Lillian Lorraine

Lillian Lorraine (January 1, 1892 – April 17, 1955) was an American stage and screen actress of the 1910s and 1920s, best known for her beauty and for being perhaps the most famous Ziegfeld Girl in the Broadway revues Ziegfeld Follies during the 1910s.

Not to be confused with silent film actress Louise Lorraine.

Lillian Lorraine
in Munsey's Magazine, 1920
Born	(1892-01-01)January 1, 1892 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	April 17, 1955(1955-04-17) (aged 63) New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Saint Raymond's Cemetery, Bronx
Nationality	American
Other names	Mary Ann Brennan Lillian O'Brien
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1906–1922
Spouse(s)	Frederick M. Gresheimer ​ ( m. 1913; annulled  1913)
Partner(s)	Jack O'Brien (1946–1955)

Career

Theatre Magazine, 1909

Born in San Francisco, Lorraine began her career on stage in 1906 at the age of 14. In 1907, she appeared as a minor performer in a Shubert production, The Tourists. It was in that show that she was discovered by Florenz Ziegfeld. He spent the next several years promoting her career, rocketing her into an ascendance, which made her one of the most popular attractions in his Follies.[1] In 1909, Ziegfeld pulled the 17-year-old Lorraine from the chorus line in that year's production of Miss Innocence, spotlighting her as a solo performer who became celebrated for introducing the song, "By the Light of the Silvery Moon".[2]

In his book Scandals and Follies, author Lee Davis writes that, "By 1911, [Ziegfeld] was insanely in love with Lillian Lorraine and would remain so, to one degree or another, for the rest of his life, despite her erratic, irresponsible, often senseless behavior, her multiple marriages to other men, his own two marriages and his need for all his adult life to sleep with the best of the beauties he hired."[3]

The relationship, both professional and romantic, between Ziegfeld and Lorraine, led to the demise of his marriage to actress Anna Held. (A fictitious character, Audrey Dane, clearly based on Lorraine was portrayed by Virginia Bruce in the 1936 motion picture The Great Ziegfeld.) Lorraine and Ziegfeld's relationship was turbulent and emotionally complex, but their passion was such that Ziegfeld's second wife, actress Billie Burke, confessed that Lorraine was the only one of Ziegfeld's past sexual entanglements that aroused her jealousy.[2]

Lorraine starred in many annual productions of The Ziegfeld Follies as well as the 1912 Broadway musical Over the River. She ventured into motion pictures with limited success, appearing in about ten films between 1912 and 1922, including the serial Neal of the Navy with William Courtleigh, Jr.[4]

Personal life

Lorraine's personal life earned her more notoriety than either her talent or her beauty, and she was a staple in newspapers of the day with accounts of her latest turbulent romance or feuds with rival stars such as Fanny Brice and Sophie Tucker. Her personality and private life reportedly was a large influence on Anita Loos in the creation of the character of Lorelei for the novel Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.[5] Although her affair with Ziegfeld was over by the end of the 1910s, her box office drawing power kept her in a number of his productions of the period. Lorraine's fame waned in the 1920s, and she worked for a period in vaudeville.[6]

Marriages

Lorraine's first marriage was to Frederick M. Gresheimer. They married on March 27, 1912 after meeting on a beach.[7] Ten days later, Lorraine announced that the marriage had been a mistake and that the couple was "incompatible" due to her career.[8] The marriage was later found to be invalid because Gresheimer had not divorced his first wife. Lorraine and Gresheimer remarried in May 1913. Three months later, Lorraine filed to have the marriage annulled after claiming that Gresheimer misrepresented himself.[9]

Around 1946, she married Jack O'Brien, an accountant, taking his name. According to Lorraine's biographer, Nils Hanson, no records of a marriage exist, and the marriage was likely a common-law marriage.[10]

