Lila Lee (born Augusta Wilhelmena Fredericka Appel; July 25, 1905 – November 13, 1973) was a prominent screen actress, primarily a leading lady, of the silent film and early sound film eras.
Early life
The daughter of Augusta Fredericka Appel and Carl Appel,
Searching for a hobby for their gregarious young daughter, the Appels enrolled Lila in Gus Edwards' kiddie review shows where she was given the nickname of "Cuddles"; a name that she would be known by for the rest of her acting career. Her stagework became so popular with the public that her parents had her educated with private tutors. Edwards would become Lee's long-term manager.
Lillian Edwards, wife of Gus Edwards, was Lee's guardian. When Lee was 15 years old, she went to court seeking an injunction to prevent Mrs. Edwards "from collecting any money for Lila's services." Mrs. Edwards countered that she had spent 10 years helping to shape Lee's career and had invested money in her. Lee and Kirkwood had a son in 1924, James Kirkwood, Jr. ("Jimmy"), whose custody was granted to his father; he became a highly regarded playwright and screenwriter whose works include A Chorus Line and P.S. Your Cat Is Dead. Kirkwood Jr. was primarily raised by Lee's family in Elyria, Ohio.
In her autobiography, Lee revealed she lost her virginity to Kirkwood before they were married and she fell pregnant as a result. Kirkwood ultimately arranged an abortion for her, and their relationship continued after this only because Kirkwood threatened to tell Lee's mother of their premarital relations.
In June 1928, Lee began an affair with John Farrow while Kirkwood was in London. Lee wrote Kirkwood stating she wanted a divorce, and in late September of that year, the two formally separated. Lee decided not to fight for custody of their son because Kirkwood threatened to kill Farrow, Lee, their son, and himself. After their divorce, Lee traveled to Arizona and stayed in a sanitarium. Lee also became engaged to John Farrow, but they separated in 1933 after Lee discovered he was being unfaithful to her. He would go on to marry Maureen O'Sullivan in 1936.
At the beginning of her career, Lee dated Charlie Chaplin. Leatrice Joy claimed Lee had an affair with John Gilbert while they were married.
Her second husband was broker Jack R. Peine, who she married on December 8, 1934. In August 1934, Lee, Peine, and chauffeur George Morrison had been sued for $110,000 by Italian opera singer and voice teacher Emilio Staine, who claimed he had been struck by their car when crossing a street in Santa Monica, California. By July 2, 1935, the two had divorced. Lee claimed Peine was a drunk, a gambler, and a cheater. Shortly into their marriage, with Lee looking for a house for the two, Peine took off to Mexico and didn't return for a month.
In 1935, Lee began a relationship with car salesman Reid Russell. In 1936, Lee was living in California with her son James Jr, novelist Gouverneur Morris, and his wife Ruth (née Wightman), a screenwriter and racecar driver. Lee became engaged to Russell and planned to marry him once he obtained a divorce. On September 25, 1936, Russell's dead body was discovered outside on the hammock by Kirkwood Jr., and a scandal that would ultimately end Lee's career ensued.
Her third husband was broker John E. Murphy. According to author Sean Egan in the James Kirkwood biography Ponies & Rainbows (2011), Murphy's will left Lee at the financial mercy of his second wife, who consequently became the manipulative character Aunt Claire in P.S. Your Cat Is Dead, written by Lee's son, James Kirkwood, Jr.
Reid Russell scandal
Lila Lee began a relationship with car salesman Reid Russell in 1935. On September 25, 1936, Reid Russell's dead body was discovered outside on the hammock by Kirkwood Jr. (Ruth Morris would later claim it was she who discovered Russell's body). He had been shot in the head with a .32 caliber one or two days prior. The bullet had penetrated Russell's head and passed through; neither it nor its empty shell were ever found. The gun found in his hand was one he kept in his bureau drawer at home.
Filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Features
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1918 ||The Cruise of the Make-Believes || Bessie Meggison || Lost film
|-
| 1918 ||Such a Little Pirate || Patricia Wolf ||Lost film
|-
| 1919 ||Jane Goes A-Wooing || || Lost film
|-
| 1919 || The Secret Garden || Mary Lennox || Lost film
|-
| 1919 || Puppy Love || Gloria O'Connell || Lost film
|-
| 1919 || Rustling a Bride || Emily || Lost film
|-
| 1919 || A Daughter of the Wolf || Annette Ainsworth || Lost film
|-
| 1919 || Rose o' the River || Rose Wiley || Lost film
|-
| 1919 || The Heart of Youth || Josephine Darchat || Lost film
|-
| 1919 || The Lottery Man || Polly || Lost film
|-
| 1919 || Hawthorne of the U.S.A. || Princess Irma ||
|-
| 1919 || Male and Female || Tweeny – the Scullery Maid ||
|-
