Jocelyn Lee

JOCELYN LEE

Mary Alice Simpson used the stage name Jocelyn Leigh (later Lee). Jocelyn was from Chicago, she was probably born around 1903 but like most women that are entertainers/public performers at a point when the first few lines appear the calendar seems to turn backward. On the 1937 Normandie manifest, she said she was 26, which would indicate she was born in 1911.  That would have meant she was modeling at 9 or maybe 10, not likely!  She was 17.

The earliest reference I can find for Jocelyn (Mary Alice) is was in 1920, she was modeling in a clothing store in Chicago and living at home with her mother, Ritta, younger sister, Margaret, 15; James her kid brother, 12; and Walter Simpson, her father a commercial traveling wholesale grocery salesman.  Although their home was rented, they had a lodger living with them by the name of William Allen a 53-year-old Lumber salesman. 

There were references to Jocelyn started as a dancer in the George White’s Scandals.  The Scandals began in 1919, which was copied after Ziegfeld’s Follies.  George Gershwin premièred most of his early music in the Scandals starting in 1920.  The girls strutted down the “scandal walk” dressed in lavish costumes or lack there of.  Many performers at the beginning of their careers appeared in the “Scandals”, Three Stooges, W.C. Fields, Bert Lahr but the girls were what people came to see, like Ann Miller, Rudy Vallee, Louise Brooks, Eleanor Powell and Alice Faye. In the April 30, 1922 newspaper, Jocelyn Leigh (Lee) is listed as one of twenty girls in the revue. The Wikipedia listing for George White Scandals doesn’t include Jocelyn Lee (or Leigh) but the display advertising in the newspapers did.  By May 20, 1922, less than a month after the newspapers ads appeared with Jocelyn name indicating that she was with the “Scandals” Jocelyn is reported to be a member of the Ziegfeld’s “Midnight Frolics.”  The Frolics was a little racier than the classic Ziegfeld Follies, much more of a party atmosphere upstairs at the New Amsterdam in the roof top theater, it had a mechanized stage with a glass walkway so that the girls danced above the customers heads.  Again although Jocelyn is mentioned as a dancer for the Frolics, I was unable to find her on any of the hundreds of Ziegfeld websites, perhaps I didn’t look hard enough.

There was a full-page story published January 8, 1922 by the International Standard-Examiner service, done about a fur coat that Henry Lehrman put a down payment on for Jocelyn, he ended up paying with a bad check. The tone of the article makes Jocelyn into a ‘gold-digging follies girl’ with Henry a cheapskate want-a-be ‘sugar-daddy.’  Two months later, March 24 Cosmopolitan News Service, printed a story told by Jocelyn, which put a different spin on the fur and Henry not paying for it.  To quote Jocelyn, “The story that he had promised me the coat and then had reneged is not exactly correct.  Mr. Lehrman and I were always good friends and he was honorable in his relations with me."

The 41-year-old Henry Lehrmann married the 19-year-old showgirl, on April 26, 1922 in Santa Ana, California.  Henry had met Jocelyn in New York. The couple separated in November 15, 1923 after a year of turmoil.  In the divorce complaint Henry detailed the many times they had to move triggered by Jocelyn temper and the numerous police calls.  Even after he paid, her money to leave him alone and he left Los Angeles.  When he returned and was living separately, the quarrelling started up again; she would show up at all hours day or night, braking through doors and smashing windows to get at him.  He was living at 6600 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood when she broke into his apartment during a business meeting and threatened to involve him in some scandal that would ruin his career in pictures.  Jocelyn was forced to leave but came back about 2 am in the morning, and was attacking Henry, his landlady ordered Jocelyn off the premises.  In November 1924, Judge Guerin signed a restraining order against Jocelyn’s action, as she had hampered Henry’s film work. She was ordered to leave him alone.     Finally, Henry received his divorce for Jocelyn (under her real named Mary Alice); they had married April 26, 1922, separated November 15, 1923 and were divorced December 16, 1924.

Jocelyn Lee, was known as the most beautiful girl in the Follies, when she was a featured dancer in the Ziegfeld Follies but like a number of other Follies girls she tried her turn in front of the camera and in 1925 had been working with Marshall Neilan’s in a production called, ‘Everybody’s Acting’ for Paramount.  The cast included Betty Bronson, and featuring Louise Dresser, Ford Sterling, Raymond Hitchcock and Henry Walthall among others. 

