Lillian Roth
Toronto Daily Star, February 1 1930
Lillian Roth (1910-1980) started her entertainment career as an early incarnation of the Educational Pictures trademark, being painted as a statue holding a lamp of knowledge (and, according to her autobiography, being molested by the man who painted the statue). She started her Broadway career at the age of 7 and appeared in Frank Fay's Revels in 1923, claiming she was 19. The Love Parade, mentioned in the caption of her photo above, was released in 1929; it starred Maurice Chevalier.
Her fame declined in the 1930s and she became afflicted with alcoholism and mental illness. Her autobiography, I'll Cry Tomorrow, released in 1954, became a bestseller, selling more than 7 million copies and becoming a film that starred Susan Hayward. Her autobiography brought her back into the limelight; by 1962, she was still famous enough that she was billed ahead of Barbra Streisand in the latter's Broadway debut, I Can Get It For You Wholesale.
Created September 17, 2025.