Lillian Russell - Come Down Ma Evenin' Star

Lillian Russell was a very popular singer and performer of her era. Considered the ideal of beauty, she had strong opinions about priorities, and was often annoyed at people who fawned over her looks.

The following is taken from a 1914 newspaper interview:

"[Russell thanks the interviewer out of the blue.] "What for?" I inquired.

"For not having asked me a single question about the way I preserve my good looks. Everyone always asks that first. For a few minutes you have let me forget my face, and I want to forget it. I get very tired of it--very, very tired of it. I hate a mirror sometimes.
"What, after all, is there great in being beautiful? To be a great woman, a great person, one must have suffered, even suffered in great crises. What have I done that I should be famous--nothing but powdered a bit gently the cheeks that God gave me and smoothed the hair that I was born with, laughed and proven a faultless set of teeth. Any grinning idol, well painted, can do as well, but the real women, the big women, are those who toil and never write of it, those who labor and never cry of it, those who forfeit all and never seek reward. Begin this article with the name Lillian Russell, but end it with the name of such as was Cynthia Leonard." "

Russell later became an advocate for woman's suffrage.

(Picture credits go to many websites via google search! :D )

• Category

  Music

[Iris Cooper]

Alice Faye played Lillian Russell in a movie for which I cannot remember title.

Lillian Russell was so pretty, pretty.

Meandrousart, thank you for sharing these vintage clipings with all of us.

Iris

[meandrousart]

<3 I was lucky to have found it somewhere online, but now I don't remember where! x...x

[Clinton52732]

Lillian Russell is the most famous native daughter from my hometown (Clinton, Iowa). I purchased this 78rpm on eBay, and have since transferred it onto CD and it is available for sale from the Clinton County Historical Society. It's great to see it (hear it) on YouTube! Thanks for posting!!!

[meandrousart]

Sure! You're quite educated about the topic, aren't you? I don't know as much about the history as you do, but when I found it I thought it was one of those things that should be uploaded because the more people that have a copy of it, the less likely it is to be lost!

[grlykool]

Uhm she had a "typical" hollywood life, married a lot, lots of lovers. But yeah it was great people didn't have to be waifs. People back then were no more moral than we are now. They just had more tact about it.

[Luciana Laurel]

Beautiful woman,curvy and intelligent.Not anorexic and plastic nose and tits

[Lembit Punapart]

And Yes she was damn beautiful.

[Lembit Punapart]

a great classic.

[CelineElla123]

Why did she only do one recording?

[CelineElla123]

Lyrics?

[Sean Folsom]

The name Leonard is a common one in County Westmeath, Ireland.

It's a form of O' Lennen, etc. I did find out that Russell was her "stage name"

until I read a short biography about her and "Diamond" Jim Brady, entitled

"Duet in Diamonds". Brady gave her the Golden Bicycle to exercise on.

He also proposed marriage but Lillian wasn't interested in that, but she was

a frequent Dinner Companion at Del Monico's in New York City.

It's Great to hear what her singing was like, Thank You for Posting !

[CelineElla123]

Where did you get the 1914 interview? Is it on internet? It would be nice to read :D

[Debbie Archibald]

I just finished watching the movie of Lillian Russell with Alice Faye entitled "Lillian Russell". Excellent film and I didn't even know until the film was finished that she really did exist!!

[smenkare27]

I love this song--I have used it many times in recital and it never fails!

[ducdebrabant]

This was recorded after she was no longer in her vocal prime, and had given up singing operetta in favor of doing plays and singing in vaudeville (where the load wasn't so heavy). She sounds pretty good to me, but I'd love to know what she sounded one or two decades earlier.