The 1925 newspaper were given a number of promotional stories regarding Jocelyn, in Russell J. Birdwell’s column “Hollywood" dated August 30, 1925 he printed an amusing story of about Jocelyn abandoning her vocation to become a nun and the solitude of a convent for the movies (this discounts her modeling in Chicago and her time with the Scandals and the Frolics, and yes, her first marriage but back to the Russell story, it seems the Jocelyn, who was known for having a perfect figured, was on the ‘Boulevard’ in her roadster, and the August breeze blow her cape to reveal a one-piece bathing suite.  A one-piece suite would have been the equivalent to riding around in a bikini today.

Jocelyn had a dog, not just any old dog but the Ziegfeld Follies style dog, a Russian wolfhound, named “Lady Del Mack,” which she had taken to the Grace Darmond beauty shop for cats and dogs at 1771 North Highland Avenue, Hollywood in 1925.  It must have been the movie star thing to do.  Can you imagine the lovely pampered girls with their equally lovely and pampered pets pulling up in limousines?  Grace Darmond shampooed cats and dogs, hot-oiled whiskers, manicured nails, oh, all the touches their owners themselves made appointments for just down the street at human beauty shops to have done, not that I think that Jocelyn had whiskers, but she did have some very cat like characteristics.

September 16, 1924 when Henry Lehrman (Lehrmann) and Jocelyn Lee obtained a divorce, it didn’t seem to stop Jocelyn from continuing to harass him.  Henry Lehrman had been engaged to Virginia Rappe, who had died after a party hosted at a San Francisco hotel by Roscoe Arbuckle in 1921, the press had written some pretty nasty stories, which Henry had given them about Roscoe and illegal liquor.

Henry, himself was arrested for transportation of liquor, he had 6 bottles of beer in his car and he pleaded not guilty and asked for a jury trial.  Six beers is after all a six-pack and a car is transport.  It seems that Lehrman was at Hollywood and Cahuenga early on a Tuesday morning when a police officer named Donlan saw a man chasing a screaming woman down the street on foot. The date was January 21, 1926, two years after their divorce. Henry gave his occupation on the police blotter as “retired.”   Jocelyn had been chasing him down the street in her car, Henry swerved his car to the curb and Jocelyn scraped his car. The policeman accompanied Jocelyn and Henry to the station, where she gave name as Helen Bryant but later admitted she was the ex-Mrs. Lehrmann. Giving her named as Alice Lehrmann.  Henry got out on a $400 bail for his 6-pack.  Why Jocelyn was chasing Henry down Hollywood Boulevard in the wee hours of the morning, is hard to know and why she hit her ex-husband car is also a mystery but there is little mystery why Henry was chasing Jocelyn, she hit his parked car.

In 1926, the LA Times ran a story that Jocelyn Lee and Gilbert Rowland were linked in an engagement rumor.  Questioned concerning the marriage rumors, Jocelyn said, “I haven’t made up my mind yet, but I’ll know in a week.  Gilbert could not be reached for a statement.  Jocelyn was under contract with Paramount in 1926.  Jocelyn Lee gave birth to a daughter on October 12, 1926.  On October 28, 1926, Jocelyn was escorted by Gilbert to a Hollywood premiere of a new FBO film produced by Joseph Kennedy (yes, THAT Joe Kennedy!) who was also among the attendees.  With in a short time after the premiere, Jocelyn was awarded her biggest screen role to date by Paramount, she was given a part originally intended for the European import, Lya de Putti.

As part of the promotion, Jocelyn had her photos in newspapers showing her carrying her perfume in her earrings and posed in evening gowns. She was cast as a vamp in E. H. Griffiths’ ‘Afraid to Love’ opposite Clive Brook in 1927 this film starred Florence Vidor. And than there was another story, which Jocelyn swore was true.  It seems she had a watch that only ran if she sprayed it with its favorite perfume, when she changed her brand, it stopped running until she went back to the old scent, the one her watch liked and it started running again, well, that was the story that Russell J. Birdwell printed in his Hollywood Style Note. 

