Jane Russell

**Jane Russell** (born **Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell** on June 21, 1921 - died February 28, 2011) was an American actress and sex symbol.

Busty star of Hollywood films, TV, and nightclubs, Russell's cleavage provided the most crucial issue in the controversy surrounding the public showing of Howard Hughes's film *The Outlaw* in the 1940s. Hughes was rumored to have been obsessed with her breasts, and spent countless hours designing her a special bra to be worn in *The Outlaw*. According to Jane, in a TV talk show interview, she never actually wore the bra, which was designed by Hughes, because it was uncomfortable. She threw that one under the bed and wore one of her own, pushed up and never told Mister Hughes.

## Life & career

Born in Bemidji, Minnesota, Jane's father, Roy William Russell (January 5, 1890 - July 18, 1937) was an US Army lieutenant and her mother, the former Geraldine Jacobi (January 2, 1891-December 26, 1986) had been a student of drama and an actress with a traveling troupe. Once Mr. Russell was mustered out of the service, the family took up residence in Canada, but moved to California when he found employment there. Jane is the oldest of five children, and the only girl; Her four younger brothers are Thomas Ferris Russell (born April 16, 1924), Kenneth Steven Russell (born September 2, 1925), James Hyatt Russell (born February 9, 1927) and Wallace Jay Russell (born January 31, 1929).

The family was well-to-do and although Jane was the only girl among four brothers, her mother saw to it that she took piano lessons. In addition to music, Jane was interested in drama much as her mother had been and participated in high school stage productions. Upon graduation, Jane took a job as a receptionist for a doctor who specialized in foot disorders. Although she had originally planned on being a designer, her father died and she had to go to work to help the family. Jane modeled on the side and was very much sought-after especially because of her figure.

### *The Outlaw* (1943) controversy

She managed to save enough money to go to drama school, with the urging of her mother. She was ultimately signed by Howard Hughes for his production of *The Outlaw* (1943) in 1941, the film that was to make Jane famous. The film wasn't a classic by any means, but was geared to show off Jane's ample physical assets. Although the film was made in 1941, it wasn't released until two years later, and then only on a limited basis, this due to the way the film portrayed Jane's assets. It was hard for the flick to pass the censorship board. Finally, the film gained general release in 1946. The film was a smash at the box-office.

### *Young Widow* (1946)

Jane didn't make another film until 1946 when she played Joan Kenwood in *Young Widow* (1946). She had signed a seven year contract with Hughes and it seemed the only films he would put her in were those that displayed Jane in a very flattering light due to her body. Films such *His Kind of Woman* (1951) and *The Las Vegas Story* (1952) did nothing to showcase her true acting abilities.

### 1950's film success

Perhaps the pinnacle of her career was in the release of 1953's *Wikipedia:Gentleman Prefer Blondes|Gentlemen Prefer Blondes]]* in her role as Dorothy Shaw, with co-star Marilyn Monroe. This film showed Jane's comedic side very well. Jane did continue to make films throughout the 1950s, but the films were at times not up to par, particularly with Jane's talents being wasted in forgettable movies in order to show off her sexy side. Films such as *Gentlemen Marry Brunettes* (1955) and *The Revolt of Mamie Stover* (1956) did do Jane justice and were able to show exactly the fine actress she was.

After *The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown* (1957) (a flop) in 1957, Jane took a hiatus from films, to dabble a bit in television, returning in 1964 to film *Fate Is the Hunter* (1964). Unfortunately, the meaty roles were not there anymore as Jane appeared in only four pictures during the entire decade of the 1960's. Her last film of the decade was 1967's *The Born Losers* (1967). ===Television work===
Russell moved into television in the late 1950's, appearing in episodes of *Colgate Theatre*, *Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse*, *Death Valley Days*, and *The Red Skelton Hour*. In 1999, she remarked, "Why did I quit movies? Because I was getting too old! You couldn't go on acting in those years if you were an actress over 30."

