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The Story of Lily Renee
Exiled from her comfortable life in Vienna and left to fend for herself on the Kindertransport, Lily Renee Wilhelm has no idea what her future holds. She ends up in New York and, on a whim, applies to a comic book illustration job. She endures rampant sexism in the boys’ club atmosphere of the comics industry, but soon makes a name for herself as the illustrator of Señorita Rio, a comic series about a swashbuckling spy with a glamorous wardrobe. Decades later, she is remembered as an icon of the comic book industry.
Exile is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York and Antica Productions.
It’s narrated by Mandy Patinkin. This episode was produced by Ilan Goodman.
Our executive Producers are Laura Regehr, Rami Tzabar, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Our associate producer is Emily Morantz. Research and translation by Isabella Kempf. Voice acting by Cyrus Lane. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson. Theme music by Oliver Wickham.
Special thanks to Rick Phillips, as well as Adrienne Gruben & David Armstrong for the use of their short film, LILY.
This episode of Exile is made possible in part by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance and the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future.
In 2012, the Austrian Heritage Collection interviewed Lily Renee Phillips (née Lily Renee Wilhelm) as part of their ongoing oral history project. To learn more about Lily Renee in her own voice, you can listen to the interview in the Leo Baeck Institute collections here.
The story of Lily Renee and the comics with Señorita Rio were featured JewCE!, the 2023 exhibit at the Center for Jewish about Jewish comic books. As a part of the cooperation between the CJH and five partners, LBI created one of the exhibit’s parts: Fighting Fascism.
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