Final years and death

Lorraine disappeared from public view in 1941, sometimes going by her mother's maiden name, Mary Ann Brennan.[11] She died on April 17, 1955 at age 63 in New York City.[12] Her funeral, which was held at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, was attended by her husband, her accountant and two friends. Lorraine initially was buried in a pauper's grave in Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York. Her body later was exhumed and moved to a friend's family plot in Saint Raymond's Cemetery, Bronx.[13]

Broadway credits

Date	Production	Role
November 30, 1908 - May 1, 1909	Miss Innocence	Angele
June 14 - August 7, 1909	Ziegfeld Follies of 1909	Performer
June 20 - September 3, 1910	Ziegfeld Follies of 1910	Performer
June 26 - September 2, 1911	Ziegfeld Follies of 1911	Performer
January 8 - April 20, 1912	Over the River	Myrtle Mirabeau
October 21, 1912 - January 4, 1913	Ziegfeld Follies of 1912	Performer
January 10 - May 30, 1914	The Whirl of the World	Fifi, Cleopatra II
November 19, 1917 - February 23, 1918	Odds and Ends of 1917	Performer
Jun 18, 1918 - Closing date unknown	Ziegfeld Follies of 1918	Performer
July 1918 - Closing date unknown	Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic	Performer
November 3, 1919 - January 3, 1920	The Little Blue Devil	Paulette Divine
March 8 - May 1920	Ziegfeld Girls of 1920	Performer
January 13 - May 13, 1922	The Blue Kitten	Totoche

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1912	The Immigrant's Violin	Lora - Albert's Sweetheart	Short film
1912	Dublin Dan	The Old Hag	Short film
1912	The Face at the Window		Short film
1913	The Detective's Santa Claus	Miss Steele	Short film
1913	The Old Parlor		Short film
1915	Neal of the Navy	Annette Illington	Lost serial
1915	Should a Wife Forgive?	La Belle Rose	print held by Library of Congress[14]
1917	The Prima Donna's Special	The Prima Donna	Short film Alternative title: The Hazards of Helen (#118): The Prima Donna's Special
1918	Playing the Game		Lost film
1920	The Flaming Disc		Lost film
1922	Lonesome Corners	Martha Forrest	Lost film

In popular culture

• The first biography of Lorraine, Lillian Lorraine: The Life and Times of a Ziegfeld Diva by Nils Hanson, was published in October 2011 by McFarland Press.
• Lorraine was portrayed by Valerie Perrine in the 1978 film Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women (Columbia Pictures).
• Lorraine is mentioned as an acquaintance of characters in Jennifer Egan's 2017 novel Manhattan Beach (New York: Scribner Press).

Footnotes

1. (Hanson 2011, pp. 18–19)
2. Lorraine and Ziegfeld, musicals101.com; accessed October 24, 2014.
3. (Hanson 2011, p. 63)
4. Lillian Lorraine on IMDb
5. "Anita Loos and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", filmjournal.net; February 2, 2007; accessed October 24, 2014.
6. Early career portrait, historicalziegfeld.multiply.co; accessed October 24, 2014.
7. "Actress Lillian Lorraine Weds Man Who Taught Her How To Swin Like a Tadpole". The Evening News. March 27, 1912. p. 3. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
8. "Actress Quits Husband". The Milwaukee Sentinel. April 5, 1912. p. 1. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
9. "Wants Marriage Annulled". Evening Tribune. July 19, 1913. p. 1. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
10. (Hanson 2011, pp. 186, 186)
11. (Hanson 2011, p. 186)
12. "Lillian Lorraine; Won Fame as Ziegfeld Star". Youngstown Vindicator. April 21, 1955. p. 36. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
13. (Hanson 2011, pp. 186–190)
14. The Library of Congress Database:Should a Wife Forgive?

References

• Hanson, Nils (September 1, 2011), Lillian Lorraine, The Life and Times of a Ziegfeld Diva, MacFarland & Company, ISBN 0786464070

External links

• Lillian Lorraine at the Internet Broadway Database
• Lillian Lorraine on IMDb
• Lillian Lorraine at Find a Grave
• Frederick Gresheimer Mugshot, NYC Department of Records