Jean Harlow - Biography - IMDb Jean Harlow Biography Showing all 68 items Jump to: Overview (5) | Mini Bio (2) | Spouse (3) | Trade Mark (1) | Trivia (49) | Personal Quotes (3) | Salary (5) Overview (5) 7 June 1937 , Los Angeles, California, USA (uremic poisoning brought on by acute nephritis) Birth Name 5' 1½" (1.56 m) Mini Bio (2) Harlean Carpenter, who later became Jean Harlow, was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 3, 1911. She was the daughter of a successful dentist and his wife. In 1927, at the age of 16, she ran away from home to marry a young businessman named Charles McGrew, who was 23. The couple pulled up stakes and moved to Los Angeles, not long after they were married, and it was there Jean found work as an extra in films, landing a bit part in Moran of the Marines (1928). From that point on she would go to casting calls whenever she could.

In 1929 she had bit parts in no less than 11 movies, playing everything from a passing woman on the street to a winged ballerina. Her marriage to McGrew turned out to be a disaster--it lasted barely two years--and they divorced. The divorce enabled her to put more of her efforts into finding roles in the movie business. Although she was having trouble finding roles in feature movies, she had more luck in film shorts. She had a fairly prominent role in Hal Roach 's Double Whoopee (1929). Her big break came in 1930, when she landed a role in Howard Hughes ' World War I epic Hell's Angels (1930), which turned out to be a smash hit. Not long after the film's debut, Hughes sold her contract to MGM for $60,000, and it was there where her career shot to unprecedented heights. Her appearance in Platinum Blonde (1931) cemented her role as America's new sex symbol. The next year saw her paired with Clark Gable in John Ford 's Red Dust (1932), the second of six films she would make with Gable.

It was while filming this picture (which took 44 days to complete at a cost of $408,000) that she received word that her new husband, MGM producer Paul Bern , had committed suicide. His death threatened to halt production of the film, and MGM chief Louis B. Mayer had even contacted Tallulah Bankhead to replace Harlow if she were unable to continue, a step that proved to be unnecessary. The film was released late in 1932 and was an instant hit. She was becoming a superstar. In MGM's glittering all-star Dinner at Eight (1933) Jean was at her comedic best as the wife of a ruthless tycoon ( Wallace Beery ) trying to take over another man's ( Lionel Barrymore ) failing business. Later that year she played the part of Lola Burns in director Victor Fleming 's hit Bombshell (1933).

It was a Hollywood parody loosely based on Clara Bow 's and Harlow's real-life experiences, right down to the latter's greedy stepfather, nine-room Georgian-style home with mostly-white interiors, her numerous pet dogs - right down to having her re-shoot scenes from the Gable and Harlow hit, Red Dust (1932) here! In 1933 Jean married cinematographer Harold Rosson , a union that would only last eight months (although Rosson lived another 53 years, he never remarried). In 1935 she was again teamed with Gable in another rugged adventure, China Seas (1935) (her remaining two pictures with Gable would be Wife vs. Secretary (1936) and Saratoga (1937)). It was her films with Gable that created her lasting legacy in the film world. Unfortunately, during the filming of Saratoga (1937), she was hospitalized with uremic poisoning. On June 7, 1937, she died from the ailment. She was only 26. The film had to be finished by long angle shots using a double.

Gable said he felt like he was in the arms of a ghost during the final touches of the film. Because of her death, the film was a hit. Record numbers of fans poured into America's movie theaters to see the film. Other sex symbols/blonde bombshells have followed, but it is Jean Harlow who all others are measured against. Often played the wisecracking platinum blonde Trivia (49) Was the godmother of Millicent Siegel, daughter of the notorious mobster Benjamin Bugsy Siegel . Dated the notorious mobster Abner "Longy" Zwillman, who secured a two-picture deal for Harlow with Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures by loaning Cohn $500,000 in cash. He also purchased her a jeweled charm bracelet and a red Cadillac. Refused the lead in King Kong (1933), as well as the lead in the Tod Browning classic Freaks (1932). Was photographed nude at age 17 by Hollywood photographer Edward Bower Hesser in Griffith Park in 1928.

In the Hollywood satire Bombshell (1933), Harlow is known as "the If girl" -- a spoof loosely based on 1920s sex symbol and "It girl" Clara Bow . Went on a salary strike from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1934, during which she wrote a novel, "Today is Tonight". The book was not published until 1965. Her final film, Saratoga (1937), became the highest grossing film of 1937 and set all-time house records, due almost entirely to her untimely death. Was the idol of Marilyn Monroe , who backed out of a biographical picture on her life. After reading the script, Monroe reportedly told her agent, "I hope they don't do that to me after I'm gone." Both Harlow and Monroe co-starred in their last films with Clark Gable , Harlow in Saratoga (1937) and Monroe in The Misfits (1961).

The premiere of her first feature film, Hell's Angels (1930), on May 27, 1930, drew an estimated crowd of 50,000 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. The film also has an expensive eight-minute two-color Technicolor sequence - the only color footage of Harlow that exists. Ranked #22 on the American Film Institute's "100 Years, 100 Legends" list. [June 1999] She was the very first motion picture actress to grace the cover of Life magazine. [May 1937] Born at 5:40pm-CST Her funeral was not the average funeral. Louis B. Mayer , head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, took charge and made it a Hollywood event. Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy sang his favorite song "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life" in the church chapel, followed by a huge banquet with an orchestra. She was at a dinner party and continuously addressed Margot Asquith (wife of British prime minister Herbert Asquith) as "Margot", pronouncing the "T".

Margot finally had enough and said to her, "No, Jean, the 'T' is silent, like in 'Harlow'.". Had two famous superstitions: She always wore a lucky ankle chain on her left leg, which is visible in some films if you look closely, and had a lucky mirror in her dressing room. She would not leave the room without first looking in it. Following her untimely death, she was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California in the Great Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Benediction. Favorite brand of cigarette: Fatima. Never wore any underwear and always slept in the nude. She had to stick to a strict diet to keep thin, eating mostly vegetables and salads. She used to put ice on her nipples right before shooting a scene in order to appear sexier. A new musical called "In Hell with Harlow" about an after-death meeting between her and Protestant World War II martyr Dietrich Boenhoffer never reached the stage. The production, written by bestselling author Paul L. Williams, was to star Dawn Winarski and Greg Korin .