Jocelyn stared her career in the chorus of George White’s “Scandals.”  She became one of s small group of red haired beauties, Clara Bow was the ‘queen of the movie redheads,’ Ethel Shannon came from Denver and signed a five-year contract with her flaming red-hair.  Over at Universal Barbara Kent and her auburn-haired were favorites. Another redhead was Majel Coleman at deMille’s lot playing in ‘The King of Kings.’ And then there was Jocelyn Lee, she never became a star but it wasn’t because anyone wrote that she was not talented or that she was unattractive.   Her career is rather impressive, but for the most part, she was the second lead and excelled as the vamp.

Jocelyn had been married to Henry Lehmann the Keystone director known as Pathe Lehman.  There is a story told that Pathe had left Keystone because he was in love with Mabel Normand, I think this is unlikely that that was the reason he left Sennett.

Jocelyn’s first husband, Lehrmann had sued her for divorced.  He frequently had to call the police to keep Jocelyn from wrecking their home; he was granted a divorce. This married was just at the beginning of her film career. Henry Pathe said that Jocelyn would have a wild tantrum when something annoyed her.  He offered his wife $8,500 if she would live by herself and leave him alone.  According to Jocelyn’s first husband, they were ordered out of so many places, he divorced her because he was just tired of fighting.  Jocelyn departed but she kept coming back.  During a visit, he testified that she hurled not only harsh names but also glasses, silverware, including knives.  He had been granted a restraining order. Luther Reed, Jocelyn’s choice for second husband couldn’t believe the stories Henry related in court.

Although there was a newspaper article stating that Jocelyn Lee was a Wampas baby star, she is not named in the wikipedia lists of WAMPAS baby stars.  She was a person that seems to have little regard for the rules that civilized people lived by and lied when she thought it would enhance her standing or just because she could.  A stop sign didn’t mean stop to Jocelyn nor did a court order mean much.  She didn’t come to a full stop at Robertson and Santa Monica Blvds. and she failed to appear in court.  The judge issued a warrant for her arrest but held it up for a week to give her an opportunity to appear in court but if she didn’t, he would issue a warrant for her arrest, the address on the ticket that she signed as 253 La Pere Drive, Beverly Hills.

Jocelyn made it to court, and explained, “I almost made a complete stop, judge, but I guess I’m guilty.”  The court told her that a boulevard stop sign means stop, and not almost stop, the judge concluded with “The usual fine is $3, but since you almost stopped I’ll make it almost that amount.  Pay the clerk $2.”  Jocelyn did.  She almost went to jail for $2.

Luther Reed, the motion picture director and Jocelyn Lee announced their intention to marry, May 23, 1930.   Luther was in New York on May 28, to visit his father, who had been hit be a taxicab, Jocelyn didn’t go with him.  He told the Los Angeles Times in an exclusive interview that, “I’ll probably not marry until after my next picture.”  They were married July 15, 1930 by Dr. James H. Lash at the Hollywood Congregational Church before a small group of film celebrities and friends before he finished his film. 

This May 23, 1930 date presents a problem, the historic records, show their children were born prior, although the newspapers only reported the California marriage, there is enough evidence that they had formed a private family before the birth of a daughter, October 12, 1926.  A son was born October 28, 1928. 

One evening, less than two weeks after the Reeds moved into a fashionable and expensive apartment, Jocelyn woke the neighbors with the crash of china being thrown. Luther said that once in a San Francisco hotel, his wife got peevish and not only hurled glasses and dishes but scratched him painfully on the face and then there was the inkstand that hit him.

On the trip to Agua Caliente, Mexico, the temperamental Jocelyn unleashed a long list of uncomplimentary names and threw silver dollars into the face of her husband.  Luther was playing a card game in the casino with Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey when Jocelyn asked him for money.  He gave her half of his winnings, which she threw, in his face and the silver dollars fell all over the floor.  The other players picked up the money off the floor for her.  She had wanted more money.  Luther took her back to their bungalow where he said she virtually exploded; his forehead was gashed by a flying ashtray.  They were thrown out of the hotel, this was just too much for Luther and he moved to out of the couple’s apartment and filed suit for divorce.

Of course, Jocelyn denied many of the charges and her cross-complaint but didn’t deny all of them. She stated that Luther was “in his cups” in San Francisco and he hit her. She said the he provoked her at the Mexican casino by refusing to let her have sufficient money to gamble with.

