Russell, Jane (1921—)

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Russell, Jane (1921—)

It was voluptuous Jane Russell's cleavage that brought her to the attention of eccentric Hollywood producer, Howard Hughes. It was the exposure of too much of said cleavage in the 1941 film, The Outlaw, that brought the censors down on Hughes and brought Jane Russell an avalanche of publicity. But it was Russell's ability to both laugh at and rise above her sex symbol status and prove herself a talented actress, a lovely singer, and a gifted comedienne that made her one of Hollywood's top stars during the 1950s.

Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell was born on June 21, 1921 in Bemidji, Minnesota. The daughter of a former actress and an office manager, Russell moved to Southern California at nine months and it was there she grew up, a tall, fun-loving tomboy. The oldest of five children, and the only girl, she loved the outdoors, and spent much of her time riding horses and climbing trees on her family's Van Nuys ranch. Even in high school, Russell's rambunctious spirit was more self-evident than her study habits. But after graduation, her mother insisted that her tall, beautiful, raven-haired daughter go to finishing school. When Russell balked at the idea, they compromised on drama school. After all, when her daughter was born, Russell's mother had named her Jane Russell because she thought the name would look good up in lights.

In September 1939, Russell started taking lessons at the Max Reinhardt School of Drama. But she missed classes more than she attended them and instead hung out at the bowling alley across the street. She dropped out, only to decide a week later to enroll at Maria Ouspenskaya's School of Dramatic Arts. Bitten by the acting bug, Russell stuck with her studies and six months later she was on her to her first screen test at Twentieth Century-Fox. But nothing came of it except that Russell's desire to become an actress grew, as did her disappointment when no one else called for a screen test. At last, she realized that she was going to have to give up her dream and get a real job, which she did, working as a chiropodist's assistant.

One day out of the blue, her mother called to tell her that an agent had been calling every day. But Russell was no longer interested in pipe dreams. The agent persisted and finally got Russell on the phone, telling her that Howard Hughes wanted to test her for a picture. The next day, Russell was at the studio, and met with Howard Hawks, who would direct The Outlaw for Hughes. Russell's part in this Western was as a half-Irish, half-Mexican girl whose brother has been killed by Billy the Kid and who tries to kill the Kid with a pitchfork, but is raped by the outlaw in retribution. The nineteen-year-old's knockout figure and devil-may-care attitude may have won her the role, but she didn't care. She was now a working actress.

On the shoot in Arizona, national magazines such as Look, Life, and Photoplay, photographed the new star in her costume of a low-cut peasant blouse and skirt. As Russell would later write, "My boobs were bulging out over the top of my blouse every time I picked up those pails. But I didn't know it until I saw myself on the covers and centerfolds of practically every magazine on the newsstands … Those pictures came out for the next five years."

When Howard Hawks walked off the set of The Outlaw, Howard Hughes took over. The result was a film that the Hays office censors took two years to approve, a film which Pauline Kael described as "the definitive burlesque of cowtown dramas … Jane Russell swings her bosom around and shows her love for frail, seedy Billy the Kid (Jack Buetel) by hitting him over the head with a coffepot and putting sand in his water flasks when he is setting out across the desert. To reciprocate, he ties her up with wet thongs and leaves her out in the sun. Walter Huston and Thomas Mitchell provide a little relief from the amorous games." But even after the 1943 San Francisco premiere, the film remained hung up in red tape and was not released nationwide until 1947, leaving Russell's dream of becoming a working actress stalled. Hughes owned her contract and refused to lend her out to other studios. She was, however, famous. During World War II, Russell was hailed as the "sexpot of the century," becoming one of the favorite pinup girls for U.S. soldiers overseas.

Finally, after five years of inactivity, during which she married football star Robert Waterfield, Hughes agreed to loan Russell out to make The Young Widow, a teary war film. But the weepy widow role didn't suit Russell's strengths and it wasn't until 1948's Paleface, in which she starred opposite Bob Hope, playing the strong, sharpshooting straight woman to Hope's timid funny man, that she hit her stride.

When Howard Hughes bought RKO the same year, Russell's career finally took off. She exhibited her singing and acting ability in His Kind of Woman and Macao, both opposite frequent co-star Robert Mitchum, her appeal as a dark, sexy, leading lady in The Las Vegas Story, and her comic talent in two more films with Bob Hope, Road to Bali and Son of Paleface. But it was 1953's Gentleman Prefer Blondes, which best showcased Russell. Starring opposite Marilyn Monroe, Russell gave what Leonard Maltin calls a "sly, knowing, comic performance," more than holding her own against the electric Monroe.

Russell remained an audience favorite in movies through the 1950s and 1960s. But it wasn't until she took over for Elaine Stritch in the Broadway musical, Company, in 1970, that Russell found another vehicle suited to her many talents. Playing a blowsy, boozy broad, Russell showed off her ability to sing, dance, act, and have a laugh at her own expense. Though 1970s TV audiences will always associate Russell and her full figure with the many commercials she made touting the virtues of Playtex bras, she has certainly proved herself to be more than the woman Bob Hope once introduced as "the two and only Jane Russell." Beautiful, talented, and funny, Jane Russell is that rare Hollywood sex symbol who can simultaneously laugh at herself and enjoy being the star that she is.

—Victoria Price