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| Actresses Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell putting signatures, hand and foot prints in cement at Grauman's Theater, 1953. (Photo: Los Angeles Times photographic archive, UCLA Library) |
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
U.S. actress Jane Russell, the brunette who shot to fame as the star of Howard Hughes' 1943 movie,The Outlaw, has died in California. She was 89 years old.
Russell's relatives say the actress died at her home Monday of respiratory problems.
Russell gained stardom after billionaire Howard Hughes cast her in The Outlaw, her first movie.
Although reviews were unfavorable, the movie launched Russell's career and her reputation as a sex symbol.
Russell later starred with Bob Hope in the 1948 movie The Paleface and in the 1953 musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which featured Marilyn Monroe.
Although Russell made only a handful of films after the 1960s, she later appeared on television screens advertising a brand of brassieres for “full-figured” women. She was also involved in children's charities over many years.
Married three times, Russell's first marriage ended in divorce. She was widowed twice.
From tmwctd:
ReplyDelete"Sad to hear that, a sexpot on the screen who never took her role too seriously off it. Loved her in both "Paleface" movies although she was, like Cyd Charisse, a somewhat forbidding presence at times. Read about it today in a Swedish paper, they misspelled her name ("Russel") throughout the whole article."
From pnealjones:
ReplyDelete"Only a few months ago, Miss Russell made a personal appearance at the DeMille Barn here in Hollywood, and she was still going strong. We should all live as long and as generously as she did, (she created an adoption charity), and still have our figure and our sense of humor as intact as hers."
From Penny:
ReplyDelete"My dad served in the Air Force during the Korean War and got to meet Miss Russell. She certainly made a great impression on him: va-va-va-voom!"