Her birth name was Harlean Carpenter - the first name an amalgam of her mother's maiden name, Jean Harlow, which she later took as her stage name. At the height of her career, it came out that this wasn't her real name, and the insatiable public wanted to know what her real name was. The studio released her "real" name as Harlean Carpentier. Harlow had added the extra "i" herself before her career began to make it sound more exotic. She was voted the 49th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly. Following the end of her third marriage she met actor William Powell . They were engaged for two years (due to minor differences and Jean's belief that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer would not approve), but Jean became sick and died before they could marry. For many years, it was a widely-held belief that she died because her mother, a Christian Scientist, refused to let doctors operate on her after she became sick. Christian Scientists prefer prayer to drugs and surgery. This story was even reprinted in David Shipman's famous book, "The Great Movie Stars", but it has been repeatedly shown to be completely untrue.

On the day Hollywood canine superstar Rin Tin Tin died at age 16, Harlow, who lived across the street from his master, Lee Duncan , went over to cradle the dog's head in her lap as the famous canine died. Is portrayed by Gwen Stefani in The Aviator (2004), by Carroll Baker in Harlow (1965), by Susan Buckner in The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977), by Lindsay Bloom in Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell (1977) and by Carol Lynley in Harlow (1965) Is one of the many movie stars mentioned in Madonna 's 1990 song "Vogue". She spent the night of April 6, 1933 - the day when Prohibition was set to expire at midnight - at the Los Angeles Brewing Co. with fellow movie star Walter Huston . A maker of "near-beer" and denatured alcohol (the alcohol was subtracted from the full-strength beer the company continued to brew during Prohibition, but could not legally market), the company was ready to immediately supply the Los Angeles area's demand for beer.

Skipping the denaturing process, they had made a huge consignment of the genuine stuff to be marketed as Eastside Beer in bottles and kegs. The brewery's trucks were loaded and ready to roll out of the brewery the minute when suds could be legally shipped and sold. Two treasury agents and many guards were there that night to ensure things went smoothly, safely and legally. At 12:01 AM on April 7, 1933, when the sale and consumption of intoxicating beverages was once again legal in the United States, Huston gave a short speech and Harlow broke a bottle of beer over the first truck lined up and ready to deliver its now-legal load of liquid refreshment, thus christening the reborn brewery. The trucks rolled out, many staffed with armed guards riding shotgun lest the thirsty multitude get too frisky along the delivery routes. When the night was over, the brewery had done over $250,000 in business (approximately $3,387,000 in 2005 dollars) and had collected a stack of cash 18 inches high. Harlow has stayed the night, partying with brewery employees.

Once lived in Chateau Marmont, the famous Los Angeles, Calfornia hotel. One of the last photos taken of Jean showed her carrying a copy of Gone with the Wind. She was determined to read it, but as her illness progressed, couldn't get past more than the first few pages. When she was admitted to hospital, she reminded one of her nurses to pack it. The nurse, realizing how serious Harlow's illness was, remarked "She'll never finish it." Her words came true when Harlow died later that week. Everyone on the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lot called her "The Baby" with the exception of Clark Gable . A very close friend, he always called her "Sis". Attended the 1936 Oscars with her then-lover William Powell , her close friend and co-star Clark Gable , and his new lover Carole Lombard , who was Powell's ex-wife. Harlow was so sick during the evening, Lombard had to help her to the powder room to recover and reapply her make-up.

Of her final performance in Saratoga (1937), critic Graham Greene wrote "Her technique was the gangster's technique - she toted a breast like a man totes a gun.". When she died in 1937, her estate was valued at over $1 million and left entirely to her mother. Harlow is interred at Glendale's Forest Lawn Cemetery in a private crypt purchased by William Powell for $25,000. The crypt and sanctuary room contained marble from France, Italy and Spain, and was a tribute to the woman he then loved and planned to marry. When entombed at Glendale's Forest Lawn Cemetery in 1937, she was dressed in the same gown she wore in Libeled Lady (1936). Along with Hedy Lamarr , they were the primary inspirations for Batman creator Bob Kane's Catwoman character. She was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6910 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.

When Jean Harlow died with about one week's worth of shooting left to go on Saratoga (1937), her stand-in, Mary Dees, replaced her in the remaining footage. At the time of her death, Jean Harlow was suffering from kidney failure that was causing her limbs to swell up with water, making her considerably heavier. Co-star Clark Gable noticed this when they filmed a scene for her last film, Saratoga (1937), that required him to lift her into the upper berth in a Pullman car. Gable complained that she weighed more and was therefore harder for him to lift than she had been in their previous films together. She was a devoted Democrat and in the year of her death she visited Franklin D. Roosevelt on his birthday at a dinner party being thrown at the White House. A small clip of the event, with her at the microphone, can be found on YouTube with her only words being, "Good evening.". On the situation comedy Night Court (1984), a black and white portrait of her on a bearskin rug in front of a roaring fire was seen displayed in the office of Judge Harry T.

Stone (played by Harry Anderson ) which was see through the entire series run. She was honored as Turner Classic Movie's Star of the Month for March 2011. Was considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939), which went to Vivien Leigh . Originially, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer planned to have Harlow star as the female lead in the "Maisie" film franchise but was replaced by Ann Sothern two years following her sudden death. Early in her career, Lee Remick was scheduled to portray Harlow in film. A few years later in 1965, two competing films entitled "Harlow" were released, one starring Carol Lynley and the other with Carroll Baker . Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer originally purchased the rights to the Horace McCoy novel "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" and studio executives planned to cast Harlow and Clark Gable in the lead roles. However, due to Harlow's sudden death, the film project was put on hold for many years. When it was finally made in the late 1960s, it eventually starred Jane Fonda and Michael Sarrazin .

Had appeared with Clark Gable in six films: The Secret Six (1931), Red Dust (1932), Hold Your Man (1933), China Seas (1935), Wife vs. Secretary (1936) and Saratoga (1937). Personal Quotes (3) [on Hell's Angels (1930)] When I was making a personal appearance, I'd always sneak in the back of the house to watch the zeppelin airplane attack. I never failed to get a tremendous thrill out of it. I probably saw that scene hundreds of times. I was not a born actress. No one knows it better than I. If I had any latent talent, I have had to work hard, listen carefully, do things over and over and then over again in order to bring it out. Men like me because I don't wear a brassiere. Women like me because I don't look like a girl who would steal a husband. At least not for long. Salary (5) Jean Harlow - IMDb IMDb Actress | Soundtrack Harlean Carpenter, who later became Jean Harlow, was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 3, 1911.