Jocelyn was the mother of two children; it was unclear in the newspaper coverage if the children were issues of the liaison between Jocelyn and Luther.  She was divorce from Lehrmann in 1926.  She had a child in 1926. There is nothing in the papers at the time of the birth of Jocelyn’s daughter was Lehrmann baby. In his will, there was no mention of offspring.

She only married Luther Reed in 1930.  In many of the newspaper article, the children are referred to as Luther’s children and he was awarded visitation with the children as part of the divorce. It seems for the records that she and Luther Reed had an informal relationship, which was only formalized in 1930.    

This marriage didn’t last.  It was a remarkably short marriage even by Hollywood standards; it barely lasted 90 days.    Luther Reed charged that Jocelyn Lee assailed him with tableware during fits of rage in public and had given other evidence of unreasonable jealousy.  Luther also said that her actions caused their ejection by police from a hotel in Agua Caliente, Mexico.  Jocelyn answered with a cross petition that he was addicted to the use of intoxicants (alcohol) and frequently beat her.  She asked for all their community property, valued at $100,000, attorney’s fees of $5000 and court costs of $750, (a nice income for 3 months of marriage.)  However, if indeed they had been together since 1926, perhaps this would have been justified, if not it was just outlandish!

Their separation and divorce made headlines across the nation and the stories were even carried by international wire services. Jocelyn got $100 a week alimony and custody of the two children.  The hearing lasted a week with testimony of from Bert Wheeler and Ivan St. Johns.  Superior Judge Joseph P. Sproul decided the Luther was not guilty of infidelity and that Jocelyn was ‘hot headed and given to acting without proper deliberation.’   She had testified she found Luther at St. Johns’ home with a woman but the detective she had employed denied that there was any woman at the St. John house. So the judge decided that Jocelyn had lied.

At one point, Jocelyn Lee, 26, was arrested at the home of Ivan St. Johns. Police charged her with fighting with Luther Reed at a party in the St. Johns home at 1494 N. Kings Road.  Ivan testified that “It was a warm night, and we had invited a few girls over for a social evening and played the radio, danced, and had a few drinks. The windows were open. I heard screams and curses in a feminine voice. Thinking that had been an accident, in the south bedroom were Mrs. Reed and Mr. Reed, screaming, and having a tug of war with a fur collar."

      In court, Jocelyn testified that "I went up the steps of the house until came to a window where I could see in. I heard my husband's voice, and that of a woman, so I stayed there, and listened. Finally, I couldn't stand it any longer, and I busted in through the French windows. As I entered, the light went on, and there was a woman sitting on the edge of the bed. At the foot of the bed was Mr. Reed. Both were staring at me. The girl grabbed something black from the chair, and ran out of the room. Mr. Reed began swearing, and told me that I had a lot nerve to come busting in on him like that and he hit me. I hit him back with a cane I was carrying. Then I tried to grab the girl's clothes for evidence, but Mr. Reed snatched them away from me." Charges were later dropped.

The divorce between Luther Reed and Jocelyn had been granted but within a month, Jocelyn hadn’t finished with Luther.  Luther appears to have been staying with his friend, Ivan.  Luther had picked up the 2 children for a weekly outing as provided by the divorce decree but Jocelyn wanted to go along too.  Luther refused to take her with them.  Jocelyn showed up at Ivan’s home.

On May 24, 1931, Lee, the newspapers called her "The Red-headed Fury," showed up on the front porch of St. Johns' home with her two children, 2 and 4 years of age and insisted upon seeing her former husband who was living there with St. Johns.  Luther requested to be allowed to accompany the children to dinner alone. Ivan tried getting Jocelyn to leave his porch. Ivan told the police, “She demanded entrance, when I refused; she called me profane names and screamed loud curses at me and at the others. I begged her to leave and to take her two children, who were sitting in a porch swing a few feet away. There were a number of people at the house on May 24, 1931.  She dared Ivan to call the police.  She wanted Luther to feed her two small children.  She said that she only had 15 cents and want money.

Jocelyn took off her French slipper and smashed 18 windowpanes and several walls (well badly dented them). This girl had something against glass!

When Ivan asked her to stop, she laughed and. moved over to another door and smashed glass in that, too. He telephoned the Police and held her until the officers arrived. Ivan reported that she finally left after the officers talked to her for fifteen or twenty minutes. But before she left, she screamed vulgarities at everybody. "I had only 15 cents and I just wanted to get a couple of dollars from him.

