Lila Lee
Encyclopedia
Lila Lee was a prominent screen actress of the early silent film
era.
, New Jersey
into a middle-class family of German
immigrants who relocated to New York City
when Lila was quite young. 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.
. Her first feature The Cruise of the Make-Believes garnered the seventeen year old starlet much public acclaim and Lasky quickly sent Lee on an arduous publicity campaign. Critics lauded Lila for her wholesome persona and sympathetic character
parts. Lee quickly rose to the ranks of leading lady and often starred opposite such matinee heavies as Conrad Nagel
, Gloria Swanson
, Wallace Reid
, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, and Rudolph Valentino
.
In 1922 Lee was cast as Carmen in the enormously popular film Blood and Sand, opposite matinee idol Rudolph Valentino
and silent screen vamp Nita Naldi; Lee subsequently won the first WAMPAS Baby Stars
award that year. Lee continued to be a highly popular leading lady throughout the 1920s and made scores of critically praised and widely watched films.
As the Roaring Twenties
drew to a close, Lee's popularity began to wane and Lee positioned herself for the transition to talkies. She is one of the few leading ladies of the silent screen whose popularity did not nosedive with the coming of sound. She went back to working with the major studios and appeared, most notably, in The Unholy Three
, in 1930, opposite Lon Chaney Sr. in his only talkie. However, a series of bad career choices and bouts of recurring tuberculosis
and alcoholism hindered further projects and Lee was relegated to taking parts in mostly grade B-movies.
, whom she married in 1923. The marriage ended in August 1931 on grounds of her desertion. Lee and Kirkwood had a son in 1924, James Kirkwood, Jr.
, 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
. Her second husband was broker Jack R. Peine (married 1934, divorced 1935) and her third husband was broker John E. Murphy (married 1944, divorced 1949).
Lee made several uneventful appearances in stage plays in the 1940s, and starred in early television soap operas in the 1950s. In 1973 Lee died of a stroke at Saranac Lake
, New York
. For her contribution as an actress in motion pictures, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 1716 Vine Street, in Hollywood, California
.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
era.
Early life
Lila Lee was born Augusta Wilhelmena Fredericka Appel in Union HillUnion Hill, New Jersey
Union Hill is a section of Denville Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. The Union Hill section comprises the southernmost part of Denville and is mostly south of Route 10. Although one of the oldest settled parts of Denville, it is characterized by having the most recent housing...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
into a middle-class family of German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
immigrants who relocated to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
when Lila was quite young. Searching for a hobby for their gregarious young daughter, the Appels enrolled Lila in Gus Edwards
Gus Edwards (songwriter)
Gus Edwards was an American songwriter and vaudevillian. He also organised his own theatre companies and was a music publisher.-Early life:...
' 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.
Career
In 1918 she was chosen for a film contract by Hollywood film mogul Jesse Lasky for Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, which later became Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. Her first feature The Cruise of the Make-Believes garnered the seventeen year old starlet much public acclaim and Lasky quickly sent Lee on an arduous publicity campaign. Critics lauded Lila for her wholesome persona and sympathetic character
Sympathetic character
A sympathetic character is a fictional character in a story with whom the writer expects the reader to identify with and care about, if not necessarily admire. Protagonists, almost by definition, fit into the category of sympathetic character; so, however, do many supporting characters and even...
parts. Lee quickly rose to the ranks of leading lady and often starred opposite such matinee heavies as Conrad Nagel
Conrad Nagel
Conrad Nagel was an American screen actor and matinee idol of the silent film era and beyond. He was also a well-known television actor and radio performer.-Biography:...
, Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
, Wallace Reid
Wallace Reid
Wallace Reid was an actor in silent film referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover".-Early life:Born William Wallace Reid in St...
, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, and Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
.
In 1922 Lee was cast as Carmen in the enormously popular film Blood and Sand, opposite matinee idol Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
and silent screen vamp Nita Naldi; Lee subsequently won the first WAMPAS Baby Stars
WAMPAS Baby Stars
The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in the United States which honored thirteen young women each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. They were selected from 1922 to 1934, and annual...
award that year. Lee continued to be a highly popular leading lady throughout the 1920s and made scores of critically praised and widely watched films.
As the Roaring Twenties
Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in North America, but also in London, Berlin and Paris for a period of sustained economic prosperity. The phrase was meant to emphasize the period's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism...
drew to a close, Lee's popularity began to wane and Lee positioned herself for the transition to talkies. She is one of the few leading ladies of the silent screen whose popularity did not nosedive with the coming of sound. She went back to working with the major studios and appeared, most notably, in The Unholy Three
The Unholy Three (1930 film)
The Unholy Three is a 1930 melodrama involving a crime spree, directed by Jack Conway. It is a remake of the 1925 film The Unholy Three. Both were based on the novel of the same name by Clarence Aaron "Tod" Robbins....