She was the daughter of a successful dentist and his wife. In 1927, at the age of 16, she ran away from home to marry a young businessman named Charles McGrew, who was 23. The couple pulled up stakes and moved to Los Angeles, not long after they ... See full bio » Born: Share this page: Related News a list of 25 people created 07 Jun 2012 a list of 39 people created 12 Mar 2014 a list of 22 people created 23 Mar 2014 a list of 34 people created 03 Mar 2015 a list of 38 people created 7 months ago Do you have a demo reel? Add it to your IMDbPage How much of Jean Harlow's work have you seen? User Polls 1993 Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell (TV Movie documentary) (performer: "Hear What My Heart Is Saying" (1935)) 1974 That's Entertainment!

(performer: "Reckless" (1935), "Did I Remember" (1936) - uncredited) 1936 Suzy ("Did I Remember (To Tell You I Adore You)?" (1936)) / (performer: "When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose" (1914) (uncredited), "The Wedding March" (1842) (uncredited), "Did I Remember (To Tell You I Adore You)?" (1936), "Under the Bamboo Tree" (1902) (uncredited)) 1936 Riffraff (performer: "You Are My Lucky Star" (1935) - uncredited) 1935 Reckless ("Reckless" (1935)) / (performer: "Reckless" (1935), "Trocadero" (1934) (uncredited), "Ev'rything's Been Done Before" (1935), "Hear What My Heart Is Saying" (1935)) Jean Harlow | Women

 Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Add Image Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s.

Known as the " blonde Bombshell " and the "Platinum Blonde" (owing to her platinum blonde hair), Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute . Harlow starred in several films, mainly designed to showcase her magnetic sex appeal and strong screen presence, before making the transition to more developed roles and achieving massive fame under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Harlow's enormous popularity and "laughing vamp " image were in distinct contrast to her personal life, which was marred by disappointment, tragedy, and ultimately her sudden death from renal failure at the age of 26. Early life Edit Harlow was born Harlean Harlow Carpenter in Kansas City, Missouri . The name is sometimes incorrectly spelled Carpentier, which came from later studio press releases in an attempt to sound more aristocratic, and the inaccuracy has been frequently repeated. Her father, Mont Clair Carpenter (1877–1974), was a dentist who came from a working-class background and attended dental college in Kansas City.

Her mother, Jean Poe Carpenter ( née Harlow), was the daughter of a wealthy real estate broker, Skip Harlow, and his wife Ella Harlow (née Williams). The marriage was arranged by Skip Harlow in 1908 and Jean, an intelligent and strong-willed woman, was resentful and became very unhappy in the marriage. The couple lived in Kansas City in a house owned by Skip Harlow. Harlean was nicknamed "The Baby", a name that would stick with her for the rest of her life. She did not learn that her name was actually "Harlean" and not "Baby" until the age of five, when she began to attend Miss Barstow's Finishing School for Girls in Kansas City. Harlean and Mother Jean, as she became known when Harlean became a film star, remained very close as the relationship eased Mother Jean's empty existence and unhappy marriage. "She was always all mine," she said of her daughter. Harlean's mother was extremely protective and coddling, instilling a sense that her daughter owed everything she had to her.

With her daughter at school, Mother Jean became increasingly frustrated and filed for divorce, which was finalized, uncontested, on September 29, 1922. She was granted sole custody of Harlean, who loved her father but would rarely see him for the rest of her life. Mother Jean moved with Harlean to Hollywood in 1923 with hopes of becoming an actress. Harlean attended the Hollywood School for Girls and met some of Hollywood's future figures, including Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. , Joel McCrea and Irene Mayer Selznick . Mother Jean's dream of stardom did not come true as she was too old, at age 34, to begin a film career in an era when major roles were usually assigned to teenage girls.Facing dwindling finances, the pair returned to Kansas City within two years after Skip Harlow issued the ultimatum that they return or he would disinherit her. Harlean dropped out of school in Hollywood in the spring of 1925. Several weeks later, Skip Harlow sent her to a summer camp called Camp Cha-Ton-Ka in Michigamme, Michigan , where Harlean became ill with scarlet fever .

Mother Jean traveled to Michigan to care for Harlean, rowing herself across the lake to the camp when she was told that she could not see her daughter. Late career and death [ edit ] Edit Harlow was a registered Democrat and visited Franklin D. Roosevelt on the occasion of his birthday during 1937. Harlow complained about ill health on May 20, 1937, when she was filming Saratoga . Her symptoms – fatigue, nausea, water weight and abdominal pain – did not seem very serious to her doctor, who believed she was suffering from gall bladder infection and flu . However, he was apparently unaware of Harlow’s ill health during the previous year: a severe sunburn , bad flu attack and septicemia after a wisdom tooth extraction. In addition, her friend and co-star Myrna Loy noticed Harlow’s grey complexion, fatigue and weight gain. On May 29, Harlow was shooting a scene in which the character she was playing had a fever. Harlow was clearly sicker than her character, and when she leaned against her co-star Clark Gable between scenes she said, "I feel terrible.

Get me back to my dressing room." Harlow requested that the assistant director phone William Powell, who left his own set to escort Harlow back home. On May 30, Powell checked on Harlow, and recalled her mother from a holiday trip when he found her condition had not improved and summoned her doctor to her home. Harlow's illnesses had delayed three previous films (Wife vs. Secretary, Suzy and Libeled Lady ), so there was no great concern initially. On June 2, it was announced that Harlow was suffering from the flu. Harlow felt better on June 3 and co-workers expected her back on the set by Monday, June 7. Press reports were contradictory, with headlines like "Jean Harlow seriously ill" and "Harlow past illness crisis."When Harlow said on June 6 that she could not see Powell properly, he again called a doctor. As she slipped into a deep slumber and experienced difficulty breathing, the doctor finally realized that she was suffering from something other than gall bladder infection or flu. That same evening, Harlow was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, where she slipped into a coma.

Harlow died in the hospital at the age of 26 on Monday June 7, 1937, at 11:37 a.m. In the doctor’s press releases, the cause of death was given as cerebral edema , a complication of renal or kidney failure . Hospital records mention uremia . For years, rumors circulated about Harlow’s death. Some claimed that her mother refused to call a doctor because she was a Christian Scientist , or that Harlow herself declined hospital treatment or surgery. There were also rumors that Harlow had died because of alcoholism, a botched abortion, over-dieting, sunstroke, poisoning due to platinum hair dye, or various venereal diseases. However, based on medical bulletins, hospital records and testimony of her relatives and friends, it was proven to be a case of kidney disease. From the onset of her illness, despite resting at home, Harlow was attended by a doctor, two nurses visited her house and various equipment was brought from a nearby hospital. However, Harlow’s mother barred some visitors, such as the MGM doctor, who later stated that it was because they were Christian Scientists.

