Born 1928 in Dodge City, Kansas, American actress Lila Leeds signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and began appearing in small roles. She appeared in the Red Skelton film The Show-Off (1946), Lady in the Lake (1947), and in the Lana Turner vehicle Green Dolphin Street (1947).
Leeds was producer Harold Hecht’s top choice to star in Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, the first film by Hecht and co-star Burt Lancaster’s production company Norma Productions. She was ultimately replaced by Joan Fontaine, who was already under contract with the movie’s financer and distributor Universal-International Pictures.
On September 1, 1948, Leeds gained notoriety for being arrested together with actor Robert Mitchum on charges of marijuana possession. She subsequently spent sixty days in jail. Although she starred in the Reefer Madness–style film She Shoulda Said No! (1949) following her release from jail, her acting career, unlike Mitchum’s, never recovered from the scandal.
Unable to find more work in films, Leeds left California in 1949. She moved around the Midwest where she worked in nightclubs, married and divorced twice, and had three children, all of whom lived in Southern California. She eventually made her way back to Los Angeles in 1966 where she studied religion, established a church and volunteered at local missions and soup kitchens.
Leeds died of a heart attack in 1999 at age 71 in Los Angeles. Take a look at these fabulous photos to see the beauty of young Lila Leeds during her short career.
