1948: Robert Mitchum arrested at 'reefer resort'

[madmusic]

September 1, 2006

Sept. 1, 1948: Actor Robert Mitchum and starlet Lila Leeds were reportedly caught smoking marijuana during a police raid at the actress' Hollywood Hills home. Two others were also arrested.

Mitchum told police that he and another friend were in the neighborhood looking to buy a house when they stopped to visit Leeds and her roommate, dancer Vickie Evans.

The actor said he had trouble finding the home on Ridpath Drive, which one narcotics agent described as "ideally situated to be a 'reefer resort.' It is perched on a hillside, with no near neighbors, and well-screened by shrubbery," The Times reported.

a little more:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-a2anniversary1sep01,1,917764.story?coll=la-headlines-california

[DavidDvorkin]

1. A reefer resort!

And people went mad there, I tell you, mad!

[WindRavenX]

2. the war on this harmless plant must end

:grr:

[ms liberty]

3. One of the handsomest men ever *sigh*

I was in love with him when I was a kid, of course he was old enough to be my father back then.

I had heard about this sometime or another, I don't remember when.

[Old and In the Way]

4. 58 years later, we are still wasting taxpayer $ and feeding the criminal

justice system busting pot smokers. We've come a long way, baby! Interesting that the most creative people of those times all enjoyed their Texas Tea.

[TexasLawyer]

5. "Aye, Robert Mitchum...

He's the devil himself"

A common opinion of Robert Mitchum in western Ireland. When RM was filming Ryan's Daughter, I guess he ran over a lot of sheep.

They still talk about it in the pubs when they run low on other more timely topics.

[PSPS]

6. Pot busts were really scandalous in those days

Here's another one I remember hearing about:

Do you remember the original "Perry Mason" TV show that ran from 1957 to 1966?



One of the regular actors on the series was William Talman, who played the role of the District Attorney "Hamilton Burger."



Well, in 1960, the police raided a "wild" party at Richard Reibold's Hollywood home where the people were not only enjoying some pot, but they were also naked! One of the people arrested at this shindig was William Talman!

This was quite the scandal, and it led to CBS invoking the "morals clause" in Talman's contract and firing him from "Perry Mason." The charges were eventually dropped, but the trial was all over the newspapers and especially the tabloids. (Talman always maintained his innocence, and following the trial the judge in the case criticized the police for arresting him.) CBS was deluged with fan mail demanding his return, and they reinstated him later that year.

(An aside about Talman: He was a heavy smoker most of his life, and he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1967. You may remember seeing him in an anti-smoking television spot in 1968 and 1969. He was enraged that actors were afraid of losing opportunities to make lucrative cigarette commercials (a staple of TV ads in those days) by making anti-smoking messages, so he did something unheard of and very courageous at the time -- he volunteered to make a short film for the American Cancer Society, part of which became the TV spot. He was the first actor to do such a thing. When the film was made, Talman knew he was dying and in excruciating pain.

"Before I die I want to do what I can to leave a world free of cancer for my six children.")

[theophilus]

10. Thanks for posting this! My family and I watched Perry Mason growing up.

I think Mr. Talman deserves praise for his actions on smoking. It reminded me of what Richard Boone of Have Gun Will Travel did at about the same time period. I remember seeing his anti-smoking film in school. I don't remember Mr. Talman's film, but I might have seen it, too.

Smoking has casued the deaths of countless millions. This nation will "spare no expense" to wipe out "terrorists" who claim far fewer lives. It just doesn't make sense to me. Our priorities are frakked.

[MnFats]

7. the pot bust nearly ended his career...he was too good

...to keep down.

Watch "The Friends of Eddie Coyle"
one of his last...a damn good bad guy vs. worse bad guy movie. Damn good.

[NYCGirl]

9. Yes!

What a fantastic film — and a magnificent performance! Roger Ebert personally campaigned tirelessly to get Mitchum nominated for an Oscar for that film, but the Academy turned a blind eye.

[NYCGirl]

8. According to Lee Server's wonderful Mitchum bio, Mitchum and Lila Leeds

had been having an affair for some time. Mitch had smoked dope since he was a teenager hitchhiking and riding trains across the country.

[peekaloo]

11. A reefer resort well-screened by shrubbery.

I'm all a-tingle!

:smoke: