One of the greatest dancers that movie musicals have ever know was born on this day - March 8th in 1922. Her name was Cyd Charisse. Charisse was born as Tula Ellice Finklea in Amarillo, Texas, the daughter of Lela (née Norwood) and Ernest Enos Finklea, Sr., who was a jeweler.Her nickname "Sid" was taken from a sibling trying to say "Sis".(It was later spelled "Cyd" at MGM to give her an air of mystery.) She was a sickly girl who started dancing lessons at six to build up her strength after a bout with polio. At 12, she studied ballet in Los Angeles with Adolph Bolm and Bronislava Nijinska, and at 14, she auditioned for and subsequently danced in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as "Felia Siderova" and, later, "Maria Istomina".
The outbreak of World War II led to the break-up of the company, and when Charisse returned to Los Angeles, David Lichine offered her a dancing role in Gregory Ratoff's Something to Shout About. This brought her to the attention of choreographer Robert Alton — who had also discovered Gene Kelly — and soon she joined the Freed Unit at MGM, where she became the resident MGM ballet dancer.
Charisse was principally celebrated for her on-screen pairings with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. She first appeared with Astaire in a brief routine in Ziegfeld Follies (produced in 1944 and released in 1946). Her next appearance with him was as lead female role in The Band Wagon (1953), where she danced with Astaire in the acclaimed "Dancing in the Dark" and "Girl Hunt Ballet" routines. Another early role cast her opposite Judy Garland in the 1946 film The Harvey Girls.
Charisse and Gene Kelly in the "Broadway Melody Ballet" sequence from Singin' in the RainAs Debbie Reynolds was not a trained dancer, Gene Kelly chose Charisse to partner him in the celebrated "Broadway Melody" ballet finale from Singin' in the Rain (1952), and she co-starred with Kelly in 1954's Scottish-themed musical film Brigadoon. She again took the lead female role alongside Kelly in his penultimate MGM musical It's Always Fair Weather (1956).
In 1957, she rejoined Astaire in the film version of Silk Stockings, a musical remake of 1939's Ninotchka, with Charisse taking over Greta Garbo's role. In his autobiography, Astaire paid tribute to Charisse, calling her "beautiful dynamite" and writing: "That Cyd! When you've danced with her you stay danced with."
In her autobiography, Charisse reflected on her experience with Astaire and Kelly: "As one of the handful of girls who worked with both of those dance geniuses, I think I can give an honest comparison. In my opinion, Kelly is the more inventive choreographer of the two. Astaire, with Hermes Pan's help, creates fabulous numbers — for himself and his partner. But Kelly can create an entire number for somebody else ... I think, however, that Astaire's coordination is better than Kelly's ... his sense of rhythm is uncanny. Kelly, on the other hand, is the stronger of the two. When he lifts you, he lifts you! ... To sum it up, I'd say they were the two greatest dancing personalities who were ever on screen. But it's like comparing apples and oranges. They're both delicious."
After the decline of the Hollywood musical in the late 1950s, Charisse retired from dancing but continued to appear in film and TV productions from the 1960s through the 1990s. She had a supporting role in "Something's Got To Give", the last, unfinished film of Marilyn Monroe. She made cameo appearances in Blue Mercedes's "I Want To Be Your Property" (1987) and Janet Jackson's "Alright" (1990) music videos.
Her last film appearance was in 1994 in That's Entertainment! III as one of the onscreen narrators of a tribute to the great MGM musical films.
Charisse was married to singer Tony Martin from 1948 until her death. The marriage lasted 60 years. Cyd's first husband, whose surname she kept, was Nico Charisse (March 1906 - April 1970); they were married from 1939 to 1947.
She had two sons, Nico "Nicky" Charisse from her first marriage, and Tony Martin, Jr., born 1950, from her second. One of her daughters-in-law is Liv Lindeland, who was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Year for 1972. A niece of hers by marriage is actress Nana Visitor.
Charisse wrote a joint biography with Martin (and Dick Kleiner) entitled The Two of Us (1976). She was featured in the 2001 Guinness Book of World Records under "Most Valuable Legs", since a $5 million insurance policy was reportedly accepted on her legs in 1952. MGM was reputed to have insured her legs for a million dollars each, but Charisse later revealed that that had been an invention of the MGM publicity machine.
