Actress Jane Russell Dies at Age 89

Jane Russell, early in her career. Photo credit: www.hollywoodcelebrityshow.com

I may be giving away my age by saying I am so sad to learn that Jane Russell has passed away. I can remember watching her movies as a young child and I was always fascinated by her. First, I thought my mom looked like her; second, she totally mesmerized me whenever she was on screen. She was so beautiful and just exotic to look at.

Jane Russell, at two very different stages of her life. Photo credit: www.foxnews.com

Although originally she was interested in drama and fashion, Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell took a job working for a doctor who specialized in foot disorders. She modeled part-time and was highly sought after. After saving enough money to go to drama school, Howard Hughes discovered her and cast her in The Outlaw, for which she was paid $50 a week. Throughout her career, most of the movies she made showed off her ample chest. It wasn’t until Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, my all-time favorite Jane Russell movie, that the world learned of her comedic abilities. So, now that you know my favorite movie, tell me – what is your favorite Jane Russell movie?

Actress Jane Russell, who became a star with the 1943 release of “The Outlaw,” Howard Hughes’ challenge to the Hollywood production code, has died. She was 89. Russell died Monday at her home in Santa Maria, said her son Buck Waterfield. He did not give the cause. Russell went on to play Calamity Jane opposite Bob Hope in “The Paleface” (1948), and she starred with Marilyn Monroe in the 1953 musical “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” As former Times staff writer Claudia Luther explains in her obituary of the actress, “Russell’s provocative performance in ‘The Outlaw’ — and the studio publicity shots posing her in a low-cut blouse reclined on a stack of hay bales — marked a turning point in moviedom sexuality. She became a bona fide star and a favorite pinup girl of soldiers during World War II. Troops in Korea named two embattled hills in her honor. …

“Meanwhile, Hughes brilliantly publicized the film, issuing Russell-in-the-haystack posters with such lines as ‘How Would You Like to Tussle With Russell?’ and ‘Mean! Moody! Magnificent!’ In one publicity stunt, a skywriter wrote ‘The Outlaw’ in the sky and then carefully drew two circles with a dot in the center of each.”

Some readers will remember Russell as a pitchwoman for Playtex bras, for “full-figured women.”

Services are set for 11 a.m. March 12 at Pacific Christian Church, 3435 Santa Maria Way, Santa Maria.

Instead of flowers, her family suggests donations in her name to Care Net Pregnancy & Resource Center, 121 W. Battles, Santa Maria, CA 93458; or CASA of Santa Barbara County, 120 E. Jones St., Suite 130, Santa Maria, CA 93454.

Source: Los Angeles Times

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Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!