from my perspective, she was first
the playtex cross-your-heart-18-hour-bra
spokeswoman of the 1970s, hawking
lift-&-separate technology for "full-figured gals."
later, for me, she became
the brunette counterpart to the iconic marilyn monroe
[a daunting duty, yes?]
in the 1950s movie musical "gentlemen prefer blondes."
she was jane russell －
actress, singer,
three-time wife, three-time mother,
howard hughes discovery,
wwii gi pinup girl,
international adoption advocate,
hollywood bible study group leader &
yes, a 38d.
it was 1940 & jane was 19yo
when notoriously eccentric kazillionaire
howard hughes cast her
in a western he was directing, "the outlaw."
but the movie's poster, featuring
the scandalously cleavage-revealing image above
of ms. russell, outraged censors so
that they postponed the film's release until 1950.
meanwhile, hughes' publicity machine
turned jane into a national sensation
& a military inspiration before she
was ever seen on the silver screen.
russell made only about two dozen films,
of which her favorite was the 1953 musical comedy
"gentlemen prefer blondes."
she & monroe were fast friends,
& the movie earned them both their
hand & foot prints immortalized in concrete
at grauman's chinese theatre.
jane joked that if she & marilyn
were to leave a genuine mark of their respective fame,
then she would lean over into the cement
& marilyn would sit in it.
that's the sassy, brassy, anything-but-plain jane
men wanted & women wanted to be a half-plus-century ago.
we lost her this week, at 89yo, to respiratory disease.
she left behind her three children,
eight grandchildren & ten great-grandchildren.
& very little doubt about what gentlemen actually prefer.
image sources: the corsetiere & her trade, never plead guilty blog, the traditional way.
3 comments:
Sadly, when she was young, a botched, back-alley abortion left her infertile. Her three children were adopted, and this is why she was a staunch advocate of adoption. She also was an outspoken opponent of abortion, legal or otherwise.
@SKM - i read some differing accounts of the botched abortion story, which is why i didn't delve into it. the sticking point seems to be whether the abortion really caused her infertility or whether she just believed it did.
regardless, she definitely was a strong adoption proponent [& abortion opponent], founding & for decades representing the World Adoption International Fund, which has helped facilitate over 50,000 adoptions globally.
as ever, thank you for reading & commenting!! :)
There was probably no way to know, back in the day. And notice I only "reported" and refrained from commentary.
Thank YOU for your blog! It never fails to brighten my day!
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