In her eighties, Charisse made occasional public appearances and appeared frequently in documentaries spotlighting the golden age of Hollywood. She made her Broadway debut in 1992 in the musical version of Grand Hotel as the aging ballerina, Elizaveta Grushinskaya.
Charisse was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, on June 16, 2008 after suffering an apparent heart attack. She died the following day, aged 86. After her death she was cremated and her ashes were interred on June 22, 2008, at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery in Culver City, California...
Jean Harlow: Beauty and brains in equal measure
By Susan King
Probably the most iconic Jean Harlow moment comes at the end of the 1933 classic MGM comedy-drama "Dinner at Eight," when Kitty, Harlow's uber-sexy dumb blond wife of a self-made tycoon, is talking to Carlotta, a high-society woman played by Marie Dressler.
Kitty: "I was reading a book the other day."
Carlotta (dumbstruck): "Reading a book?"
Kitty: "Yes. It's all about civilization or something. A nutty kind of book. Do you know that the guy says that machinery is going to take the place of every profession?"
Carlotta: "Oh, my dear. That's something you need never worry about."
Harlow stole that picture from the likes of Dressler, Wallace Beery, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore and Billie Burke — and for the next four years, she was one of the biggest stars at MGM.
And even though she died at age 26 in 1937 of uremic poisoning because of kidney failure — a bout of scarlet fever as a teenager compromised her kidneys — Harlow remains one of the most influential stars of Hollywood's Golden Era.
She was the first blond bombshell, and without her success, there may not have been a Lana Turner, a Marilyn Monroe, a Jayne Mansfield or a Mamie Van Doren.
"She is not only the blond bombshell, she's the blond bombshell with the heart of gold," says Cari Beauchamp, a film historian ("Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood") and documentarian.
"And this is always key with me: She is a multidimensional bombshell. She is not wallpaper. She knew to give her characters layers. She gives them multidimensions."
"She definitely created the mold for that spectacular-looking blond who was sexy and humorous," says Darrell Rooney, who co-wrote (with Mark A. Vieira) "Harlow in Hollywood: The Blonde Bombshell in the Glamour Capital, 1928-1937," and supplied nearly all the evocative photographs and memorabilia in the new book. "She had a very winsome, childlike quality to her, a certain innocence that plays against the sexuality that is very unique and stops her from being one-note."
"I think of her and Carole Lombard, two gorgeous blonds who died way too young," says Beauchamp. "They were so good at what they did and brought such richness to their characters and also the intelligence beyond the eyes. There are times they are practically winking at the audience."
This year is the centenary for the platinum blond beauty who starred in such classic MGM comedies as 1932s "Red Dust" and "Red-Headed Woman" and 1936's "Libeled Lady." Never one to take herself too seriously on-screen, Harlow wasn't above poking fun at her image, as in 1933's Hollywood satire, "Bombshell."
Besides their book, Rooney and Vieira have joined with the Hollywood Museum for the exhibition "Harlow in Hollywood," which opened Thursday, which would have been the actress' 100th birthday. The exhibition features photographs, memorabilia and even her 1932 Packard Phaeton. The two will be at the Egyptian Theatre on Sunday to discuss Harlow and "Bombshell." And throughout March, Turner Classic Movies will be showcasing her films.
By all accounts, Harlow was one of the best-loved stars in Hollywood. "Everybody called her 'Baby,'" says Beauchamp. "The crews just adored her. They were so protective of her. That heart of gold she played on the screen was very real in the person that was Jean Harlow."
"We all heard that Jayne Mansfield had a genius IQ, but even when Harlow was playing a 'dumb character,' like in 'China Seas,' you know she is not a stupid woman," says Vieira. "She had this native intelligence, that innate wisdom and understanding of people. My big discovery in writing this is that she used to bring books to the sound stage to read, like 'The Forsyte Saga.' She was an autodidact."
