Lila Lee(1901-1973)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
A performer since childhood (she was widely known then as "Cuddles"),
pert and pretty, raven-haired Lila Lee was brought to Hollywood by
Paramount mogul Jesse L. Lasky and
debuted in a starring role with
The Cruise of the Make-Believes (1918)
as a poor girl supported by a rich admirer. Following her appearance as
a servant wench in Cecil B. DeMille's
Male and Female (1919), Paramount
starting grooming her to eventually supplant the highly temperamental
and troublesome Gloria Swanson. Lila's
talent, however, was lighter in weight and, though she enjoyed great
popularity in such films as
Blood and Sand (1922) with
Rudolph Valentino,
Another Man's Wife (1924),
The Midnight Girl (1925),
Love, Live and Laugh (1929)
co-starring George Jessel and
The Unholy Three (1930)
opposite Lon Chaney, Swanson had little to
worry about. A series of bad judgments and highly publicized bouts with
illness led to Lila's swift decline. She made a few dismal comebacks on
stage and in TV soaps in the 1950s but to little fanfare. Her last
picture was as a hayseed mom in the deservedly obscure
Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers (1967).
Her actor-turned-writer son
James Kirkwood Jr., however, earned
fame on his own for penning the play "P.S. Your Cat Is Dead" and the
musical "A Chorus Line." Lila died of a stroke in 1973.
