The Photo-Play Journal (Jul 1919-Feb 1921)

20 P h o t o P I a y Journal i^iimiiiii CUDDLES GROWS UP By TOHN BRAUX '7 remember. I remember How my childhood fleeted by The mirth of its December And the zvarmth of its July." -Pracd. AXD yet the quotation does not seem altogether apropos. There is no sadness in Lila Lee's transition from childhood to womanhood, after all. Possibly she is really too much a child yet to realize that youth is a thing to be regretted. In years she is a child still ; in her heart of hearts, perhaps, also a child. But in many ways, in her capacity for understanding, in some aspects of her appearance, in her talent, she has left childhood behind and entered gloriously into the sweetest period of all, perhaps — young womanhood. Hers is the cloudy beauty of a day in autumn ; stray tresses from her dark hair float ever and anon across her cheeks ; her skin has the warm, rich coloring of the Latins ; her eyes possess a far away look at times and there is something of "the midnight flower" in their depths. She is very lovely. There is a wistfulness about her mouth that has the effect of creating a lingering memory of yesterdays of ineffable sweetness. She is the girl you used to know, somewhere in a garden hung with flowers and carpeted with fragrant grass ; she is the girl you used to know, whose smiles defy the flight of time, come backto you in dreams and are seen again in the smoke wreaths from the crackling log flames in the fireplace. She is the girl you used to know, when the moon rose serenely over rustic loveliness of garden gate and spreading fields. She us the universal girl of all our young memories. Lila Lee came early to the art of entertainment. In vaudeville as Cuddles she ingenuously twisted hearts about her tiny fingers. On the screen she entered the hearts of the multitude and found a place there which has never been dispelled. But she was a child when she started, and today she is a woman. Her youth was spent in the shadow of spotlight and painted drop, of sun arc and silver screen. She has developed radiantly like some rare flower in a tropic warmth, yet never to her disadvantage, for she is today an athletic girl, full to overflowing of health and spirits and the joy of life. Companionable to a degree, her friends are legion. She is quick witted, clever and ingenuous still. The child shows ever through the woman's eyes, as the blossom shines through the bud. She is a distinct refutation of the oft-advanced claim that a child is injured through early association with the life theatric. There could never be a more charming woman as there was never a more delightful child. There is a difference between mere precocity and insouciant brightness. Lila Lee partook ever of the latter quality. She received her education from private tutors. Gained an understanding of the wonders of life and its work earlier perhaps than most youngsters. But far from spoiling her it added sweetness and charm. "There are times yet," confesses Miss Lee, "when I love to get out my dolls and play I am a child again. But I am not saddened bv the reflection that childhood has passed. Indeed I am too happy in the present to think of anything else with regret. Emerson said to his daughter : 'Forget yesterday' and, in effect, continuing — 'today is too beautiful to waste a moment on the yesterdays.' Yet I would gladh retain the dearer memories of my yesterdays and let all others slip from my mind forever. "My work means much to me. I try to gain something everyday ; to watch older and more experienced players is one of my greatest satisfactions. Naturally I learn, learn always. And in my studio environment I have been sn fortunate, because it has been as nearly ideal as one could conceive. All about me has been kindliness, a spirit of camaraderie , a wholesome atmosphere of artistic endeavor and a harmonious activity. It has been instilled into mv