But her short life was filled with sadness and drama, including an overbearing stage mother, Jean, to whom Harlow was slavishly devoted; three failed marriages — including to MGM executive Paul Bern, who committed suicide in 1932, two months after their wedding; and a highly publicized romance with fellow MGM star William Powell, who broke her heart because he wouldn't marry her.
Harlow died before completing the romantic comedy "Saratoga" with her frequent leading man, Clark Gable. Though MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer thought of scrapping all of Harlow's scenes and replacing her with another actress, her fans demanded to see her final film. Mary Dees, who was her stand-in, doubled in certain scenes shot from behind and wearing oversized hats. Actress Paula Winslowe supplied Harlow's voice.
Though the result is a mess — Harlow looks hollow-eyed and puffy — audiences turned out in droves when it opened in late July. "Saratoga" became one of the biggest box office hits of 1937.
Here is the final part of our three part series on the life and talent of the great Buster Keaton...
Keaton signed with MGM in 1928, a business decision that he would later call the worst of his life. He realized too late that the studio system MGM represented would severely limit his creative input. For instance, the studio refused his request to make his early project, Spite Marriage, as a sound film and after the studio converted, he was obliged to adhere to dialogue-laden scripts.
For the first time, Keaton was forced to use a stunt double during some of the more dangerous scenes, as MGM wanted badly to protect its investment. He also stopped directing, but continued to perform and made some of his most financially successful films for the studio. MGM tried teaming the laconic Keaton with the rambunctious Jimmy Durante in a series of films, The Passionate Plumber, Speak Easily, and What! No Beer? The latter would be Keaton's last starring feature. The films proved popular. (Thirty years later, both Keaton and Durante had cameo parts in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.)
In the first Keaton pictures with sound, he and his fellow actors would shoot each scene three times: one in English, one in Spanish, and one in either French or German. The actors would phonetically memorize the foreign-language scripts a few lines at time and shoot immediately after. This is discussed in the TCM documentary Buster Keaton: So Funny it Hurt, with Keaton complaining about having to shoot lousy movies not just once, but three times. His stage name in Spanish markets was Pamplinas ("Nonsense"), and his nickname was Cara de palo ("Wooden face").
Behind the scenes, Keaton's world was in chaos, with divorce proceedings and alcoholism contributing to production delays and unpleasant incidents at the studio. Keaton was so depleted during the production of 1933's What! No Beer? that MGM released him after the filming was complete, despite the movie being a resounding hit. In 1934, Keaton accepted an offer to make an independent film in Paris, Le Roi des Champs-Élysées. During this period, he made one other film in Europe, The Invader (released in America as An Old Spanish Custom in 1936).
In 1939, Columbia Pictures hired Keaton to star in ten two-reel comedies, running for two years. The director was usually Jules White, whose emphasis on slapstick made most of these films resemble White's Three Stooges comedies. Keaton's personal favorite was the series' debut entry, Pest from the West, a shorter, tighter remake of Keaton's little-viewed 1935 feature The Invader; it was directed not by White but by Mack Sennett veteran Del Lord. Moviegoers and exhibitors welcomed Keaton's Columbia comedies, proving that the comedian had not lost his appeal. However, taken as a whole, Keaton's Columbia shorts rank as the worst comedies he made, an assessment he concurred with in his autobiography. The final entry was She's Oil Mine, and Keaton swore he would never again "make another crummy two-reeler." He stuck to his word, and the Columbia entries would be his final starring series for any movie studio.
Keaton's personal life had stabilized with his 1940 marriage, and now he was taking life a little easier, abandoning Columbia for the less strenuous field of feature films. Throughout the 1940s, Keaton played character roles in both "A" and "B" features. Critics rediscovered Keaton in 1949 and producers occasionally hired him for bigger "prestige" pictures. He had cameos in such films as In the Good Old Summertime, Sunset Boulevard (1950), Around the World in Eighty Days, and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Keaton was given more screen time in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966). He also appeared in a comedy routine about two inept stage musicians in Charlie Chaplin's Limelight (1952), recalling the vaudeville of The Playhouse. With the exception of Seeing Stars, a minor publicity film produced in 1922, Limelight was the only time in which the two would ever appear together on film.