It has been suggested that she still wanted to control her daughter, but there is no truth to the allegation that she refused medical care for Harlow. Harlow's kidney failure could not have been cured in the 1930s. The death rate from acute kidney failure has decreased to 25% only after the advent of antibiotics , dialysis , and kidney transplantation . Harlow’s grey complexion, recurring illnesses, and severe sunburn were signs of the disease as her kidneys had been slowly failing and toxins accumulated in her body, exposing her to other illnesses and causing symptoms including swelling, fatigue, and lack of appetite. Toxins also adversely impacted her brain and central nervous system. Speculation has suggested that Harlow suffered a post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis , following scarlet fever when she was young, which may have caused high blood pressure and ultimately kidney failure. News of Harlow’s death spread quickly. Spencer Tracy wrote in his diary, "Jean Harlow died today. Grand gal." One of the MGM writers later said: ”The day Baby died there wasn’t one sound in the commissary for three hours.” MGM closed down on the day of Harlow’s funeral on June 9.

She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale , California in the Great Mausoleum in a private room of multicolored marble which William Powell bought for $25,000. She was buried in the gown she wore in Libeled Lady, and in her hands she held a white gardenia and a note in which Powell had written: ”Goodnight, my dearest darling.” Spaces in the same room were reserved for Harlow’s mother and William Powell. Harlow’s mother was buried there in 1958, but Powell remarried in 1940 and after his death in 1984, he was cremated and his ashes were scattered over the Palm Springs Desert area. There is a simple inscription on Harlow’s grave, "Our Baby." MGM planned to replace Harlow in Saratoga with another actress, but because of public objections the film was finished by using three doubles (one for close-ups, one for long shots and one for dubbing Harlow’s lines) as well as writing her character out of some scenes. True to their star until the end, fans came out in droves to see Harlow's last movie.

The film was MGM's highest grossing picture of 1937 and proclaimed to be her best film. Ever since the film's release, viewers have tried to spot these stand-ins and signs of Harlow’s illness.

Harlean Harlow Carpenter (1911 - 1937) - Genealogy Harlean Harlow Carpenter Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, United States Death: in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States Immediate Family: Mar 3 1911 - Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, USA Death: June 7 1937 - Los Angeles, California, USA Parents: Mont Clair Carpenter, Jean I Carpenter (born Harlow) Partner: Mar 3 1911 - Kansas City Death: June 7 1937 - Los Angeles Parents: July 2 1932 - Los Angeles, California, United States Husband: Mar 3 1911 - Kansas Ciy, MO Death: June 7 1937 - Los Angeles, CA Parents: Mar 3 1911 - Kansas City, Missouri Death: June 7 1937 - Los Angeles, California Parents: Mar 3 1911 - Kansas City, Jackson Co, MO Death: June 7 1937 - Los Angeles, LosAngeles Co, CA Parents: Montclair Carpentier, Jean Carpent

ier (born Harlow) Husband: Mar 3 1911 - Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri, United States Death: June 7 1937 - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States Parents: Mont Clair Carpenter, Jean Poe Harlow Spouses: Paul Bern, Harold G.

Rosson, Charles Fremont McGrew III Sister: Mar 3 1911 - Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri, USA Death: June 7 1937 - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA Parents: Montclair Carpenter, Jean Harlow Carpenter Husband: Mar 3 1911 - Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri, USA Death: June 7 1937 - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA Husband: Mar 3 1911 - Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri Death: June 7 1937 - Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California Parents: Montclair C.

Carpenter #m108-4-5-7-1-1m1^, Jean Carpenter (born Harlow #m108-4-5-7-1-1m1^) Ex-husband: Mar 3 1911 - Kansas City, Missouri, USA Death: June 7 1937 - Los Angeles, California, USA Parents: Jean Harlow (March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" (due to her platinum blonde hair), Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute. Harlow starred in several films, mainly designed to showcase her magnetic sex appeal and strong screen presence, before making the transition to more developed roles and achieving massive fame under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).

Harlow's enormous popularity and "laughing vamp" image were in distinct contrast to her personal life, which was marred by disappointment, tragedy, and ultimately her sudden death from renal failure at age 26. Early life Harlow was born Harlean Harlow Carpenter in Kansas City, Missouri. The name is sometimes incorrectly spelled Carpentier, which came from later studio press releases in an attempt to sound more aristocratic, and the inaccuracy has been constantly repeated. Her father, Mont Clair Carpenter (1877–1974), was a dentist. He came from a working-class background and attended dental college in Kansas City. Her mother, Jean Poe Carpenter (née Harlow), was the daughter of a wealthy real estate broker, Skip Harlow, and his wife Ella Harlow (née Williams). The marriage was arranged by Skip Harlow in 1908. Jean Carpenter, an intelligent and strong-willed woman, resented it, and became very unhappy in the marriage. The couple lived in Kansas City in a house owned by Skip Harlow. Harlean was nicknamed "The Baby", a name that would stick with her for the rest of her life.

She did not learn that her name was actually Harlean and not "Baby" until the age of five, when she began to attend Miss Barstow's Finishing School for Girls in Kansas City. Harlean and Mother Jean, as she became known when Harlean became a film star, remained very close to each other; the relationship eased Mother Jean's empty existence and unhappy marriage. "She was always all mine," she said of her daughter. Harlean's mother was extremely protective and coddling, instilling a sense that her daughter owed everything she had to her. With her daughter at school, Mother Jean became increasingly frustrated and filed for divorce, which was finalized, uncontested, on September 29, 1922. She was granted sole custody of Harlean, who loved her father but would rarely see him for the rest of her life. Mother Jean moved with Harlean to Hollywood in 1923 with hopes of becoming an actress. Harlean attended the Hollywood School for Girls and met some of Hollywood's future figures, including Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Joel McCrea and Irene Mayer Selznick.

