Happy 100th Jane!
Year of Jane Russell: Day 171
Today marks what would have been Jane’s 100th birthday! She left a lot of herself for us to enjoy, so put on your favorite Jane Russell film today (or discover one you haven’t seen)!
Or you can join me and Larry Edmunds Bookshop for a virtual celebration at 6pm PST! Register HERE.
Jane and Father Roy
Year of Jane Russell: Day 170
In honor of Father’s Day, here’s Jane and her father, Roy Russell circa 1925.
Jane on the Road to Bali
Year of Jane Russell: Day 169
Jane visit pal Bob Hope on the set of “Road to Bali.” Jane herself makes an amusing cameo at the end of the film wearing one of her Son of Paleface costumes.
Jane and Bob Reunited
Year of Jane Russell: Day 168
This image of Jane and Bob Hope is around the time of Son of Paleface. Each always spoke fondly of the other.
An Eventful Weekend of Jane
Year of Jane Russell: Day 167
As we rapidly approach Jane’s centennial on Monday, June 21st, just a reminder that we have events scheduled all weekend to celebrate!
First up is an in-person (yes, IN PERSON) book signing and reception.
Saturday, June 19th 4-6pm
Larry Edmunds Bookshop
6644 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Next up is the virtual Hollywood Kitchen, where I’ll be discussing Jane’s hatred of cooking with the fabulous Karie Bible!
Sunday, June 20th 2:30pm
https://www.facebook.com/karie.bible
Finally, for Jane’s actual birthday, I am back at Larry Edmunds Bookshop for a virtual event!
Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1OI8zomETMK3fVgWq_YMgw
Hope you can celebrate Jane with one of these events!
Singing in “Son of Paleface”
Year of Jane Russell: Day 166
Jane did not get to sing the Oscar-winning “Buttons and Bows” in The Paleface, but that was fixed in the sequel Son of Paleface where in addition to singing a revised version of the hit song with Bob Hope and Roy Rogers, she also performed “Wing Ding Tonight” and “Am I In Love?”
It’s Publication Day!
Year of Jane Russell: Day 165
Today is officially the day that Mean…Moody…Magnificent! Jane Russell and the Marketing of a Hollywood Legend is released into the world!
I had to look back through my emails to figure out when I settled on Jane as a subject, which was 2015. I submitted the manuscript to University Press of Kentucky a little over a year ago, so the project took five years, which is a far cry from my 15 odyssey with Ann Dvorak! This publication day feels a different as well. The night before the Dvorak book came out, I was a nervous wreck and could not sleep. Last night, I was out like a light, though this can easily be attributed to pandemic fatigue along with my return to the library I work at after a year of telecommuting.
Not to say I’m calm. I’ve been steadily nauseous the last 24 hours and I hope my plan to avoid all Amazon and Goodreads reviews holds. It’s officially out of my hands and I hope I’ve done Jane Russell’s life and career justice.
To celebrate, I have two events scheduled with the always fabulous Larry Edmunds Bookshop in Hollywood:
First up is an in-person (yes, IN PERSON) book signing and reception.
Saturday, June 19th 4-6pm
Larry Edmunds Bookshop
6644 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Can’t make it in person because you’re on the other side of the country (or world), or just aren’t ready to re-enter society? No problem! We also have a virtual event planned: Monday, June 21st, 6pmRegister here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1OI8zomETMK3fVgWq_YMgw
For this one, I am going to be *gulp* playing guitar and singing songs from some of Jane’s films for her 100th birthday. Kind of a Jane Russell Storytellers for all you VH1 fans.
Hope you can make it to one of these events. If you still need to order a copy of the book and can’t make it to the in-person signing, Larry Edmunds still has you covered: https://www.larryedmunds.com/product-page/mean-moody-magnificent-jane-russell-marketing-of-a-hollywood-legend
With much love and appreciation.
Jane and Roy Rogers in “Son of Paleface”
Year of Jane Russell: Day 164
After The Las Vegas Story, Jane went back to Paramount for Son of Paleface, a sequel to the 1948 hit The Paleface. In addition to Bob Hope, Jane gained another co-star with Roy Rogers. He and wife Dale Evans became longtime friends.
Jane, Las Vegas, & Cartier
Year of Jane Russell: Day 164
A centerpiece of The Las Vegas Story is a $150,000 diamond necklace loaned out by Cartier. Here, Jane and dialogue director Dixie McCoy get a kick out of reading an article about the necklace in a newspaper.
“The Las Vegas Story” as a Time Capsule
Year of Jane Russell: Day 163
Many exteriors in The Las Vegas Story were shot on location with the entrance of the Flamingo Hotel doubling as the fictional Hotel Fabulous. The film inadvertently is a wonderful time capsule of 1950s Las Vegas.