In 1960, Keaton returned to MGM for the final time, playing a lion tamer in a 1960 adaptation of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Much of the film was shot on location on the Sacramento River, which doubled for the Mississippi River setting of Twain's original book.[31]
In 1961, he starred in The Twilight Zone episode "Once Upon a Time", which included both silent and sound sequences. Keaton played time traveler Mulligan, who traveled from 1890 to 1960, then back, by means of a special helmet.
Keaton also found steady work as an actor in TV commercials, including a popular series of silent ads for Simon Pure Beer in which he revisited some of the gags from his silent film days. In 1963, Keaton appeared in the episode "Think Mink" of ABC's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington sitcom, starring Fess Parker
In 1964, Keaton appeared with Joan Blondell and Joe E. Brown in the final episode of ABC's circus drama, The Greatest Show on Earth, starring Jack Palance. That same year, he appeared on Lucille Ball's CBS television show, The Lucy Show, in an episode ("A Day in the Park") filmed in color but initially televised in black and white; this featured him sitting on a park bench, reading a newspaper, which he gradually unfolded into a huge, single sheet. Harvey Korman played a policeman in the scene.
At the age of 70, Keaton suggested that, for his appearance in the 1965 film Sergeant Deadhead, he run past the end of a firehose into a six-foot-high flip and crash. When director Norman Taurog balked, expressing concerns for Keaton's health, Keaton said, "I won't hurt myself, Norm, I've done it for years!" Keaton also starred in three other movies for American International Pictures (Beach Blanket Bingo, Pajama Party, and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini).
Keaton starred in a short film called The Railrodder (1965) for the National Film Board of Canada. Wearing his traditional porkpie hat, he travelled from one end of Canada to the other on a motorized handcar, performing gags similar to those in films he made 50 years before. The film is also notable for being Keaton's last silent screen performance. The Railrodder was made in tandem with a behind-the-scenes documentary about Keaton's life and times, called Buster Keaton Rides Again, also made for the National Film Board. He played the central role in Samuel Beckett's Film (1965), directed by Alan Schneider. In 1966, he played a secondary role in Due Marines e un Generale in Italy. Keaton's last film appearance was in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966). He amazed the cast and crew by doing many of his own stunts, although Thames Television said his ill health did force the use of a stunt double for some scenes.
Keaton died of lung cancer on February 1, 1966, in Woodland Hills, California. Despite being diagnosed with the terminal illness in January 1966, he was never told that he was terminally ill, and thought that he had bronchitis. Confined to a hospital during his final days for treatment, Keaton was restless and paced the room endlessly. In a British television documentary on his career, his widow Eleanor told producers of Thames Television that Keaton was up out of bed and moving around, and even played cards with friends who came to visit at their house the day before he died. Eleanor Keaton died in 1998, from emphysema and lung cancer, aged 80.
Mickey Rooney Takes Stand Against Elder Abuse
90-Year-Old Actor Testifies Before the Senate Committee on Aging
by Associated Press
Mickey Rooney spoke out against elder abuse before a senate committee on aging today. The 90-year-old actor has been the alleged victim of abuse at the hands of his own stepkids, according to court documents.
"Unfortunately, I'm testifying by the committee today not just as a concerned citizen, which we all should be, but as a victim of older abuse -- elder abuse, myself," Rooney said. "For years I suffered silently, unable to muster the courage to seek the help that I knew I needed. Even when I tried to speak up, I was silenced. It seemed like no one believed me. But I never gave up."
Rooney, 90, who has had one of the longest careers of any actor, filed a case against stepson Chris Aber and stepdaughter Christina Aber last month charging verbal, emotional and financial abuse, and alleging that they denied him such basic necessities as food and medicine.
"In my case, I was eventually and completely stripped of the ability to make even the most basic decisions -- where we go or what we do. Decisions that everyone likes to make over the course of time my daily life became... unbearable," Rooney said.
The goal of the senate hearing, entitled "Justice for All: Ending Elder Abuse, Neglect and Financial Exploitation," is to draw attention to the widely underreported problem and coordinate federal, state and local efforts to combat it.
"It's a really sad but important issue and Mr. Rooney is definitely lending his star power to it," committee spokesman Joe Bonfiglio said.