Mother Jean's dream of stardom did not come true; she was too old at age 34 to begin a film career in an era when major roles were usually assigned to teenage girls. Facing dwindling finances, the pair returned to Kansas City within two years after Skip Harlow issued an ultimatum: either they returned or he would disinherit her. Harlean dropped out of school in Hollywood in the spring of 1925. Several weeks later, Skip Harlow sent her to a summer camp called Camp Cha-Ton-Ka in Michigamme, Michigan, where Harlean became ill with scarlet fever. Mother Jean traveled to Michigan to care for Harlean, rowing herself across the lake to the camp when she was told that she could not get to her daughter. Marriage Harlean attended the Ferry Hall School (now Lake Forest Academy) in Lake Forest, Illinois. Mother Jean had ulterior motives for Harlean's attendance at the school, as it was close to Chicago where Mother Jean's beau, Marino Bello, was living.

Freshmen were paired with a "big sister" from the senior class, and Harlean's big sister introduced her to Charles "Chuck" McGrew, heir to a large fortune, in the fall of 1926. The two started dating. On January 18, 1927 Mother Jean married Bello, although Harlean was not present. Sixteen-year-old Harlean and twenty-year-old McGrew eloped on September 21, 1927. McGrew turned 21 two months after the marriage and received part of his large inheritance. The couple moved to Los Angeles in 1928, settling into a home in Beverly Hills, where Harlean thrived as a wealthy socialite. McGrew hoped to distance Harlean from her mother with the move. Neither McGrew nor Harlean worked, and both, especially McGrew, were thought to drink heavily. Career beginnings In Los Angeles, Harlean befriended Rosalie Roy, a young aspiring actress. Lacking a car, Roy asked Harlean to drive her to Fox Studios for an appointment. It was there that Harlean was noticed by Fox executives while sitting in the car waiting for her friend.

Harlean was approached by the executives, but stated that she was not interested. She was given dictated letters of introduction to Central Casting. Recounting this story a few days later, Rosalie Roy made a wager with Harlean that she did not have the nerve to go back and audition for roles. Unwilling to lose a wager and pressed by her enthusiastic mother, Harlean drove to Central Casting and signed in under her mother's maiden name, Jean Harlow. After several calls from Central Casting, who had called for "Miss Harlow", and a number of rejected job offers, Harlean was pressured by her mother, now relocated to Los Angeles, into accepting work. Harlow then appeared in her first film, Honor Bound, as an unbilled extra for $7 a day. This led to bit parts in silent films such as Moran of the Marines (1928), Chasing Husbands, Why Is a Plumber? (1927) and Unkissed Man. In December 1928, she signed a five-year contract with Hal Roach Studios for $100 per week.

She had more substantial roles in Laurel and Hardy's short Double Whoopee, and appeared in two other films alongside the double act. In March 1929, however, she parted with Roach, who tore up her contract after Harlow told him, "It's breaking up my marriage; what can I do?" In June 1929, Harlow separated from her husband and moved in with her mother and Bello. After her separation, Harlow worked as extra in several movies, and was cast as an extra in The Love Parade (1929), followed by small roles in This Thing Called Love and The Saturday Night Kid (1929), a Clara Bow movie. Her next extra work was in Weak But Willing (1929). During filming of Weak But Willing in 1929, she was spotted by James Hall, an actor filming a Howard Hughes film called Hell's Angels. Hughes, re-shooting the film from silent into sound, needed a new actress because the original actress, Greta Nissen, had a Norwegian accent that proved undesirable for a talkie. Harlow made a test and got the part.

Hughes signed Harlow to a five-year, $100 per week contract on October 24, 1929. Hell's Angels premiered in Hollywood on May 27, 1930 at Grauman's Chinese Theater. During the shooting, Harlow met MGM executive Paul Bern. The movie made Harlow an international star and a sensation with audiences, but critics were less than enthusiastic. Variety was a bit more charitable in remarking, "It doesn't matter what degree of talent she possesses ... nobody ever starved possessing what she's got." The New Yorker called Harlow "plain awful." She was again an uncredited extra, in the 1931 Chaplin film City Lights. With no projects planned for Harlow, Hughes sent her to New York, Seattle and Kansas City for Hell's Angels premieres. In 1931, loaned out by Hughes' Caddo Company to other studios, Harlow began to gain more attention when she appeared in The Secret Six with Wallace Beery and Clark Gable, Iron Man with Lew Ayres and Robert Armstrong, and The Public Enemy with James Cagney.

Though the films ranged from moderate to smash hits, Harlow's acting ability was damned by critics as awful and was mocked. Concerned, Hughes sent her on a brief publicity tour, which was not a success, as Harlow dreaded such personal appearances. Harlow was next cast in Platinum Blonde (1931) with Loretta Young. Hughes convinced the producers of Platinum Blonde to rename it from its original title of Gallagher in order to promote Harlow's image, for whom the tag had just been invented by Hughes's publicity director. Many of Harlow's female fans had begun dyeing their hair platinum to match hers. To capitalize on this craze, Hughes' team organized a series of "Platinum Blonde" clubs across the nation, with a prize of $10,000 to any beautician who could match Harlow's shade. However, Harlow herself denied her hair was dyed. Harlow next filmed Three Wise Girls (1932), after which Paul Bern arranged to borrow her for The Beast of the City (1932). When the shooting wrapped, Bello booked a ten-week personal appearance tour in the East Coast.

To the surprise of many, especially Harlow herself, she packed every theatre she appeared in, often appearing multiple nights in one venue. Despite critical disparagement and poor roles, Harlow's popularity and following was large and growing, and in February 1932 the tour was extended for additional six weeks. Apprised of this, Paul Bern, by now romantically involved with Harlow, spoke to Louis B. Mayer about buying out her contract from Hughes and signing her to MGM. Mayer would have none of it. MGM's leading ladies were presented in an elegant way, and Harlow's silver screen image was that of a floozy, which was abhorrent to Mayer. Bern then began urging close friend Irving Thalberg, production head of MGM, to sign Harlow, noting Harlow's pre-existing popularity and established image. After initial reluctance, Thalberg agreed, and on March 3, 1932, Harlow's twenty-first birthday, Bern called her with the news that MGM had bought Harlow's contract from Hughes for $30,000. Harlow officially joined the studio on April 20, 1932.

