Best remembered for starring opposite Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Golden Age Hollywood star Jane Russell has died from a respiratory-related illness at her home in California. She was 89.
Russell can thank Howard Hughes for her fame. He became slightly obsessed with her breasts when he saw her working as a dentists receptionist and cast her in The Outlaws. While the movie was made in 1941 it didnt get released until 1943, as the censorship board wasnt impressed with how Hughes had invented a cantilevered bra to make Janes assets the stars of the show.
However it was 1953’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes that cemented her reputation. Starring alongside Monroe as as two showgirl best friends sailing to Paris to find husbands, they helped redefine the musical with their comedic, overtly sensual stylings and became real-life friends in the process. While Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is definitely her most famous role, she also made The Paleface with Bob Hope, co-starred with Robert Mitchum in His Kind Of Woman and Macao, as well as appearing in films opposite the likes of Frank Sinatra, Groucho Marx and Clark Gable.
The worlds obsession with her boobs dogged her career, and her films were often marketed purely on her ample assets. Indeed, many believe she’d have had far more success if Hollywood could have sold her a bit more, rather than just her chest. However, eventually Russell embraced her reputation, becoming a spokesperson for Playtex bras in the 70s.
She didn’t appear in any movies after 1970s Darker Than Amber (although she made a couple of TV appearances in the mid-80s), but as well as acting, she tried to forge a music career, which had minor success. She also made numerous stage appearances, and had a successful solo cabaret act that toured the world.
In more recent years she lived a fairly quiet life in Santa Maria, California, occasionally popping up in documentaries to talk about Monroe and 1950s Hollywood. In 2003 she described herself as a teetotal, mean-spirited, right-wing, narrow-minded, conservative Christian Bigot, but not a racist.
Jane was also a passionate spokesperson for adoption. Unable to have children of her own, Russell and then husband Bob Waterfield decided to adopt, first with Tracy and Thomas in 1952, and later Robert in 1956. The difficulties they faced inspired Jane to found the World Adoption International Fund, which assisted in simplifying the adoption process for over 50,000 families as well as lobbying for the passage of 1953’s Federal Orphan Adoption Bill and 1980’s Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act.
Jane Russell – June 21st, 1921-February 28th, 2011 – RIP