“Publicity can be terrible. But only if you don’t have any.”
Jane Russell was born Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell in Minnesota in 1921, the only girl among four brothers. Jane’s mother arranged for her to take piano lessons and Jane showed an interest in drama from an early age, appearing in stage productions at Van Nuys High School although her early ambition was to be a designer of some kind. Jane modeled for photographers, and at her mother’s urging, studied drama and acting with Max Reinhardt’s Theatrical Workshop and with famed Russian actress Maria Ouspenskaya.
In 1940, Howard Hughes signed Jane to a seven-year contract and made her film debut in “The Outlaw” in 1943 which took two years to be released because of the way in which her ample cleavage was displayed and was only issued for general release in 1946. Jane Russell personified the sensuous sweater girl look along with Lana Turner and Rita Hayworth. Howard Hughes seemed to only be interested in casting Jane in movies which showed off her voluptuous figure and Jane didn’t appear in another film until 1946, three years after filming “The Outlaw” when she appeared in RKO’s “Young Widow”. Jane’s early films didn’t reflect her true acting abilities but helped her develop a career playing tough, often cynical “broads” with a wisecracking attitude.
Jane Russell attempted to launch a musical career in 1947, recording a single, “As Long As I Live” with the Kay Kyser Orchestra. Jane went on to star in a number of roles where she performed proficiently including “The Paleface” (1948) opposite Bob Hope and the sequel “Son of Paleface” (1952). Russell was at the height of her comedic talents with her appearance in the 20th Century Fox film, “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (1953) starring opposite Marilyn Monroe during the 1950’s, Jane Russell made a succession of films opposite well-known actors, including “His Kind of Woman” (1951) opposite Robert Mitchum and “Double Dynamite” (1951) opposite Frank Sinatra and Groucho Marx.
In 1955, Russell formed Russ-Field Productions with her first husband, former Los Angeles Rams quarterback, Bob Waterfield. Among other films, they produced “Gentlemen Marry Brunettes” (1955), “The King and Four Queens” (1956) starring Clark Gable and Eleanor Parker, and “The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown” (1957). Jane’s career declined after “The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown” failed at the box-office and it was another seven years before she would appear on the big screen again.
In October, 1957 Russell debuted in a successful solo nightclub act at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas which led to further engagements in the U.S. , Canada, Mexico, South American and Europe. IJane made her theater debut in 1961, appearing in “Janus” on a tour of New England and a year later performed in “Bells Are Ringing” in Yonkers, New York. Jane returned to the big screen in “Fate is the Hunter”(1964) although only made four more films after that. In the 1970’s, Jane appeared on Broadway in the musical drama Company and also started appearing in television commercials as a spokeswoman for Playtex “cross your heart bras for us full-figured gals,” featuring the “18-hour bra.”
Jane Russell was married three times, to professional footballer, Bob Waterfield which ended in divorce, actor Roger Barrett and real-estate broker, John Calvin Peoples, both of whom she remained married to until their deaths. Unable to have children as a result of a botched abortion, Russell adopted several children and in 1955, went on to form the World Adoption International Fund (WAIF), an organization to place children with adoptive families that pioneered adoptions from foreign countries by Americans.
Although Jane Russell’s on-screen image was that of a sex goddess, offscreen her private life was relatively dull in comparison to the scandals of other actresses of the time, like Lana Turner, although in an 1985 autobiography, Jane admitted to her first marriage being fraught with adultery (on both sides) and violence and to becoming a born-again Christian as a recovering alcoholic.
Jane Russell lives in Santa Maria, California and she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2001, Russell was portrayed by Renee Henderson in the CBS mini-series “Blonde” which protrated her leaving her imprints at Grauman’s Chinese Theater alongside Marilyn Monroe.
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[...] Novak first appeared on screen in “The French Line”(1954) starring Jane Russell and Gilbert Roland although she received no screen credit for the role. This was seen by a Columbia [...]
Kim Novak - Vertigo | Classic Actresses added these pithy words on Oct 05 08 at 5:47 pm