Her first task at MGM would be a screen test for Red-Headed Woman. According to Fay Wray, who played Ann Darrow in the classic King Kong (1933), Harlow was the original choice to play the screaming blonde heroine. Because MGM put Harlow under exclusive contract during the pre-production phase of the film, she became unavailable for Kong, and the part went to the brunette Wray, wearing a blonde wig. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Harlow became a superstar at MGM. She was given superior movie roles to show off not only her beauty but also what turned out to be a genuine comedic talent. In 1932, she had the starring role in Red-Headed Woman, for which she received $1,250 a week, and Red Dust, her second film with Clark Gable. These films showed her to be much more at ease in front of the camera and highlighted her skill as a comedienne. Harlow and Gable worked well together and co-starred in a total of six films. She was also paired multiple times with Spencer Tracy and William Powell.

As her star ascended, the power of Harlow's name was sometimes used to boost up-and-coming male co-stars, such as Robert Taylor and Franchot Tone. At this point, MGM began to distance Harlow's public persona from that of her screen characters, changing her childhood surname from common "Carpenter" to chic "Carpentier", claiming that writer Edgar Allan Poe was one of her ancestors, and publishing photographs of Harlow doing charity work. MGM tried to change her image from a brassy, exotic platinum blonde to the more mainstream, all-American type preferred by studio boss Mayer. Her early image proved difficult to change, and once Harlow was heard muttering, "My God, must I always wear a low-cut dress to be important?"[28] Though Harlow's screen image changed dramatically throughout her career, one constant was her apparent sense of humor. During the making of Red Dust, Harlow's second husband, MGM producer Paul Bern, was found shot dead at their home, creating a lasting scandal. Initially, the Hollywood community whispered that Harlow had killed Bern[citation needed], though Bern's death was officially ruled a suicide.

Harlow kept silent, survived the ordeal, and became more popular than ever. After Bern's death, Harlow began an indiscreet affair with boxer Max Baer. Although he was separated from his wife, Dorothy Dunbar, at the time of their affair, Dunbar threatened divorce proceedings, naming Harlow as a correspondent for "alienation of affection", a legal term for adultery. MGM defused the situation by arranging a marriage between Harlow and cinematographer Harold Rosson. Still feeling the aftershocks of Bern's mysterious death, the studio did not want another Harlow scandal on its hands. Rosson and Harlow were friends, and Rosson went along with the plan. They quietly divorced seven months later. After the box office hits Hold Your Man and Red Dust, MGM realized it had a goldmine in the Harlow-Gable teaming and paired them in two more films: China Seas with Wallace Beery and Rosalind Russell and Wife vs. Secretary with Myrna Loy and young James Stewart. Other co-stars included Spencer Tracy, Robert Taylor and William Powell. By the mid-1930s, Harlow was one of the biggest stars in America and, it was hoped, MGM's next Greta Garbo.

Still young, her star continued to rise while the popularity of other female stars at MGM, such as Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer, waned. Harlow's movies continued to make huge profits at the box office, even during the middle of the Depression. Some credit them with keeping MGM profitable at a time when other studios were falling into bankruptcy. Following the end of her third marriage in 1934, Harlow met William Powell, another MGM star, and quickly fell in love. Reportedly, the couple were engaged for two years, but differences kept them from formalizing their relationship (she wanted children; he did not). Harlow also said that Louis B. Mayer would never allow them to marry. Late career and death Harlow was a registered Democrat and in the year of her death she had the pleasure of visiting Franklin D. Roosevelt on his birthday. Harlow complained about ill health on May 20, 1937 when she was filming Saratoga. Her symptoms – fatigue, nausea, water weight and abdominal pain – did not seem very serious to her doctor, who believed she was suffering from gall bladder infection and flu.

However, he was apparently not aware of Harlow’s ill health during the previous year: a severe sunburn, bad flu attack and septicemia after a wisdom tooth extraction. In addition, her friend and co-star Myrna Loy had noticed Harlow’s grey complexion, fatigue and weight gain. On May 29, Harlow was shooting a scene in which the character she was playing had a fever. Harlow was clearly sicker than her character, and when she leaned against her co-star Clark Gable between scenes she said, "I feel terrible. Get me back to my dressing room." Harlow requested that the assistant director phone William Powell, who left his own set to escort Harlow back home. On May 30, Powell checked on Harlow, and when she did not feel any better, her mother was recalled from a holiday trip and Dr. Fishbaugh visited Harlow at her home. Harlow's illnesses had delayed three previous films (Wife vs. Secretary, Suzy and Libeled Lady), so at first there was no great concern. On June 2, it was announced that Harlow was suffering from the flu. Harlow even felt better on June 3.

Co-workers expected her back on the set by Monday, June 7. Press reports were contradictory, with headlines like "Jean Harlow seriously ill" and "Harlow past illness crisis". When Harlow said on June 6 that she could no longer see Powell properly, he called a doctor. As she slipped into a deep slumber and experienced difficulty breathing, the doctor finally realized that she was suffering from something other than gall bladder infection or flu. That same evening, Harlow was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, where she slipped into a coma. 26-year-old Jean Harlow died in the hospital on Monday June 7, 1937 at 11:37 am. In the doctor’s press releases, the reason of death was given as cerebral edema, which is a side effect of renal or kidney failure. Hospital records mention uremia. For years, rumors circulated about Harlow’s death. It was claimed that her mother had refused to call in a doctor because she was a Christian Scientist, or that Harlow herself had declined hospital treatment or surgery.

It was also rumored that Harlow had died because of alcoholism, a botched abortion, over-dieting, sunstroke, poisoning due to platinum hair dye, or various venereal diseases. However, based on medical bulletins, hospital records and testimony of her relatives and friends, it was proven to be a case of kidney disease. From the start, despite resting at home, Harlow was attended by a doctor, two nurses visited her house and various equipment was brought in from a nearby hospital. However, Harlow’s mother prevented some people from seeing her, such as the MGM doctor who later stated that it was because they were Christian Scientists. It has been suggested that she still wanted to control her daughter, but it is untrue that she refused Harlow medical care. Harlow's kidney failure could not have been cured in the 1930s. Death rate from acute kidney failure has decreased to 25% only after antibiotics, dialysis and kidney transplantation, and Harlow’s grey complexion, recurring illnesses and severe sunburn were signs of the disease. Her kidneys had been slowly failing and toxins started to build up in her body, exposing her to other illnesses and causing symptoms included swelling, fatigue and lack of appetite.