Rooney said he hopes his testimony will encourage other victims to stand up for themselves.
"To those seniors and especially elderly veterans -- Army, Navy, Marine -- you veterans like myself I want to tell you this: You're not alone and you have nothing nothing, ladies and gentlemen, to be ashamed of," Rooney said. "You deserve, yes you deserve better. You all have the right to control your own life."
The court documents say that both Chris and Christina Aber have been keeping Rooney as "effectively a prisoner in his own home" through the use of threats, intimidation and harassment. Christina Aber has also been accused of taking control over Rooney's finances, blocking access to his mail and forcing the actor into performances he does not wish to do.
"Sometimes the transition from being in control of your life to having absolutely no control is swift, but other times it is so gradual that you wonder exactly when it truly began," Rooney said. "In my case, I was eventually stripped of my ability to make even the most basic decisions in my own life."
Rooney was granted temporary restraining orders on Feb. 15, but will have to appear in court on April 5 if he wants them extended for three years. A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge also appointed a temporary conservator of Rooney's estate.
It is my humble opinion, which really means nothing in the academic world, I think that WHITE HEAT is one of the best movies ever made. It certainly is one of the greatest gangster films. WHITE HEAT, released in 1949, starred James Cagney, Virginia Mayo and Edmond O'Brien and featuring Margaret Wycherly, and Steve Cochran. Directed by Raoul Walsh from the Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts screenplay based on a story by Virginia Kellogg, it is considered one of the classic gangster films and was added to the National Film Registry in 2003.
Cody Jarrett (James Cagney) is the ruthless, deranged leader of a criminal gang. Although married to Verna (Virginia Mayo), Jarrett is overly attached to his equally crooked and determined mother, "Ma" Jarrett (Margaret Wycherly), his only real confidante. Cody suffers from debilitating headaches and his mother consoles him each time. Early in the film she sits him on her lap and gives him a shot of whiskey with the toast, "Top of the world." It is later revealed that Jarrett's father died in an insane asylum.
Jarrett and his gang rob a train, resulting in the deaths of four members of the train crew and a Jarrett accomplice, Zuckie (Ford Rainey). With the help of informants, the police close in and Jarrett shoots and injures US Treasury investigator Philip Evans (John Archer). Jarrett then confesses to a lesser crime, which was committed by an associate at the same time as the train robbery, thus providing Jarrett with an alibi. He is sentenced to one to three years.
Evans is not fooled. He plants undercover agent Hank Fallon (Edmond O'Brien) in Jarrett's cell; Fallon goes by the name Vic Pardo. His main task is to find the "Trader," a fence who launders stolen money for Jarrett.
On the outside, "Big Ed" Somers (Steve Cochran), Jarrett's ambitious right-hand man, has designs on both the leadership of Jarrett's gang and his treacherous wife Verna. He pays a convict, Roy Parker (Paul Guilfoyle), to kill Jarrett. In the prison workplace, Parker arranges to drop a heavy piece of machinery on Jarrett, but Pardo pushes him out of the way, saving his life. Ma visits and vows to take care of Big Ed herself, despite Jarrett's attempts to dissuade her. He begins to worry and decides to break out. Before he can, Jarrett learns that Ma is dead and goes berserk in the mess hall, being dragged away to the infirmary and diagnosed with psychosis.
Jarrett takes hostages and escapes, along with Pardo, their cellmates and Parker, who is locked in the trunk of the getaway car. Later, when Parker complains, "It's stuffy, I need some air," Jarrett replies, "Oh, stuffy, huh? I'll give ya a little air." He empties his gun into the trunk.
On hearing of Jarrett's escape, Big Ed nervously waits for him to show up. Verna tries to slip away, but she is caught by her husband. She convinces him that Big Ed murdered Ma (though it was really Verna who shot her in the back). Jarrett guns down Big Ed.
The gang welcomes the escapees, including Pardo, for whom Jarrett has developed a genuine liking. Jarrett insists on sharing the proceeds from their robberies with him, stating, "I split even with Ma, didn't I?"
