Burbank Bound
Year of Jane Russell: Day 12
Jane lived in Edmonton, Canada for the first two years of her life, then she moved to California with her parents, Geraldine and Roy. They purchased a modest home on Angeleno Avenue in Burbank which Geraldine described as being “cute as a bug’s ear.” Here’s Jane circa 1925 at the Burbank house.
Bemidji Baby
Year of Jane Russell: Day 11
Jane Russell was born on June 21, 1921 in Bemidji, Minnesota. Her parents were actually living in Edmonton, Canada at the time, but Jane’s mother Geraldine opted to spend the end of her pregnancy in Bemidji where her side of the family had a vacation home. Even though infant Jane only spent the first nine days of her life in the Minnesota locale, Bemidji didn’t have a problem claiming her as a native daughter as evidenced in this 1961 photo of Jane with James Hensel, the city’s mayor.
Playful Portrait
Year of Jane Russell: Day 10
We’ll wrap up the negatives for now, but will probably return to the rest throughout the year. To end this challenging week, here’s a more playful portrait of Jane, taken circa 1951. I don’t know that Jane’s hands get talked about, but I’ve often found my eye drawn to them and the sharp nails polished red that I can never pull off quite as well.
Smiling Noir
Year of Jane Russell: Day 9
Most of the portraits we’ve looked at the past week and a half have shown Jane at her smoldering best, but she could turn on the charm for the camera as well. Here’s one of the 8×10” negatives showing Jane flashing a smile in a publicity portrait for His Kind of Woman in 1951. She’s wearing the Howard Greer design we took a look at last week.
If It’s Not Uncomfortable, It’ll Be a Lousy Picture
Year of Jane Russell: Day 8
Here’s another portrait from the stash of original 8×10″ negatives I recently obtained, showing Jane circa 1953. It’s a great photo, and that she was able to maintain the unnatural pose in a tight dress shows what a professional she was. Jane learned to model while working with photographer Tom Kelley in 1940. His mantra, “If it’s not uncomfortable, it’ll be a lousy picture,” was one Jane understood to be true and photographers loved working with her.
Subdue Portrait
Year of Jane Russell: Day 7
Here’s a interesting portrait of Jane, wearing a simple coat and high-necked knit but still looking completely glam. As great as Jane looked in the custom designs of the movie studios, she much preferred blue jeans to the trappings of a Hollywood film star.
Jane’s RKO Dressing Room
Year of Jane Russell: Day 6
This week, we’ve been exploring a collection of original 8×10” negatives I recently acquired. Most of them are portraits, but then there’s this candid(ish) shot of Jane which I absolutely love. It’s during the filming of The Las Vegas Story and she’s shown in her RKO dressing room typing a letter, with a publicity photo of her with co-star Victor Mature strategically placed in the foreground. On the RKO lot, Jane was given the full star treatment and had the dressing room painted a pale pink.
Fashion Shot from “The Las Vegas Story”
Year of Jane Russell: Day 5
Here’s another scan from an original 8×10 negative, this one showing Jane Russell in a costume for The Las Vegas Story (1952). Michael Woulfe had originally been assigned to design the costumes for the film, but was instead moved to a different production. Howard Greer, who had designed Jane’s clothes in His Kind of Woman, got the assignment instead. Woulfe, who adored Jane, remained bitter about this for years and claimed two of his designs did make it into the film, uncredited. Since Woulfe’s costumes tended to be more flashy, I’m guessing this one is Greer. While Greer’s designs are more understated than Woulfe’s, Jane still looks fabulous in The Las Vegas Story.
More from “Macao”
Year of Jane Russell: Day 4
To start the week off, let’s return to Macao for this stunning portrait of Jane in another of Michael Woulfe’s designs, which she wears on the poster art for the film. This image is also from the recently acquired stash of original 8×10″ negatives, and had I obtained these a few months earlier this is another one that may have been in the running for the cover of the book!
Publicity Shot for “His Kind of Woman”
Year of Jane Russell: Day 3
We continue looking at the collection of original 8×10” negatives I recently obtained with this publicity shot from 1951’s His Kind of Woman, one of two films Jane made opposite the great Robert Mitchum. Howard Greer designed the costumes for the film, and while they’re not as striking as the Michael Woulfe designs of Macao (Jane’s other film with Mitch), they’re still quite wonderful. This is the dress she wears for her introductory scene in His Kind of Woman, sans the wrap and hat. In the scene she casually sings “Five Little Miles From San Berdoo” in a dive bar while looking every inch the movie star. It’s one of my favorite Jane scenes and the look on Mitch’s face when he first lays eyes on her is priceless!