Some of my contributions here haven been a little off topic but I think this one is bona fide noir.
Robert Mitchum is well known but I'd hadn't heard of Lila Leeds until digging into this story. She was really something. Before getting into the the meat of this story here she is in her bungalow, at play. (Steve Hoffman, I know you'll be pained by this photo...such a hottie, yet
so careless with her records. Wouldn't we love to know the titles?)
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/phot...ystery_pix.jpg
In 1948, Lila paid a $5 fine for stopping traffic. Looks like more than $5 worth of publicity, especially with those rocket breasts!
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/phot..._1208_crop.jpg
The bust. Bob was an early adopter of weed; a huge fan! September 2, 1948.
"An enterprising Mirror photographer took this picture through a window, showing two crime scene investigators at Lila Leeds' home, Jan. 8, 1949."
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/phot...107_police.jpg
"Deputy Marjorie Kellog, left, escorts Lila Leeds and Robert Mitchum to jail after their sentencing to 90 days for marijuana, Feb. 9, 1949."
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/phot...ds_mitchum.jpg
The pot bust was exploited, it spawned a movie and even a live show!
http://thisbookisforyou.blogspot.com...1_archive.html
Robert Mitchum, sentence served, heading home. He quipped that jail was "just like a weekend in Palm Springs…only you meet a better class of people."
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics17/00028131.jpg
Though Mitchum had other run ins with the law, his career prospered.
"Copy of the driver's license of actor Robert Mitchum, who left it with a policeman who cited him for speeding December 2, 1953. Mitchum sped away and later accused the officer of stealing his license. The incident occurred in West Los Angeles."
But in the years to come the years went on, things didn't go well for Lila Leeds.
"Lila Leeds appears with her two unidentified attorneys after being charged in Chicago with soliciting, Jan. 25, 1956. She denied the charges, was convicted and fined $10."
"Lila Leeds in 1961, 13 years later, showing newspaper clippings about her relationsip with Erwin "Bud" Arvey, the son of Illinois Democratic leader Jake Arvey. She was trying to get child support payments from the Erwin Arvey, saying that he was the father of her son."
By 1974, Leeds had become a minister with a Hollywood group called Spiritual Mission, Inc., Laymen's Evangelist or SMILE, which operated a church on Western Avenue. In 1976, she was making personal appearances to promote one of Richard Lamparski's "Whatever Became of..." books. According to imdb, she died in 1999. Apparently, neither The Times nor any other major newspaper published an obituary on her.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thed...?cid=125202120
8443 Ridpath today. "It's so feminine". Photos by me.
