Results 1 to 19 of 19

Thread: Lillian Roth

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    In the labyrinth...
    Posts
    2,120

    Lillian Roth

    Lillian Roth (December 13, 1910 - May 12, 1980) was an American singer and actress.

    Early Life and Career
    Born Lillian Rutstein in Boston, Massachusetts, she was merely six-years-old when her mother took her to Educational Pictures, where she became the company's trademark, symbolized by a living statue holding a lamp of knowledge. The following year she made her Broadway debut in The Inner Man. Her motion picture debut came in 1918 in Pershing's Crusaders. Together with her sister Ann she toured as "Lillian Roth and Co." At times the two were billed as "The Roth Kids." One of the most exciting moments for her came when she met U.S. President Woodrow Wilson.

    Roth entered the Clark School of Concentration in the early 1920s. She appeared in Artists and Models in 1923 and went on to make Revels with Frank Fay. During production for the former show, she told management she was nineteen years of age. When she was seventeen, she made the first of three Earl Carroll Vanities with Ray Dooley. This was soon followed by Midnight Frolics, a Flo Ziegfeld production.

    Soon the young actress signed a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures. Among the films she made for Paramount were The Love Parade (1929) with Maurice Chevalier, the all-star revue Paramount on Parade (1930), Honey (1930), in which she sang "Sing You Sinners," Madam Satan (1930) with Reginald Denny, and the classic comedy Animal Crackers (1930) with the Marx Brothers. Roth occasionally made films for other studios, such as the women's prison film Ladies They Talk About (Warner Brothers, 1933) with Barbara Stanwyck.

    In 1930, Roth left Paramount to go out on her own. She played the Palace Theatre in New York City and performed in the Earl Carroll Vanities in 1928, 1931, and 1932. She continued to make strides as a singer in an era when so much was being set to music.

    Later Life
    Unfortunately, her personal life was increasingly overshadowed by her addiction to alcohol. Although her parents were not stereotypical stage parents, as a response to their influence Roth came to rely too much on other people. In her books and interviews, she said she was too trusting of husbands who made key decisions concerning her money and contracts.

    Roth was out of the limelight from the late 1930s until 1953 when she appeared on an episode of the TV series This Is Your Life with Ralph Edwards. In response to her honesty in relating her story of alcoholism, she received more than forty thousand letters.

    Her theme song, which she began singing as a child performer, was "When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along."

    Roth's autobiography I'll Cry Tomorrow was written with author-collaborator Gerold Frank in 1954, and a toned-down version of it was made into a hit film the following year starring Susan Hayward, who was nominated for an Academy Award. The book became a bestseller worldwide and sold more than seven million copies in twenty languages, and the film renewed the public's interest in Lillian. In 1958, Roth published a second book, Beyond My Worth, which was not as successful as its predecessor.

    Roth sufficiently recovered to re-invent herself as a concert and nightclub performer. She appeared at venues in Las Vegas, and was a popular attraction in Australia. In 1962, she was featured in the Broadway musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale, but most of the reviews focused on a newcomer in the cast named Barbra Streisand. Roth had begun drinking again but remained with the show for 301 performances. She was also featured in the touring company of Funny Girl in 1964.

    Roth was married a number of times. Among her husbands were aviator William C. Scott, David Lyons, Air Force Cadet Willie Richards, Judge Benjamin Shalleck, Eugene J. Weiner, Edward Goldman, and Mark Harris. Lyons and Scott both died and she was divorced from the last five.

    In 1955 she met Thomas Burt McGuire, scion of Funk and Wagnalls Publishing Company at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Lillian first joined A.A. in 1946. The two were married and McGuire managed Roth until September 1963. At this time she received a note from him stating that their marriage was finished. According to Roth, he left her penniless after withdrawing all funds from their joint bank account.

    In 1970, Lillian Roth was sharing a penthouse on Manhattan's West Fifty-Eighth Street. Her fellow occupants were another woman, three poodles, a police dog, a chihuahua, and three dachsunds. She wanted to act and sing again. Her most recent employment included work as a bakery employee, hospital attendant, and a package wrapper. A year later, she returned to Broadway in the Kander and Ebb musical 70, Girls, 70. Lillian returned to feature films, which she had left in 1934, to make the horror mystery Communion in 1976. Her last film gave her a supporting role in the cult favorite Boardwalk, made in 1979. Lillian died one year later. The inscription on her marker in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Westchester County, New York, reads: "As bad as it was it was good."
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	1920's_Lillian_Roth_Actress_Fur_Robe_Photo.jpg 
Views:	35 
Size:	160.8 KB 
ID:	11799   Click image for larger version. 

Name:	lilian-roth.jpg 
Views:	36 
Size:	21.3 KB 
ID:	11800   Click image for larger version. 

Name:	LR_SSOP1930sm.jpg 
Views:	36 
Size:	22.5 KB 
ID:	11801   Click image for larger version. 

Name:	LR_Photoplay_May_1930sm_.jpg 
Views:	38 
Size:	26.4 KB 
ID:	11802  

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	lillianroth2.jpg 
Views:	35 
Size:	31.9 KB 
ID:	11803  
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Love is the answer - and you know that for sure.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    In the labyrinth...
    Posts
    2,120
    Another pic
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	lillianroth3.jpg 
Views:	32 
Size:	83.9 KB 
ID:	11804  
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Love is the answer - and you know that for sure.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    1,748
    What an amazing and Beautiful woman ..

