Lilyan Tashman, (Lillian Tashman) was born in Brooklyn on October 23, 1899. She was the daughter of a children’s clothing manufacturer. She went to Hunter College. Beautifully blonde and beautifully dressed she became a model. Florence Ziegfeld discovered her and put her in his Follies. And for Belasco she was successful in The Gold Diggers and Garden of Weeds. On the strength of her performance in Diggers she achieved Hollywood fame and rapidly advanced. Her film debut was in Experience (1921) before movies talked.

In films she was usually cast as a sophisticated, sarcastic blonde. The silents included Manhandled, The Garden of Weeds, The Dark Swan (1924); A Broadway Butterfly, The Parasite, Declassee, Pretty Ladies, Bright Lights (1925); Rocking Room, Siberia, For Alimony Only, Love’s Blindness, So This is Paris (1926); Camille, The Stolen Bride, French Dressing (1927); Happiness Ahead, Manhattan Cocktail, and Craig’s Wife (1928).

When talkies came, many players of the silents could not cope with sound. But Lilyan was even more ideally suited in the same type parts with her husky voice. Her talkies included The Trial of Mary Dugan, Bulldog Drummond, New York Nights, The Marriage Playground (1929); No No Nanette, Puttin’ on the Ritz, On the Level, The Matrimonial Bed, The Cat Creeps (1930); One Heavenly Night, Millie, Murder by the Clock, The Mad Parade, Girl About Town (1931); The Wiser Sex, Scarlet Dawn, Those We Love (1932) and Too Much Harmony (1933).

In 1934 she appeared in Wine Women and Song with top billing and in Riptide, which starred Norma Shearer. Tashman played few leading parts in films, usually receiving second billing, with the big stars’ names above hers. She completed Frankie and Johnnie, which was not released until 1936, two years after her death, because of censorship problems over a bordello scene. Helen Morgan was the female lead in the film which did not fare well at the box office when finally released.

Death of film personalities, or even technicians, did not set well with the film studios. Although Lilyan had a prominent role in “Frankie and Johnnie� she had no mention in the film’s credits. If you rent the video you’ll see Lilyan but won’t see her name in the credits.

A Spiffy Dresser

Lilyan Tashman was considered one of Hollywood’s best-dressed women and was one of the film colony’s social leaders. She was first married to Al Lee who was a sometime Eddie Cantor vaudeville partner. In 1925, after divorcing Lee, she married well-known screen actor Edmund Lowe. The couple named their Beverly Hills mansion “Lilowe.� They also had a house on Malibu Beach decorated by Jetta Gondal. Movie fan magazines such as Screen Book, New Movie, Picture Play and Photoplay as well as women’s magazines such as Good Housekeeping delighted in printing articles and pictures of the popular actress. Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper had a bit of criticism (as she did about every celebrity) when she wrote: “I think Lilyan is one of the most amusing people I know but I believe she dresses in too flamboyant a manner. Where some women wear one or two diamond clasps, she wears four!� Lilyan herself once said, “If I happen to wear real diamonds instead of paste who’s to object!� Regarding her wardrobe she also commented, “Handbags are my particular hobby.� She also gave some advice to her many female fans: “Don’t wear costume jewelry or imitations.�

In Manhattan she loved shopping at Bonwit-Teller, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman. While in Manhattan she always stayed at the Sherry-Netherland Hotel. When she lived in Hollywood her favorite restaurant for luncheon was the Brown Derby. Her favorite hobbies were interior decorating and collecting miniature hands which people sent her from all over the world.

Tragic Death at 33

Lilyan Tashman died in Doctors’ Hospital in New York on March 21, 1934 of an advanced tumorous condition. Variety magazine’s obituary read: “The illness made itself apparent about a year ago [1933], and in Hollywood she submitted to an operation. She obtained some relief, but no cure could be affected and since then she has been under constant medical supervision. Recently she came to New York to play in Frankie and Johnnie [produced] at the old Biograph studios. She was in poor health, but persisted in her work, and on the final day she was needed on the set she worked from 7 a.m. until midnight to permit her part in the picture to be finished. Following that she and her husband went to Connecticut, hoping that a rest would help her recuperate, but her condition became worse and she had to be rushed back to the city for an emergency operation, March 16. She did not rally.�

Women Riot At Funeral

When 33-year-old Lilyan Tashman was buried in Washington Cemetery at Bay Parkway and McDonald Avenue in Brooklyn, 10,000 people, mostly women, attended her funeral. There was utter pandemonium as these women attempted to snatch up floral wreaths and get a glimpse of the casket. As the rabbi read the burial prayer, women were rushing past police, jumping over hedges and knocking over grave markers including the one of Lilyan’s sister. Several women were almost pushed into the grave when they started fighting over the yellow roses which had been tossed over the open grave. Eddie Cantor was tousled by the women which prompted the remark: “The most disgraceful thing I’ve ever seen.�

In the chapel Lilyan’s body was laid out in a pale blue evening gown and the emerald brooch she wore in the movie Frankie and Johnnie. The coffin was bronze, covered with white roses and orchids. The floral tributes were piled to the ceiling.

Among the mourners were Mary Pickford, Jack Benny, Sophie Tucker, Mae Murray, Mrs. William Randolph Hearst and Fannie Brice. Two of her sisters and her husband, Edmund Lowe, were praying by the casket for half an hour before the service began. Eddie Cantor delivered the eulogy. Several women fainted and several were injured as the chapel service concluded. One woman’s ankle was fractured.

Lilyan is buried in the family plot at the Palestine Lodge 71, I.O.S.B. section of Washington Cemetery.

— Vernon Parker

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