Lillian Lorraine

Lillian Lorraine (née Jacques; 1892/1894 – April 17, 1955) was an American stage and screen actress of the 1910s and 1920s, and a prominent Ziegfeld Girl in the Broadway revues Ziegfeld Follies during the 1910s.

Early years

Lorraine was born in Utah, most likely as Lillian (sometimes transcribed as Ealallean) Jacques to Mollie and Charles Jacques (or De Jacques). Her father was a miner whose roots were in St. Louis. Her mother's maiden name may have been Mary Ann Brennan. both give her year of birth as 1892. Lillian herself told a journalist in an interview that she had been born in San Francisco on New Year's Day in 1892 and lived there for her first 14 years, which her official biographer, Nils Hanson, accepted.

Career She began her career on stage in 1906, aged 12 or 14. The following year, she appeared as a minor performer in a Shubert production, The Tourists. It was in that show that she was discovered by Florenz Ziegfeld. At some point, she had become known as Lillian (or Lillie) Lorraine. He spent the next several years promoting her career, rocketing her into an ascendance that made her one of the most popular attractions in his Follies. In 1909, Ziegfeld pulled the teenaged Lorraine from the chorus line in that year's production of Miss Innocence to spotlight her as a solo performer who became celebrated for introducing the song "By the Light of the Silvery Moon". The relationship, both professional and romantic, between Ziegfeld and Lorraine, reportedly led to the demise of his relationship with Anna Held. 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.

Marriages Lorraine married Frederick M. Gresheimer, on March 27, 1912, after they met on a beach. Ten days later, Lorraine announced that the marriage had been a mistake and that the couple was "incompatible" due to her career. 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.

Around 1946, she reportedly wed Jack O'Brien, an accountant. According to Lorraine's biographer, Nils Hanson, no record of any such marriage exists, and the marriage was likely common-law.

Final years and death Lorraine disappeared from public view in 1941, sometimes going by her mother's purported maiden name, Mary Ann Brennan. Her funeral, which was held at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, was attended by Jack O'Brien and two friends. She 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.

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 1917 The Prima Donna's Special The Prima Donna Short filmAlternative title: The Hazards of Helen (#118): The Prima Donna's Special 1918 Playing the Game 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