  4. #4
    NOVSTORM Guest
    I once saw her on a TV show I think it was "this is your life". She went thru hell because of booze and men. I still have her book I'll cry tomorrow" and it still seems as sad to me today as it did years ago when I read it.

  5. #5
    Long Gone Day Guest
    Jeez...Anne.....she..was..beautiful...wasnt..she?.......And..regardless..of
    the..alcohol...she..made..it..to..70yrs..old......with...a..few...resurgences
    in..her..career.....I..remember..*Ill..Cry..Tomorrow*..with..Susan..Hayward
    Ive..seen..that..film..quite..a..few..times..and..didnt..realize..it..was..
    about..her.....She..reminds..me..of..someone..in..that..second..picture
    and..I..cant..think..of..who...........

    This..was..interesting:..........her..attendance..at..the..Clark..School
    for..Concentration.......mmhhhh.......What..the..heck..is..a..school..of
    concentration?....Perhaps..I..should..check..into..that.....
    Well....of...all..things.....in..the..N.Y.Times..Archives..from..June..7,..1922
    Business..Records
    Judgements:
    Filed..yesterday-the..first..name..being..that..of..the..debtor:
    In..New..York..County
    (there..was..a..NY..County?)
    Clark,.Thomas..F..and..Clark..School..for..Concentration-I.Ginsberg.............$615.00
    Last edited by Long Gone Day; 01-13-2009 at 07:45 PM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    In the labyrinth...
    Posts
    2,120
    Thanks for your comments.. yeah she was such a stunner, with a tragic sad life though.. Would love to read the bio on her
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Love is the answer - and you know that for sure.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    6,302
    She once said working with the Marx Brothers was
    like just one step removed from a three ring circus.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    In the labyrinth...
    Posts
    2,120
    Quote Originally Posted by theotherlondon View Post
    She once said working with the Marx Brothers was
    like just one step removed from a three ring circus.
    I can imagine
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Love is the answer - and you know that for sure.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Towson, Maryland
    Posts
    5,404
    MIKE WALLACE interview ROTH back in '58

    http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/multimedia...h_lillian.html
    KELT' HOME FOR WAYWARD YOUTH-
    Helping Young Men To Turn Around For Over Twenty Years !

  10. #10
    Guest Guest
    I have read her book 'I'll cry tomorrow' - truly sad but gripping. What a struggle her life was.

  11. #11
    MoonRabbit Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Vlad View Post
    I have read her book 'I'll cry tomorrow' - truly sad but gripping. What a struggle her life was.
    I read that book too but it's been so long.
    I believe Roth wrote that she had been molested as a child.

  12. #12
    Guest Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by MoonRabbit View Post
    I read that book too but it's been so long.
    I believe Roth wrote that she had been molested as a child.
    I think you may be right - lol the little grey cells make me forget sometimes

  13. #13
    Cataroo Guest
    I am watching "I'll Cry Tomorrow" on TCM right now!!

  14. #14
    Guest Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Cataroo View Post
    I am watching "I'll Cry Tomorrow" on TCM right now!!
    Cool

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    S.E. Pennsylvania, USA
    Posts
    624
    She once said working with the Marx Brothers was like just one step removed from a three ring circus.

    People have said similar things about working with Abbott & Costello, but still they found the experience enjoyable. Maybe the ad-libbing throws-off people who are used to sticking to scripts. I like watching that movie just to see Roth's laughing at the Brothers' antics. Watch Thelma Todd enjoying herself in Another Fine Mess with Laurel & Hardy and you'll see what I mean. From what I've read, the studio assigned Roth to the Marx Brothers film as punishment for 'causing problems' elsewhere- some punishment! You get to be in a hit movie with a comedy team at their height of their talents and with a great script, unlike the crappy movies MGM forced the Brothers to make.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Ontario,Canada
    Posts
    4,742
    I have to get out Alice Sweet Alice, she is billed as Miss Lillian Roth. Small part, but all the same the lady was a testament to survival.
    Today you could be standing next to someone who is trying their best not to fall apart. So whatever you do today, do it with kindness.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    6,302
    Quote Originally Posted by KELT View Post
    MIKE WALLACE interview ROTH back in '58 http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/multimedia...h_lillian.html
    Thank You for posting this, just watched the interview with my American Hero: Eleanor Roosevelt. (also Mike Wallace smokes a lot)
    Last edited by theotherlondon; 04-02-2020 at 04:28 PM.
    Carolyn(1958-2009) always in my heart.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Ontario,Canada
    Posts
    4,742
    He did, Edward R. Morrow was another one. All relaxed and casual .
    Today you could be standing next to someone who is trying their best not to fall apart. So whatever you do today, do it with kindness.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    6,302
    Quote Originally Posted by Mansfield67 View Post
    He did, Edward R. Morrow was another one. All relaxed and casual .
    I so enjoyed watching his things on youtube, he
    was a great news person.
    Carolyn(1958-2009) always in my heart.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •