It was in the wee hours of this day in 1948 that one of the original Hollywood tough guys, actor Robert Mitchum, and starlet Lila Leeds were arrested during a drug raid at a house party in Los Angeles' Laurel Canyon; they were each found to be in possession of a small amount of marijuana.
Both went on to serve time in jail: in Mitchum's case, 43 days (out of a possible 60) at a prison farm in Castaic, California (well-documented by a photographer from Life magazine); Mitchum's conviction would eventually be overturned by the District Attorney's office when, in 1951, it was revealed that the sting had been a set-up. Lila Leeds received the same jail time as Mitchum plus five years' probation; while in jail she became a heroin addict.
Mitchum's career flourished in the wake of the scandal - thanks to the intervention of RKO studio head Howard Hughes - as it seemed to reinforce the image he'd been cultivating. Leeds' career, on the other hand, foundered - although she did later star in the exploitation B-movie She Shoulda Said No! (1949). Mitchum's death in July 1997 was mourned by le tout Hollywood, while Leeds' died, forgotten, in September 1999.
*
share on: facebook
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Irony is not dead.
Poor girl
QM
Post a Comment