The Biograph Girl

LILLIAN GISH – A major star of silent films and a greatly respected figure of the American theatre to this day.
DOROTHY GISH – Her younger sister and an equal success in silent films, though in a lighter vein.
MRS. MARY ROBINSON GISH – Actress mother of Lillian and Dorothy. Her close friend was Mrs. Charlotte Smith, mother of Gladys Smith.
GLADYS SMITH aka MARY – Achieved international fame and considerable fortune as Mary Pickford, “the world’s sweetheart.” Although not the original “Biograph Girl,” she inherited the title when Florence Lawrence left Griffith to go to another studio.
DAVID WARK GRIFFITH – Greatest of the pioneer film directors. His classic, The Birth of a Nation, is still frequently shown in specialist cinemas.
G.W. “BILLY” BITZER – Griffith’s cameraman for 16 years. Primitive camera obliged him to improvise, which accidentally gave Griffith some of his finest efects, among them the fade-out.
JOHANNES CHARLEMAGNE EPPING – Griffith’s accountant, who secretly invested D.W.’s money in non-revocable annuities, saving him from spending his last years in penury.
ROSE SMITH – Griffith’s long-time assistant, but the character as presented in this play is a compilation of several different people.
ADOLPH ZUKOR – One of the small-time salesmen (mostly from central Europe) who became the big-time bosses of Hollywood. He died in 1976, aged 103.
MACK SENNETT – The king of silent film comedy, who introduced Charlie Chaplin to the screen and created the Keystone Kops.
WALTER L. HALL – Nicknamed “Spec” (short for perspective), this pioneering scenic designer was largely responsible for the famous set design of Babylon. It was often thought Griffith produced his own designs on an ad hoc basis, but Hall’s plans exist to prove the contribution he made to Intolerance.