A stranger shows up at the gang's isolated country hideout, asking to use the phone. Everybody expects the stranger to be murdered: "Looks like Big Ed's gonna have company." To Pardo's surprise, he is introduced by a trusting Jarrett to the Trader (Fred Clark), the fence he was to track down.
Jarrett intends to steal the payroll at a chemical plant in Long Beach, California by using a large gas truck as a Trojan Horse to hide inside. Pardo manages to get a message to Evans and an ambush is set up. The gang gets into the plant but the driver, Creel (Ian MacDonald), recognizes Pardo as Fallon.
The police surround the building and Evans calls on Jarrett to surrender. Jarrett decides to fight it out. When the police fire tear gas into the office, Fallon manages to escape. All of Jarrett's henchmen are shot by the police, or by Jarrett himself when they try to give themselves up (Verna is taken by the police). Jarrett then flees to the top of a gigantic, globe-shaped gas storage tank. When Fallon shoots Jarrett several times with a rifle, Jarrett starts firing into the tank and shouts, "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" just before it goes up in a massive explosion.
The character of Cody Jarrett was based on New York murderer Francis Crowley, who engaged in a pitched battle with police in the spring of 1931 at the age of 19. Executed on January 21, 1932, his last words were: "Send my love to my mother." Another inspiration may have been Arthur Barker, a gangster of the 1930s, and a son of Ma Barker.
The train robbery which opens the film appears to have been closely based on the robbery of Southern Pacific's "Gold Special" by the D'Autremont brothers in 1923.
Jimmy Cagney should have won an Oscar for his role...
TCM (Turner Classic Movies), the TV network that has kept classic Hollywood at the forefront of all who adore classic films, took a bold step last year by launching its first TCM Classic Film Festival. The streets near Egyptian, Grauman’s Chinese, and Mann’s Chinese Theatres were packed with stars and fans. The festival was such a hit, TCM is back this year for a second festival with another huge lineup of films, stars and special surprises taking place April 28 through Sunday, May 1, 2011.
Opening night premieres the 60th anniversary restoration of the Oscar-winning musical classic An American in Paris (1951). Star of the film, Leslie Caron, is scheduled for an appearance at the festival. Other world premieres during the festival include the 60th anniversary digital restoration of A Streetcar Named Desire (1951); the West Coast premiere of the newly restored La Dolce Vita (1960), and a screening of Shall We Dance (1937), which is part of the festival’s Gershwin tribute.
TCM – devoted to preserving classic movies – is also dedicated to showcasing the best possible projection, including digital, 35mm and 70mm prints. The festival will present more than 50 screenings including special introductions, guest appearances and panel discussions. Some of the films to be shown include: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and Royal Wedding (1951) – presented by Jane Powell; The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) – presented by Debbie Reynolds ; Carousel (1956) – presented by Shirley Jones; and The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) – presented by Roger Corman.
Special focus this year is on silent films such as Erich von Stroheim’s The Merry Widow (1925) and Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman (1928), as well as a spotlight on cinema music. TCM will celebrate the work of George and Ira Gershwin with a collection of films featuring their most memorable songs. Disney’s Musical Legacy addresses the multi-faceted collection of screenings that celebrates Disney’s history of bringing music and film together.
Classic film historian, author, producer and film restorian Kevin Brownlow, a recipient of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Honorary Award in 2010, will be at the festival imparting his vast knowledge and love of classic films as will TCM host extraordinaire Robert Osborne.
Festival participants with the right passes will enjoy the opening night film as well as the lavish Vanity Fair Party. Other ticket passholders can fill in hours between the films and events at Club TCM located in the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to relax, mingle, and enjoy special presentations as well as live music. Ticket passes for the festival range from $1199 - $299. The official site has more information the festival and how to find out which other stars are attending.
LOS ANGELES – She was the voluptuous pin-up girl who set a million male hearts to pounding during World War II, the favorite movie star of a generation of young men long before she'd made a movie more than a handful of them had ever seen. Such was the stunning beauty of Jane Russell, and the marketing skills of the man who discovered her, the eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes.
Russell, surrounded by family members, died Monday at her home in the central coast city of Santa Maria. Her death from respiratory failure came 70 years after Hughes had put her on the path to stardom with his controversial Western "The Outlaw." She was 89.