| 1920 || Terror Island || Beverly West || Incomplete, five of seven reels are extant
|-
| 1920 || The Soul of Youth || Vera Hamilton ||
|-
| 1920 || The Prince Chap || Claudia (age 18) || Lost film
|-
| 1921 || Midsummer Madness || Daisy Osborne ||
|-
| 1921 ||The Charm School || Elsie || Lost film
|-
| 1921 || The Easy Road || Ella Klotz || Lost film
|-
| 1921 || The Dollar-a-Year Man || Peggy Bruce || Lost film
|-
| 1921 || Gasoline Gus || Sal Jo Banty ||
|-
| 1921 || Crazy to Marry || Annabelle Landis ||
|-
| 1921 || After the Show || Eileen ||Lost film
|-
| 1922 || Rent Free || Barbara Teller || Lost film
|-
| 1922 || One Glorious Day || Molly McIntyre || Lost film
|-
| 1922 || Is Matrimony a Failure? || Margaret Saxby || Lost film
|-
| 1922 || The Fast Freight || Elsie || Lost film
|-
| 1922 || The Dictator || Juanita || Lost film
|-
| 1922 || Blood and Sand || Carmen ||
|-
| 1922 || The Ghost Breaker || Maria Theresa, a Spanish Heiress || Lost film
|-
| 1922 || Ebb Tide || Ruth Attwater || Lost film
|-
| 1922 || Back Home and Broke || Mary Thorne || Lost film
|-
| 1922 || A Trip to Paramountown || Herself || Short Subject
|-
| 1923 || The Ne'er-Do-Well || Chiquita || Lost film
|-
| 1923 || Homeward Bound || Mary Brent || Lost film
|-
| 1923 || Hollywood || Herself (cameo) || Lost film
|-
| 1923 || Woman-Proof || Louise Halliday || Lost film
|-
| 1924 || Love's Whirlpool || Molly
|-
| 1924 || Wandering Husbands || Diana Moreland ||
|-
| 1924 || Another Man's Wife || Helen Brand || Lost film
|-
| 1925 || The Midnight Girl || Anna ||
|-
| 1925 || Coming Through || Alice Rand || Lost film
|-
| 1925 || Old Home Week || Ethel Harmon ||
|-
| 1926 || Broken Hearts || Ruth Esterin ||
|-
| 1926 || The New Klondike || Evelyn Lane || Incomplete film, with one reel missing
|-
| 1926 || Fascinating Youth || Lila Lee || Lost film
|-
| 1927 || One Increasing Purpose || Elizabeth Glade || Lost film
|-
| 1927 || Million Dollar Mystery || Florence Grey ||
|-
| 1928 || Top Sergeant Mulligan || The girl ||
|-
| 1928 || The Man in Hobbles || Ann Harris ||
|-
| 1928 || You Can't Beat the Law || Patricia Berry ||
|-
| 1928 || A Bit of Heaven || Fola Dale || Lost film
|-
| 1928 || Thundergod || Enid Bryant ||
|-
| 1928 || United States Smith || Molly Malone ||
|-
| 1928 || The Adorable Cheat || Marion Dorsey ||
|-
| 1928 || Just Married || Victoire || Lost film
|-
| 1928 || Black Butterflies || Norma Davis ||
|-
| 1928 || The Little Wild Girl || Marie Cleste ||
|-
| 1928 || The Black Pearl || Eugenie Bromley ||
|-
| 1929 || Queen of the Night Clubs || Bea Walters || Lost film
|-
| 1929 || Honky Tonk || Beth Leonard || Lost film
|-
| 1929 || Drag || Dot ||
|-
| 1929 || Dark Streets || Katie Dean || Lost film
|-
| 1929 || The Argyle Case || Mary Morgan || Lost film
|-
| 1929 || Flight || Elinor Baring ||
|-
| 1929 || Love, Live and Laugh || Margharita ||
|-
| 1929 || Show of Shows || Performer in 'What Became of the Floradora Boys' Number || Technicolor version is lost
|-
| 1929 || The Sacred Flame || Stella Taylor || Lost film
|-
| 1930 || Second Wife || Florence Wendell Fairchild ||
|-
| 1930 || Murder Will Out || Jeanne Baldwin || Lost film
|-
| 1930 || Those Who Dance || Nora Brady ||
|-
| 1930 || Double Cross Roads || Mary Carlyle ||
|-
| 1930 || The Unholy Three || Rosie ||
|-
| 1930 || The Gorilla || Alice Denby || Lost film
|-
| 1931 || Woman Hungry || Judith Temple ||
|-
| 1931 || Misbehaving Ladies || Princess Ellen ||
|-
| 1932 || Unholy Love || Jane Bradford ||
|-
| 1932 || Radio Patrol || Sue Kennedy ||
|-
|1932 || War Correspondent || Julie March ||
|-
| 1932 || Exposure || Doris Corbin ||
|-
| 1932 || The Night of June 13 || Trudie Morrow ||
|-
| 1932 || False Faces || Georgia Rand ||
|-
| 1932 || Officer Thirteen || Doris Dane ||
|-
| 1933 || Face in the Sky || Sharon Hadley ||
|-
| 1933 || The Iron Master || Janet Stillman ||
|-
| 1933 || The Intruder || Connie Wayne ||
|-
| 1933 || Lone Cowboy || Eleanor Jones ||
|-
| 1934 || Whirlpool || Helen Rankin Morrison ||
|-
| 1934 || Stand Up and Cheer! || Zelda || Uncredited
|-
| 1934 || In Love with Life || Sharon ||
|-
| 1934 || I Can't Escape || Mae Nichols ||
|-
| 1935 || The Marriage Bargain || Helen Stanhope ||
|-
| 1935 || The People's Enemy || Catherine Carr ||
|-
| 1935 || Champagne for Breakfast || Natalie Morton ||
|-
| 1936 || The Ex-Mrs. Bradford || Miss Prentiss, Bradford's Receptionist ||
|-
| 1936 || Country Gentlemen || Mrs. Louise Heath ||
|-
| 1937 || Two Wise Maids || Ethel Harriman ||
|-
| 1937 || Nation Aflame || Mona Franklin Burtis ||
|-
| 1938 || Oh Boy! || ||
|-
| 1967 || Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers || Viola Zickafoose ||
|}
References
External links
- Photoplay: The Aristocrat of Motion Picture Magazines
- Photoplay: The Aristocrat of Motion Picture Magazines
- Lee at Golden Silents
- Virtual Film History
- Houdini's leading ladies: Lila Lee at Wild About Harry
- Kirkwood and Lee with their baby 1924