Russell was referenced in a 1956 episode of the *Honeymooners*. Ralph Kramden (played by Jackie Gleason) arrives home "dead" tired, vowing to go straight to bed after dinner, quipping, "You couldn’t get me out of this house tonight if you told me that Jane Russell was runnin’ a party upstairs and she couldn’t get started until I arrived!" Later, Kramden becomes aware that his best friend and neighbor, Ed Norton, is in fact throwing a party upstairs and did not invite him. After being reminded by his wife, Alice, of his reluctance to attend even a party that Jane Russell was throwing, an insulted Kramden rants, "I was talking about Jane Russell: I said nothing about any party that Norton's running!"

### Later career

After three more years away from the big screen, she returned to make one final film appearance, in *Darker Than Amber* (1970) in 1970. Her last play before the public was in the 1970s when Jane was a spokesperson for *Playtex* bra commercials. Perhaps, had Jane's talents not been wasted during the Howard Hughes years, she could have been a bigger actress than what she was allowed to show.

## Family/Personal

Jane married Bob Waterfield, former star quarterback for the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, an American professional football team in 1943; he was the team's head coach when the couple divorced in 1968; the couple would adopt three children; a baby girl, Tracy. In December 1952 they adopted a fifteen-month-old boy, Thomas, and in 1956 she and Waterfield adopted a nine-month-old boy, Robert John.

Russell was unable to have children and, in 1955, she founded World Adoption International Fund (WAIF), an organization to place children with adoptive families that pioneered adoptions from foreign countries by Americans.

Two months after her divorce from Waterfield, Russell married actor Roger Barrett; the marriage ended when he died of a sudden heart attack only two months later in November, 1968. She married real-estate broker John Calvin Peoples on January 31, 1974, living with him until his death from heart failure on April 9, 1999. In the late 1970s Russell and Peoples moved to Sedona, Arizona, where they owned Dude's nightclub, and Russell revived her nightclub act. They spent the majority of their married life residing in Montecito, California.

### Public image vs. Private life

Though her screen image was that of a sex goddess, her private life lacked the sensation, controversy and scandal that followed other actresses of the time, contemporaries such as Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Lana Turner. At the height of her career, Russell started the "Hollywood Christian Group," a weekly Bible study at her home for Christians in the movie business that was attended by some of the biggest names.

Russell was a prominent Republican who attended the Eisenhower inauguration, along with Lou Costello, Dick Powell, June Allyson, Anita Louise, Louella Parsons, and other conservatives. She was a recovering alcoholic who had gone into rehab at the age of 79, and rather sarcastically and jokingly described herself in a 2003 interview, saying, "These days, I am a teetotal, mean-spirited, right-wing, narrow-minded, conservative Christian bigot, but not a racist."

## Later years/Death

Russell resided in the Santa Maria Valley along the Central Coast of California. She died at her home in Santa Maria of a respiratory-related illness on February 28, 2011. Her funeral was held on March 12, 2011, at Pacific Christian Church, Santa Maria.

## In popular culture

On the CBS-TV sitcom *Maude*, the episode The Wallet, Walter Findlay, played by Bill Macy, carries a lipstick impression and autograph of Jane Russell on a cocktail napkin in his wallet as a good luck charm.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Anita Gates. "Jane Russell, Sultry Star of 1940s and '50s, Dies at 89", *New York Times*, February 28, 2011. Retrieved on April 28, 2011.
2. ↑ Jane Russell Yahoo! biography
3. ↑ The net-site Yahoo! quoted her as having made the remarks the day after her death.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Hollywood screen siren Jane Russell dies", independent.co.uk; accessed August 20, 2014.
5. ↑ Former Sedona resident and 1950's bombshell Jane Russell dies. Retrieved on 15 August 2019.
6. ↑ "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes star Jane Russell dies at 89", guardian.co.uk, March 1, 2011; accessed August 20, 2014.
7. ↑ "Hollywood star Jane Russell dies at 89", BBC News, March 1, 2011.
8. ↑ Rogers, John (February 28, 2011). Jane Russell Star of '40s and '50s films dies at 89. Legacy.Com (Associated Press). Retrieved on September 16, 2012.

## External links

* Jane Russell links at FreeOnes
* Jane Russell article at *Wikipedia*