Lillian Roth (December 13, 1910 – May 12, 1980) was an American singer and actress.
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| Anne & Lillian |
Actress, Singer. She was born Lillian Rutstein in Boston to Arthur and Katie Rutstein with younger sister Anne following two years later. They were relentless in their goal to introduce the girls to show business. In 1916, when Lillian was five and Anne three, the family moved to New York City to be near the various casting offices. Education films became the start of Lillians entry into show business after becoming their living trademark as a statue holding a lamp symbolizing knowledge.
Many bit parts immerged for the children. At six; Lillian was cast in the Shubert Broadway production, 'Inner man.' She began formal training at the Professional Children's School in New York and was again rewarded with casting in another Shubert production called 'Shaving' with the billing 'Broadway's Youngest Star.' A vaudeville tour on the B.F. Keith circuit followed which made both of the girl's famous. During a show in Washington D.C., attended by President and Mrs Wilson, culminated in a meeting after the show where the enamoured President took the girls for a ride in his open touring car.
Lillian's vocal talents also impressed, and she was cast in the show "Artists and Models" at age 15. Shy by nature, the ever-increasing thrust into the limelight caused Lillian to develop severe nervous disorders, but somehow she persevered. At age 17, Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. signed her up as an ingénue headliner in his new show "Midnight Frolics."She was invited to Hollywood after their agent saw her during a New York show. A few very successful Hollywood films...'The Vagabond King, Animal Crackers, Madam Satan, Paramount On Parade and Ladies They Talk About.'
She became a millionaire during the Great Depression. As an excellent vocalist, she often toured and had bookings at various nightclubs. Some of her signature songs...'Sing you sinners, Anytime's The Time to Fall in Love and If I could Be With You.' The sudden death of her fiancé in the early '30s drove Lillian over the brink. She found that liquor gave her a calming sensation, which led to a full-scale addiction.
Her career deteriorated as she spiraled further and further down into alcoholic delirium. Unfortunately, by the end of the 30s, her career was over and she disappeared from the theatre scene. Her private life was in scrambles decimated by Alcoholism. Lillian with suicidal tendencies became a common drunk which led to a total of eight failed marriages and even incarceration at mental facilities.
Decades would be spent in and out of mental institutions until she met and married T. Burt McGuire, Jr., a former alcoholic, in the late '40s. With his support, Lillian slowly revived her career with club work. She became a singing sensation again and toured throughout the world, receiving ecstatic reviews wherever she went. She returned again to Hollywood with a successful booking at Ciro's. In 1953, she was featured on television's This Is Your Life.
Lillian's daring autobiography, "I'll Cry Tomorrow," was published in 1954 and topped The New York Times Best Seller list. She left out few details of her sordid past and battles with substance abuse. A blockbuster film with the same name was released in 1955 starring Susan Hayward (fourth Oscar nomination) as Lillian. She became the first celebrity to associate her name with alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous, putting a well-known face on the disease while doing her part in helping to remove the social stigma.
She would become the first celebrity to associate her name with Alcoholics Anonymous, putting a face on her disease. Roth was able to fashion a new career and returned to her profession while working regularly in clubs and on television for the rest of her life.
In 1964 Roth later appeared in a touring production of another musical associated with Streisand, Funny Girl. For several years, Roth was again away from the stage and by 1970 had worked as a bakery employee, hospital attendant, and package wrapper and a pie cutter at the Automat. In 1971, however, she made a triumphant return to Broadway in the Kander and Ebb musical 70, Girls, 70, which despite its short run was recorded by Columbia and has remained a popular cast album. She also returned to feature films, which she had left in 1934, to play a pathologist in the cult horror classic Alice, Sweet Alice (also known as Communion) in 1976. Her last film was Boardwalk, with Lee Strasberg, Ruth Gordon and Janet Leigh (1979).
On May 12, 1980, Lillian died of a stroke at age 69 in New York City and was interred at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York. Her simple flat marker bears the poignant inscription 'As bad as it was, it was good.'
(Edited mainly from bio by Donald Greyfield, with input by IMdB & Vintage Music fm)