Toxins also adversely impacted her brain and central nervous system. It was suggested that Harlow had suffered a post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, following scarlet fever when she was young, which may have caused high blood pressure and ultimately kidney failure. News of Harlow’s death spread fast. Spencer Tracy wrote in his diary, "Jean Harlow died today. Grand gal." One of the MGM writers later said: ”The day Baby died there wasn’t one sound in the commissary for three hours.” MGM closed down on the day of Harlow’s funeral on June 9. She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California in the Great Mausoleum in a private room of multicolored marble which William Powell bought for $25,000. She was buried in the gown she wore in Libeled Lady, and in her hands she held a white gardenia and a note in which Powell had written: ”Goodnight, my dearest darling.” Drawers in the same room were reserved for Harlow’s mother and William Powell.

Harlow’s mother was buried there in 1958, but Powell remarried in 1940 and was buried elsewhere when he died in 1984. There is a simple inscription on Harlow’s grave, "Our Baby". MGM planned to replace Harlow in Saratoga with another actress, but because of public objections the film was finished by using three doubles (one for close-ups, one for long shots and one for dubbing Harlow’s lines) as well as writing her character off some scenes. True to their star right til the end, fans came out in droves to see Harlow's last movie, Saratoga. The film was MGM's highest grossing picture of 1937 and proclaimed to be her best film. Ever since, viewers watching the film have tried to spot these stand-ins and signs of Harlow’s illness. Novel Harlow wrote a novel, titled Today is Tonight. According to Arthur Landau in his introduction to the 1965 paperback edition, Harlow stated her intention to write the book around 1933–1934, but it was not published during her lifetime.

After her death, Landau writes, her mother sold the film rights to MGM, but no film was made. The publication rights to the novel were passed from Harlow's mother to a family friend. The book was finally published in 1965. Film portrayals In 1965, two films about Jean Harlow were released, both called Harlow. One starred Carroll Baker and the other, Carol Lynley. Both were poorly received and did not perform well at the box office. In 1978, Lindsay Bloom portrayed her in Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell. More recently, Gwen Stefani briefly appeared as Harlow in Martin Scorsese's 2004 Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator. Jean Harlow the Official Site bombshell biography pictures quotes facts community business Biography Before the days of Madonna and Marilyn Monroe, the "Original Blonde Bombshell" made her mark on Hollywood and the world, leaving behind a new image of the Hollywood sex goddess. Harlean Carpenter, later known as Jean Harlow, was born on March 3, 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Although she would sadly only live to age 26, Jean achieved a great deal of success during her lifetime. In an acting career that lasted 10 short years, Jean made 36 movies. Some of her other achievements included being voted No. 22 on the American Film Institute's list of the "Greatest American Screen Legends" (female), and becoming the first movie actress to appear on the cover of Life magazine. Jean displayed talent in both her sensual and comedic performances, but she initially captivated fans with her trendsetting platinum blonde hair. As she gained fame, peroxide sales in the United States skyrocketed. Botched attempts to look like Jean forced thousands of women to cut their hair. Hollywood producers of the past had consistently cast dark-haired women to play the parts of vixens, but Jean emerged as the first star to incorporate the platinum blonde look into her acting. Jean was born the daughter of a successful dentist and his wife. Jean's mother, known as Mother Jean, had dreams of becoming an actress, which led her to divorce her husband and move to Hollywood with her young daughter. Jean's mother never allowed her to see her father, however Jean would sneak visits with him throughout her life.

Mother Jean soon remarried a man named Marino Bello and the family moved to Chicago, where Jean attended high school. Poor health afflicted Jean throughout her childhood. At age five, she contracted meningitis and suffered from scarlet fever at age 15. Jean left home at age 16 to marry 23-year-old Charles McGrew. Shortly after the wedding the couple left Chicago and moved to Beverly Hills. Jean's true aspiration in life was to be a wife and mother, however she sought work as an extra in films to please Mother Jean. Although at first Jean was not interested in making films, she received her first role in Why is a Plumber? in 1927. She and McGrew divorced after two years, but her big career break was about to occur. In 1930, movie producer and entrepreneur Howard Hughes became interested in Jean and cast her in Hell's Angels. In Hell's Angels, she spoke the now famous line, "Would you be shocked if I changed into something more comfortable?" Jean's appearance in Hell's Angels solidified her role as America's new sex symbol. This victory was followed by another hit, Platinum Blonde, and several films with Clark Gable.

In total, she and Gable would star in six movies together including Red Dust, The Secret Six and Wife vs. Secretary. During the filming of Red Dust, Jean's second husband of only two months, producer Paul Bern, committed suicide. In 1933's Dinner at Eight, Jean was at her comedic best. Later that year she starred in Bombshell, a Hollywood parody based loosely on her real-life experiences with her controlling mother and greedy stepfather. Also in 1933, Jean married cinematographer Harold Rosson in a union that would only last eight months. To accompany her escalating career, in 1935 she legally changed her name to Jean Harlow, her mother's maiden name. Following the end of her marriage, Jean found the love of her life in actor William Powell. They were together for two years, however before they could wed, Jean's health declined. While filming Saratoga in 1937, Jean was hospitalized with uremic poisoning and kidney failure, a result of the scarlet fever she had suffered during childhood. In the days before dialysis and kidney transplants, nothing could be done and Jean died on June 7, 1937.

The film had to be finished using long angle shots and a double, Mary Dees. Clark Gable was reported to have said that he felt as if he was "in the arms of a ghost." After a large Hollywood funeral organized by Louis B. Mayer of MGM, Jean was buried in the mausoleum in Forest Lawn Glendale, in Los Angeles. Jean was labeled a "screen siren" for her sensational dialogue and revealing costumes, but audiences, directors and producers alike appreciated her flair for comedy and drama. Had she lived longer, it is likely that she would have stayed on a successful path in Hollywood for years to come. In an acting career that lasted only 10 years, Jean Harlow forever established herself as one of the most captivating actresses of all time.

Copyright © Jean Harlow 1000+ images about Jean Harlow (born 1911) on Pinterest | Missouri, Hollywood and George hurrell Pinterest • The world’s catalog of ideas Jean Harlow (born 1911) Born: Harlean Harlow Carpenter, March 3, 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA / Died: June 7, 1937 (age 26) in Los Angeles, California, USA 224 Pins2.36k Followers Jean Harlow Biography Sudden Endings Harlean Carpenter, later known as Jean Harlow, was born on March 3, 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri. She was the daughter of a successful dentist and his wife. Jean's mother, known as Mother Jean, had dreams of becoming an actress, which led her to divorce her husband and move to Hollywood with her young daughter. Jean's mother never allowed her to see her father; however, Jean would sneak visits to him throughout her life. Mother Jean soon remarried a man named Marino Bello and the family moved to Chicago, where Jean attended high school." Poor health afflicted Jean throughout her childhood.