, in 1930, opposite Lon Chaney Sr. in his only talkie. However, a series of bad career choices and bouts of recurring tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and alcoholism hindered further projects and Lee was relegated to taking parts in mostly grade B-movies.
Personal life
Lila was married and divorced three times. Her first husband was actor James Kirkwood, Sr.James Kirkwood, Sr.
James Kirkwood, Sr. was an American actor and director....
, whom she married in 1923. The marriage ended in August 1931 on grounds of her desertion. Lee and Kirkwood had a son in 1924, James Kirkwood, Jr.
James Kirkwood, Jr.
James Kirkwood, Jr. was an American playwright, author and actor. In 1976 he received the Tony Award, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the Broadway hit A Chorus Line.-Biography:Kirkwood was born in Los Angeles, California. His father...
, whose custody was granted to his father; he became a highly regarded playwright and screenwriter whose works include A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch....
and P.S. Your Cat Is Dead
P.S. Your Cat Is Dead
P.S. Your Cat Is Dead is a novel by James Kirkwood, Jr., original published in 1972, adapted from his play. The book and play were later adapted to film.-Synopsis:...
. Her second husband was broker Jack R. Peine (married 1934, divorced 1935) and her third husband was broker John E. Murphy (married 1944, divorced 1949).
Lee made several uneventful appearances in stage plays in the 1940s, and starred in early television soap operas in the 1950s. In 1973 Lee died of a stroke at Saranac Lake
Saranac Lake, New York
Saranac Lake is a village located in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406. The village is named after Upper, Middle, and Lower Saranac Lakes, which are nearby....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. For her contribution as an actress in motion pictures, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 1716 Vine Street, in Hollywood, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Filmography
- Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers (1967)
- Oh Boy! (1938)
- Two Wise Maids (1937)
- Country Gentlemen (1936)
- The Ex-Mrs. BradfordThe Ex-Mrs. BradfordThe Ex-Mrs. Bradford is a mystery film starring William Powell and Jean Arthur as a divorced couple who investigate a murder at a racetrack. This was the last film directed by Stephen Roberts before his untimely death from a heart attack.-Plot:...
(1936) - The Marriage Bargain (1935)
- Champagne for Breakfast (1935)
- The People's Enemy (1935)
- Whirlpool (1934)
- In Love with Life (1934)
- I Can't Escape (1934)
- Stand up and Cheer (1934)
- Lone Cowboy (1934)
- Officer 13 (1933)
- The Face in the Sky (1933)
- The Iron Master (1933)
- Radio Patrol (1932)
- The Night of June 13 (1932)
- Unholy LoveUnholy LoveUnholy Love is a 1932 black-and-white drama film directed and produced by Albert Ray. It was the first film adaptation of the French novel Madame Bovary produced...
(1932) - The Intruder (1932)
- War Correspondent (1932)
- False Faces (1932)
- Exposure (1932)
- Misbehaving Ladies (1931)
- Woman Hungry (1931)
- The Gorilla (1931)
- Murder Will Out (1930)
- Those Who Dance (1930)
- Second Wife (1930)
- The Unholy ThreeThe Unholy Three (1930 film)The Unholy Three is a 1930 melodrama involving a crime spree, directed by Jack Conway. It is a remake of the 1925 film The Unholy Three. Both were based on the novel of the same name by Clarence Aaron "Tod" Robbins....
(1930) - Double Cross Roads (1930)
- Love, Live and Laugh (1929)
- Show of ShowsThe Show of Shows (film)The Show of Shows is a lavish all talking Vitaphone musical revue film which cost $850,000 to make. The Show of Shows was Warner Bros. fifth color movie, the first four were The Desert Song , On With the Show , Gold Diggers of Broadway and Paris . This movie featured most of the contemporary...
(1929) - The Sacred Flame (1929)
- Queen of the Night ClubsQueen of the Night ClubsQueen of the Night Clubs is a sound musical-drama film produced and directed by Bryan Foy and distributed by Warner Brothers. It is now considered a lost film.-Cast:*Texas Guinan - Texas Malone*John Davidson - Don Holland...
(1929) - Flight (1929)
- The Argyle Case (1929)
- Honky Tonk (1929)
- Dark Streets (1929)
- DragDrag (film)Drag is a drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Richard Barthelmess.-Cast:*Richard Barthelmess...David Carroll*Lucien Littlefield...Pa Parker*Kathrin Clare Ward...Ma Parker*Alice Day...Allie Parker*Tom Dugan...Charlie Parker...
(1929) - Top Sergeant Mulligan (1928)
- The Man in Hobbles (1928)
- The Black Pearl (1928)
- The Little Wild GirlThe Little Wild GirlThe Little Wild Girl is a 1928 American drama film directed by Frank S. Mattison and featuring Boris Karloff.-Cast:* Lila Lee as Marie Cleste* Cullen Landis as Jules Barbier* Frank Merrill as Tavish McBride* Sheldon Lewis as Wanakee...
