Jane Russell

Lovely Jane Russell captured in an early 1941 glamour portrait by photographer Maurine. She was born on June 21, 1921, in Bemidji, Minnesota. Her film debut was quite the controversy, signed by director Howard Hughes for his production of "The Outlaw", the film that would make her famous. Although filmed in 1941, it was not released until two years later due to censorship issues, and then only on a limited basis. Finally, the film gained general release in 1946 and was a smash at the box-office. Jane did not appear in another film until 1946, when she played Joan Kenwood in "Young Widow." In 1947, she attempted to launch a musical career, singing with the Kay Kyser Orchestra on radio, and recorded two singles with his band. Her career revived when she was cast opposite Bob Hope in "The Paleface" (1948). Jane also appeared opposite Robert Mitchum in "His Kind of Woman" (1951), followed by "The Las Vegas Story" (1952) and "Macao" (1952). Perhaps the pinnacle of her career was in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953) with Marilyn Monroe, where she got to showcase her comedic side very well. In 1955 she co-starred with Clark Gable in "The Tall Men" and with Jeanne Crain in "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes," a sequel to Blondes. After "The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown" (1957), Jane took a hiatus from films to dabble in television, returning to film "Fate Is the Hunter" in 1964. Unfortunately, the roles were not there anymore and she appeared in only four pictures during the entire decade of the 1960s. Her last film of the decade was "The Born Losers" (1967). After three more years away from the big screen, she returned to make one last film called "Darker Than Amber" (1970). Jane Russell passed away at age 89 of respiratory failure on February 28, 2011.

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