At age five, she contracted meningitis and suffered from scarlet fever at age 15. Jean left home at age 16 to marry 23-year-old Charles McGrew. Shortly after the wedding the couple left Chicago and moved to Beverly Hills. Jean's true aspiration in life was to be a wife and mother, however she sought work as an extra in films to please Mother Jean. Although at first Jean was not interested in making films, she received her first role in Why is a Plumber? in 1927. She and McGrew divorced after two years, but her big career break was about to occur. In 1930, movie producer and entrepreneur Howard Hughes became interested in Jean and cast her in Hell's Angels. In Hell's Angels, she spoke the now famous line, "Would you be shocked if I changed into something more comfortable?" Jean's appearance in Hell's Angels solidified her role as America's new sex symbol. This victory was followed by another hit, Platinum Blonde, and several films with Clark Gable. In total, she and Gable would star in six movies together including Red Dust, The Secret Six and Wife vs. Secretary.

During the filming of Red Dust, Jean's second husband of only two months, producer Paul Bern, committed suicide. In 1933's Dinner at Eight, Jean was at her comedic best. Later that year she starred in Bombshell, a Hollywood parody based loosely on her real-life experiences with her controlling mother and greedy stepfather. Also in 1933, Jean married cinematographer Harold Rosson in a union that would only last eight months. To accompany her escalating career, in 1935 she legally changed her name to Jean Harlow, a combination of her mother's maiden name. Following the end of her marriage, Jean found the love of her life in actor William Powell. They were together for two years. Powell was reluctant to marry Jean, as he was recently divorced from another actress, Carole Lombard. In his own words, he did not want "to be married to a woman that the whole world wants to sleep with." Jean's health soon declined. While filming Saratoga in 1937, Jean was hospitalized with uremic poisoning and kidney failure, a result of the scarlet fever she had suffered during childhood.

In the days before dialysis and kidney transplants, nothing could be done and Jean died on June 7, 1937. The film had to be finished using long angle shots and a double, Mary Dees. Clark Gable was reported to have said that he felt as if he was "in the arms of a ghost." After a large Hollywood funeral organized by Louis B. Mayer of MGM, Jean was buried in the mausoleum in Forest Lawn Glendale, in Los Angeles. Jean was labeled a "screen siren" for her sensational dialogue and revealing costumes, but audiences, directors, and producers appreciated her flair for comedy and drama. Had she lived longer it is likely that she would have stayed on a successful path in Hollywood for years to come. In an acting career that lasted only 10 years, Jean Harlow forever established herself as one of the most captivating actresses of all time. Although she would sadly die young, Jean achieved a great deal of success during her lifetime. She made 36 movies, was voted #22 on the American Film Institute's list of the Greatest American Screen Legends (female), and became the first movie actress to appear on the cover of Life magazine.

Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell Remind Me Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell Jean Harlow was the sex symbol of the 1930s -- the original blonde goddess. But she was also "a woman at war with her screen persona," says Sharon Stone, the host and narrator of Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell (1993). The documentary explores Harlow's Hollywood legend (including the real story on her death) and paints a more complete - and at times contradictory - portrait of the woman behind the star. It all started for Harlow in Kansas City, Missouri where she was born Harlean Carpenter in 1911. Despite later film roles, which created a less-than-classy image, Jean Harlow was born into an upper middle-class family. Her mother, Jean Harlow Carpenter's, own dreams of stardom had been transferred into high hopes for her daughter. And these hopes found an outlet when a young Harlean eloped at just 16 with a businessman and moved to Los Angeles. As the story goes, she auditioned for her first film on a dare using her mother's name, Jean Harlow (which she kept), and was immediately given work as an extra.

Within two months, Harlow got featured bit parts in movies like Liberty (1929) with Laurel and Hardy. But it was the Howard Hughes produced 1930 film Hell's Angels that would make Harlow a star. The movie was originally slated as a silent feature, staring Norwegian actress Greta Nissen. But Hughes, following his business instincts, decided sound pictures were the wave of the future and decided to turn Hell's Angels into a talkie. But that would mean losing his leading lady, as Nissen's accented English failed to register clearly for American audiences. Hughes' search for an unknown replacement would prove to be a major break for Jean Harlow, who eventually won the role. For her part, in one of the most expensive productions to date, Harlow was paid a meager (by Hollywood standards) $100 a week. But the return on her career would be astronomic. In Hell's Angels, Harlow brought a relaxed, easygoing sensuality to the screen.

She had, as the documentary terms it, a "bold look and an even bolder immorality" that at the age of 19 would "redefine sex in cinema." A line from Hell's Angels even made its way into the vernacular. Audiences were delighted and scandalized when Harlow asked, "Would you be shocked if I put on something more comfortable?" Also of note in Hell's Angels was the 2-strip Technicolor party sequence - the only color footage of Jean Harlow. Hughes signed Harlow to a five year contract before making Hell's Angels - and upon the picture's success he loaned Harlow out to the studios for big bucks and sold her image widely for advertising. The final pay off came in 1932 when Hughes sold Harlow's contract to MGM for $30,000. The studio was originally hesitant to take on Harlow, due to her highly eroticized screen presence which was not at all typical for their leading actresses then. But producer Paul Bern wanted Harlow for The Beast of the City (1932). He also found a place in Harlow's personal life, becoming her second husband.

Unfortunately, Harlow's marriage to Bern became the stuff of Hollywood legend when it took a tragic turn - Bern committed suicide a few months after the wedding. Despite all kinds of speculation, supposed suicide notes and MGM cover ups, the suicide was rumored to have been precipitated by the appearance of Bern's mentally unstable, common law wife, according to Harlow: The Blond Bombshell. Despite the tragedy, Harlow's career flourished with hits like Red Dust (1932) and Dinner at Eight (1933). Harlow was at the top of her stardom when she died suddenly during the making of Saratoga (1937). She had starred in only 20 pictures and was just 26 years old when she died on June 7, 1937. For years, legend had it that Harlow died because her strict Christian Scientist mother refused her medical treatment. But according to the documentary, Harlow had long suffered from kidney disease - and received the best medical treatment available. It was not enough. A double was used to complete Saratoga. Producer: Paul Boorstin, Patrick Faulstich Director: Jom McQuade

Question: Which film star was born Harlean Carpenter in 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri?
Answer: Jean Harlow