(1928) - Black Butterflies (1928)
- The Adorable Cheat (1928)
- Thundergod (1928)
- United States Smith (1928)
- A Bit of Heaven (1928)
- You Can't Beat the Law (1928)
- Top Sergeant Mulligan (1928)
- Million Dollar Mystery (1927)
- One Increasing Purpose (1927)
- Fascinating Youth (1926)
- The New Klondike(1926)
- Broken Hearts (1926)
- Coming Through (1925)
- Old Home Week (1925)
- The Midnight GirlThe Midnight GirlThe Midnight Girl is a 1925 drama film directed by Wilfred Noy, starring Lila Lee and featuring Béla Lugosi.-Story:Lugosi plays, according to an intertitle, "Nicholas Harmon, the immensely wealthy patron of music" who "loved his weaknesses — and his favorite weakness was Nina," his mistress, an...
(1925) - Another Man's Wife (1924)
- Wandering Husbands (1924)
- Love's Whirlpool (1924)
- Woman-Proof (1923)
- HollywoodHollywood (1923 film)Hollywood was a silent comedy film directed by James Cruze, co-written by Frank Condon and Thomas J. Geraghty, and released by Paramount Pictures.The film has become famous as having featured cameos of more than thirty famous Hollywood stars...
(1923) cameo - Homeward Bound (1923)
- The Ne'er-Do-Well (1923)
- Ebb Tide (1922)
- Rent FreeRent FreeRent Free is a 1922 silent film feature comedy produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures. The film starred Wallace Reid and his current regular co-star Lila Lee. It was directed by Howard Higgin and adapted by Elmer Rice from a story written directly for the screen...
(1922) - Back Home and Broke (1922)
- The Ghost BreakerThe Ghost Breaker (1922 film)The Ghost Breaker is a 1922 American silent film comedy based around haunted houses and ghosts. It was produced Famous Players-Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Alfred E. Green and starred popular Wallace Reid in one of his last screen portrayals. The story, based...
(1922) - Blood and Sand (1922)
- The DictatorThe Dictator (1922 film)The Dictator is a 1922 silent film comedy drama produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures. James Cruze was the director and the star Wallace Reid. The basic story of this film had been filmed in 1915 with John Barrymore who had played a supporting part in the 1904...
(1922) - Is Matrimony a Failure? (1922)
- One Glorious Day (1922)
- The Fast FreightThe Fast FreightThe Fast Freight is a 1921 comedy film starring Fatty Arbuckle. The film was not released in the US, due to Arbuckle's involvement in the Virginia Rappe scandal.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle* Lila Lee* Nigel Barrie* Herbert Standing* Raymond Hatton...
(1921) - After the Show (1921)
- Crazy to MarryCrazy to MarryCrazy to Marry is a 1921 comedy film starring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle - Dr. Hobart Hupp* Lila Lee - Annabelle Landis* Laura Anson - Estrella De Morgan* Edwin Stevens - Henry De Morgan* Lillian Leighton - Sarah De Morgan...
(1921) - Gasoline GusGasoline GusGasoline Gus is a 1921 comedy film starring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle - Gasoline Gus* Lila Lee - Sal Jo Banty* Charles Ogle - Nate Newberry* Theodore Lorch - Dry Check Charlie* Wilton Taylor - Judge Shortridge...
(1921) - The Dollar-a-Year ManThe Dollar-a-Year ManThe Dollar-a-Year Man is a 1921 comedy film starring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle - Franklin Pinney* Lila Lee - Peggy Bruce* Winifred Greenwood - Kate Connelly* J.M. Dumont - Tipson Blair...
(1921) - The Easy Road (1921)
- The Charm SchoolThe Charm School (1921 film)The Charm School is a 1921 silent film comedy starring Wallace Reid. Produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures this James Cruze directed film was based on a 1920 Broadway stage play and novel by Alice Duer Miller that starred veteran actress Minnie Dupree. It is...
(1921) - Midsummer Madness (1920)
- The Prince Chap (1920)
- The Soul of Youth (1920)
- Terror Island (1920)
- Male and FemaleMale and FemaleMale and Female is a 1919 silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Its main themes are gender relations and social class. It is based on the J. M. Barrie play "The Admirable Crichton".-Plot:...
(1919) - Hawthorne of the U.S.A. (1919)
- The Lottery Man (1919)
- The Heart of Youth (1919)
- Rose o' the River (1919)
- A Daughter of the Wolf (1919)
- Rustling a Bride (1919)
- Puppy Love (1919)
- The Secret Garden (1919)
- Jane Goes A' Wooing (1919)
- Such a Little Pirate (1918)
- The Cruise of the Make-Believes (1918)
External links
- Silent Ladies & Gents
- Golden Silents
- Virtual Film History
- Lila Lee at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- Lila Lee interview with the Columbia University Oral History Research Office