Although she had all but abandoned Hollywood after the 1960s for a quieter life, her daughter-in-law Etta Waterfield said Russell remained active until just a few weeks ago when her health began to fail. Until then, she was active with her church, charities that were close to her heart and as a member of a singing group that made occasional appearances around Santa Maria.
"She always said 'I'm going to die in the saddle, I'm not going to sit at home and become an old woman,'" Waterfield told The Associated Press on Monday. "And that's exactly what she did, she died in the saddle."
It was an apt metaphor for a stunningly beautiful woman who first made her mark as the scandalously sexy and provocatively dressed (for the time) pal of Billy the Kid, in a Western that Hughes fought for years with censors to get into wide release. As the billionaire battled to bring the picture to audiences, his publicity mill promoted Russell relentlessly, grinding out photos of her in low-cut costumes, swimsuits and other outfits that became favorite pinups of World War II GIs.
By the time she made her third film, the rollicking comedy-western "The Paleface," in which she played tough- but-sexy Calamity Jane to Bob Hope's cowardly dentist sidekick, she was a star. She went on to appear in a series of potboilers for RKO, including "His Kind of Woman" (with Robert Mitchum), "Double Dynamite" (Frank Sinatra, Groucho Marx), "The Las Vegas Story" (Victor Mature) and "Macao" (Mitchum again).
Although her sultry, sensual look and her hourglass figure made her the subject of numerous nightclub jokes, unlike Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth and other pinup queens of the era, Russell was untouched by scandal in her personal life.
"The Outlaw," although it established her reputation, was beset with trouble from the beginning. It took two years to make, according to its theatrical trailer, and director Howard Hawks, one of Hollywood's most eminent and autocratic filmmakers, became so rankled under producer Hughes' constant suggestions that he walked out.
Russell's only other notable film was "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," a 1953 musical based on the novel by Anita Loos that cast her opposite Monroe. She followed that up with the 1954 musical "The French Line," which — like "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" — had her cavorting on an ocean liner. The film was shot in 3-D, and the promotional campaign for it proclaimed "J.R. in 3D. Need we say more?" In 1955, she made the sequel "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes" (without Monroe) and starred in the Westerns "The Tall Men," with Clark Gable, and "Foxfire," with Jeff Chandler. But by the 1960s, her film career had faded.
"Why did I quit movies?" she remarked in 1999. "Because I was getting too old! You couldn't go on acting in those years if you were an actress over 30."
She continued to appear in nightclubs, television and musical theater, including a stint on Broadway in Stephen Sondheim's "Company." She formed a singing group with Connie Haines and Beryl Davis, and they recorded gospel songs. For many years she served as TV spokeswoman for Playtex bras, and in the 1980s she made a few guest appearances in the TV series "The Yellow Rose."
She was born Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell on June 21, 1921, in Bemidji, Minn., and the family later moved to Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. Her mother was a lay preacher, and she encouraged the family to build a chapel in their back yard. Despite her mother's Christian teachings, young Jane had a wild side. She wrote in her 1985 autobiography, "My Paths and Detours," that during high school she had a back-alley abortion, which may have rendered her unable to bear children.
She was the leader of the Hollywood Christian Group, a cluster of film people who gathered for Bible study and good works. After experiencing problems in adopting her three children, she founded World Adoption International Agency, which has helped facilitate adoptions of more than 40,000 children from overseas.
She made hundreds of appearances for WAIF and served on the board for 40 years. As she related in "My Path and Detours," her life was marked by heartache. Her 24-year marriage to Waterfield ended in bitter divorce in 1968. They had adopted two boys and a girl. That year she married actor Roger Barrett; three months later he died of a heart attack. In 1978 she married developer John Peoples, and they lived in Sedona, Ariz., and later, Santa Barbara. He died in 1999 of heart failure. Over the years, Russell was also beset by alcoholism. She was able to rebound from troubles by relying on lessons she learned from her Bible-preaching mother.
"Without faith, I never would have made it," she commented a few months after her third husband's death. "I don't know how people can survive all the disasters in their lives if they don't have any faith, if they don't know the Lord loves them and cares about them and has another plan."
