Lillian Roth

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Lillian Roth in an Argentine magazine (1931)

Lillian Roth (actually Lillian Rutstein ; born December 13, 1910 in Boston , Massachusetts , † May 12, 1980 in New York City ) was an American actress and singer whose film career lasted more than 60 years. Roth gained notoriety above all in 1954 for her autobiography And Tomorrow I Will Cry , in whose film adaptation of the same name she was embodied by Susan Hayward the following year .

Life

Early years

Lillian Roth was born as one of two daughters to the Jewish couple Katie and Arthur Rutstein. In 1916 the family moved from Boston to Manhattan , where Roth's alcoholic father hoped for better future prospects. Under pressure from parents, her career began as a child. Her sister Ann, who is two and a half years younger, has also been on stage since she was a child, making the two children the main breadwinners of the family.

Career beginnings

At the age of 6, through contacts with her mother, Roth was the model for the brand logo of the film company Educational Pictures , a statue carrying a lantern. The following year she made her debut on Broadway in The Inner Man . In 1918 she made her film debut as an extra in Pershing's Crusaders . Under the name Lillian Roth and Co. , she toured the United States with her sister Ann, both of which were referred to as The Roth Kids . This also led to Roth's later stage names. One of the sisters' most important appearances was a meeting with then US President Woodrow Wilson . One of Roth's best-known pieces at her performance was When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin 'Along , which became her signature tune.

Acting career

In 1927, seventeen-year-old Roth began performing in revue shows. This included, for example, Midnight Frolics by Florenz Ziegfeld junior . Shortly thereafter, the young actress received a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures . In the years that followed, she gained notoriety through roles in such films as Love Parade , The Vagabond King , Paramount Parade and Animal Crackers . In addition to her film career, Roth continued to appear in theaters.

In the course of her career, Lillian Roth suffered increasingly from alcoholism , which also had a negative impact on her career. After 1933 she received hardly any offers for films and had to be content with supporting roles. The actress found support in faith. In 1948 she converted to the Roman Catholic Church . During a February 1953 broadcast of the television program This Is Your Life , Roth openly reported her alcoholic and physical problems. In 1954 she published her autobiography I'll Cry Tomorrow , which sold over 7 million copies in 20 languages. Roth received positive reviews from readers for her openness to alcoholism, which previously few movie stars would have shown in autobiographies. The book was filmed the following year with Susan Hayward and published in German-speaking countries under the title and tomorrow I'll cry . Hayward received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her role .

In the following years, Lillian Roth was able to celebrate successes again. In 1962 she played one of the leading roles in the Broadway musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale at the side of a still unknown Barbra Streisand . Roth starred as Mrs. Brice in the 1964 premiere of Funny Girl . She celebrated her last success on Broadway in 1971 in the piece 70, Girls, 70 about a group of pensioners who financed their old age by stealing from a hotel. In addition, Roth received film offers again. These include roles as a pathologist in the horror film Communion - Messe des Horens from 1976 and in the drama Boardwalk from 1979.

Private life

Lillian Roth was married six times between 1940 and 1963. Most of these marriages were short-lived and often lasted only a year or a few months. She was married to Thomas Burt McGuire for the longest from 1947 to 1963. All six marriages ended in divorce and remained childless. Roth lived in New York, where she died of a stroke on May 12, 1980 at the age of 69. She was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Westchester County .

For her service to the film world, Lillian Roth received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6330 Hollywood Boulevard.

Filmography (selection)

literature

  • Frank Cullen, Florence Hackman, Donald McNeilly: Vaudeville old & new: an encyclopedia of variety performances in America . Psychology Press, Hove 2007, ISBN 978-0-415-93853-2 .

Web links

Commons : Lillian Roth  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Frank Cullen, Florence Hackman, Donald McNeilly: Vaudeville old & new: an encyclopedia of variety performances in America . Psychology Press, Hove 2007, ISBN 978-0-415-93853-2 , page 973.
  2. ↑ Bonnie Rothbart Strong: LILLIAN ROTH 1910-1980. In: Jewish Women's Archive . Retrieved August 9, 2019 .
  3. ^ Women and Addiction: The Pop-Culture Parallels. In: Lilith . July 9, 2019, accessed November 7, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Barron H. Lerner: Long Before Oprah, a Celebrity Bared Her Soul. In: The New York Times . March 9, 2004, accessed November 7, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Lawrence Van Gelder: Susan Hayward Dies at 55; Oscar-winning movie star. In: The New York Times . March 15, 1975, accessed March 15, 2020 .
  6. ↑ LILLIAN ROTH. In: Masterworks Broadway. Retrieved August 9, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Roth, Lillian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rutstein, Lillian (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actress and singer
DATE OF BIRTH December 13, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Boston , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH May 12, 1980
Place of death New York City