Lillian Burkhart Goldsmith (February 8, 1871 – February 25, 1958) was an American vaudeville performer,

clubwoman The club movement is an American women's social movement that started in the mid-19th century and spread throughout the United States. It established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While wome ...

, and businesswoman, based in Los Angeles.

Early life

Lillian Burkhart was born in

Allegheny, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...

, the daughter of Adolph Burkhart and Rosalie Cirker Burkhart. Her parents were both Jewish immigrants: her father was born in Russia, and her mother was born in Germany. Lillian trained as a teacher in the Pittsburgh area.Katy Lain
"Lillian Burkhart Goldsmith: Shaping the City"
''Southern California Quarterly'' 89(3)(Fall 2007): 285-306.

Career

In her early years, Lillian Burkhart produced and performed in more than two dozen one-act sketches, and was remembered as "the foremost comedienne in vaudeville". After she married her second husband and moved to California, she continued giving recitations and dramatic readings, often for community groups, and she produced "municipal pageants" and theatrical events, including a benefit show for the victims of the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 AM Pacific Time Zone, Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli inte ...

, and the Los Angeles pageant marking Shakespeare's tercentenary. In Los Angeles she was an officer of the Ebell Club, the founder and first president of the Philanthropy and Civics Club (beginning in 1919), and the president of the Los Angeles chapter of the

National Council of Jewish Women The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Founded in 1893, the NCJW describes itself as the oldest Jewish women's grassroots organization organization in the USA and currently has over 225,000 members. ...

(from 1924 to 1930). She developed a successful career of buying and improving property in the growing city, and funded the building of clubhouses for several of philanthropic organizations. She established the first Girl Scout Council in Los Angeles, and was its first commissioner.Myra Nye
"Club Leader Carrying On: Mrs. Lillian Goldsmith Combats Grief"
''Los Angeles Times'' (June 24, 1928): C29. She began and funded the Lillian Burkhart Fund, which supported college scholarships for disadvantaged students. Lillian Burkhart Goldsmith lectured against

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

. She was monitored and questioned by the U. S. Justice Department during World War I, because her mother was German and because she gave a lecture, "What the World is Thinking and Feeling", which was perceived as possibly influencing clubwomen against the American war effort.

Personal life

Lillian Burkhart was married to a fellow vaudeville performer, Charles Dickson, in 1891; the couple appeared in shows together. She married George Goldsmith in 1903. They had a daughter, Rosalie Faith Goldsmith, born in 1904. Lillian was widowed in 1928, and died in 1958, aged 87 years."Mrs. Lillian Goldsmith, Civic Worker, Dies; Founder-Member of the Hollywood Bowl, She Was Also Active in Philanthropies"
''Los Angeles Times'' (February 26, 1958): A10.

References

External links

Lillian Burkhart Goldsmith's gravesite
at Find a Grave.
A photograph of Lillian Burkhart Goldsmith taken in 1956
when she was 85 years old; in the collection of the USC Digital Library.
A silk fan donated by Lillian B. Goldsmith
to the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

.
Another silk fan donated by Lillian B. Goldsmith
to the Los Angeles County Community of Art. *Katherine Lain

(M. A. thesis, California State University at Northridge 2010). {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldsmith, Lillian Burkhart 1871 births 1958 deaths Entertainers from Los Angeles Businesspeople from Los Angeles Clubwomen