Luther Reed was living at the Hollywood Argyle Apts. 2017 North Argyle, Hollywood as of April 15, 1930.  A man of 41, divorced, born in Wisconsin, as was his mother and father. The 1930 census indicated that he was a motion picture director.  Others in the building were attorneys, actors, authors, dancers, stock salesmen and of course a druggist.

Jocelyn pleaded not guilty to a charge of disturbing the peace as a result of her visit to Ivan St. John’s home.  Jocelyn didn’t show up in court on the date of her hearing, she explained her three months’ delay in surrendering by stating she was confined in a hospital.  Her bond was set at $100; the trial was set for September 18, but it was again postponed because her she told the court her attorney was out of town.

In the end showing what a nice man, Ivan St. Johns was, he declared that he did not wish to prosecute the case against Jocelyn and was “willing to forget it.”

Louella Parsons often added a line or two about Jocelyn in her column; like “Jocelyn Lee was suffering with makeup poisoning”.

By 1932, Jocelyn was in very poor financial shape.  She had a maid, she couldn’t afford and paid her with a check without sufficient funds, the wages claimed were $8.75. She stood again before a judge, this time she pleaded guilty of failing to pay her maid.   Jocelyn was sentenced to pay a $100 or 30 days in jail but the judge suspended the sentence on condition that she pays the $8.75 to her former maid.  Jocelyn told the court, “But I haven’t even got $8.75, whereupon a spectator advanced and gave her the money.

September 20, 1932,  Jocelyn Lee was ordered to vacate a house she was renting, by the bank that owned it, Jocelyn refused to move and was sued by the Citizen National Bank & Trust Co., and was fined $7.50 for every day of occupancy after September 20, she had just ignored the notice.

What is a girl to do if she keeps being arrested and doesn’t have any money?  She goes to Paris, of course.  In a gossip column, dated February 28, 1933, Jocelyn was reported to have just gotten back from Paris and was spotted out with George Raft at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, along with Sammy Finn.

“Her First Mate” was a comedy starring  Slim Summerville and Zasu Pitts and Jocelyn was working again in a supporting part. 

March 19, 1934, the romance between Jocelyn and James Seymour, a studio executive at Warner Brothers-First National Studios seems to have developed and Hollywood was speculating on a possible marriage.  Luther Reed was wishing Jim  “all kinds of good luck”

No, Jocelyn had not changed she had moved on from attacking husbands to attacking others.  The red-haired film actress was reported in an article dated October 2, 1934 to have become angry with her maid and had injured her.  Her former maid sued Jocelyn for $20,000 for damages.

Louella Parsons wrote in her column that James Seymour had placed a ring on Jocelyn finger and they would soon be married. Jocelyn wanted a  regular wedding with announcement and everything. The date was set for January 8, 1935 at Jocelyn home with only twenty-five friends in the garden.

There was a story carried by United Press dated February 22, 1935 indicating that Jocelyn was friends with Betty Compson.  The two women were invited out for a few cocktails by Dorothy Devorce’s husband, A. W. Mather and his friend, Don Jacobson.   Jocelyn went shopping for her trousseau and District Attorney Buron Fitts issued a warrant for Luther Reed for the nonsupport of his two children. 

On March 23, Jocelyn announced that she would retire from the screen and try her hand at “being just a housewife.”  She said she had reached the decision after a conference with her husband, James Seymour. 

James Seymour and she wife, the spit-fire Jocelyn Lee (aka Mary Alice Simpson, Jocelyn Leigh, former Mrs. Lehrmann/Mrs. Reed, made a  trip to England in 1937 returning to New York, June 28, 1937.  The couple listed their home as Beverly Hills, California.  So Jocelyn Lee became a private person.

According to the Social Security Death Index, Jocelyn died June 15, 1980 in New York, the date of birth is given as 1902, which indicated that this was just before Jocelyn turned 78, she was listed as Lyn Seymour.

 The New York Times Obituary 6 dated June 18, 1980 begins: "Beloved mother of Dana Seymour and Celeste Grulich; sister of Barbara Willison and Warren Simpson; very loving grandmother of Geoffrey and Melanie. . ."