Lila Lee, a performer since her childhood, was widely known as "Cuddles" due to her pert and pretty nature, along with her raven-haired beauty. She was brought to Hollywood by Paramount mogul Jesse L. Lasky and made her debut in a starring role in the film "The Cruise of the Make-Believes" in 1918, portraying a poor girl supported by a rich admirer.
Following her appearance as a servant wench in Cecil B. DeMille's "Male and Female" in 1919, Paramount began grooming her to eventually supplant the highly temperamental and troublesome Gloria Swanson. Despite her talent, Lila's abilities were lighter in weight, and though she enjoyed great popularity in films such as "Blood and Sand" (1922) alongside 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 onstage 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" in 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 Lee died of a stroke in 1973.
