the Clock is a murder mystery film starring William "Stage" Boyd and Lilyan Tashman. It is based on the novel of the same name by Rufus King and the play Dangerously Yours by Charles Beahan. After a wealthy woman dies, her heirs start to follow suit.-Cast:*William "Stage" Boyd as Lt... |
Laura Endicott | |||
| The Mad Parade Mad Parade The Mad Parade is a 1931 feature film about women canteen workers toiling in a chateau near the frontlines in France during World War I. It was directed by William Beaudine and starred Evelyn Brent.-Cast:* Evelyn Brent as Monica Dale* Irene Rich as Mrs... |
Lil Wheeler | Forgotten Women (US re-release title) | ||
| The Road to Reno The Road to Reno The Road to Reno is a drama film, directed by Richard Wallace.-Plot:Twice divorced Jackie Millet tries one more time with number three... |
Mrs. Jackie Millet | |||
| Girls About Town Girls About Town (film) Girls About Town is a 1931 comedy film directed by George Cukor and starring Kay Francis.-Cast:*Kay Francis as Wanda Howard*Joel McCrea as Jim Baker*Lilyan Tashman as Marie Bailey*Eugene Pallette as Benjamin Thomas*Alan Dinehart as Jerry Chase... |
Marie Bailey | |||
| 1932 | The Wiser Sex The Wiser Sex The Wiser Sex is a 1932 crime drama film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Berthold Viertel and Victor Viertel, and starring Claudette Colbert, Melvyn Douglas, Lilyan Tashman, William Boyd and Ross Alexander.... |
Claire Foster | ||
| Those We Love | Valerie | |||
| Scarlet Dawn Scarlet Dawn Scarlet Dawn is a 1932 romantic drama film starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Nancy Carroll as refugees from the Russian Revolution. It is based on the novel Revolt by Mary C. McCall, Jr.-Plot:... |
Vera Zimina | |||
| 1933 | Wine, Women and Song | Frankie Arnette | ||
| Mama Loves Papa | Mrs. McIntosh | |||
| Too Much Harmony Too Much Harmony Too Much Harmony , aka Musik skal der til in Denmark, is a black and white American musical film directed by A. Edward Sutherland and released by Paramount Pictures... |
Lucille Watkins | |||
| 1934 | Riptide | Sylvia Wilson | ||
| 1936 | Frankie and Johnnie | Nellie Bly | released posthumously | |
External links
- Lilyan Tashman Photo Gallery
- Photographs and literature