Jean Harlow (1911 - 1937)

         Jean Harlow

Jean Harlow in a career lasting only 10 years, became one of the most famous actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age and one of the first movie sex symbols. She became known as the "Platinum Blonde" and the "Blonde Bombshell" and was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute. She began her movie career by appearing in films which were designed specifically to show her sex appeal and she then made the transition to stronger, more rounded roles. Under contract to MGM she achieved great fame but her personal life was marred by tragedy and disappointment and ultimately, her sudden death at the tragically early age of 26.

Biography

Jean Harlow was born Harlean Harlow Carpenter on March 3, 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri, the daughter of a dentist and his wife, whose maiden name was Jean Harlow. Harlean suffered from poor health throughout her childhood, including meningitis and scarlet fever but she grew up to be a beautiful young lady and when she was 16 she eloped with a wealthy businessman, Charles McGrew.

She fell into the movies by chance. She was spotted by a Fox Film corporation executive while sitting in a parking lot waiting for an aspiring actress friend. She was invited for an audition and became an extra in a number of early movies including 'Why Is a Plumber?' in 1927, 'Moran of the Marines' in 1928, and 'The Love Parade' in 1929. She appeared in three films with Laurel and Hardy and 'The Saturday Night Kid' in 1929, starring Clara Bow. Her new career put pressure on her marriage and she and her husband divorced in 1929. She began to use her mother's maiden name, Jean Harlow, although this was not legally changed until 1935.

She became the leading blonde good-bad girl of the early talkies, constantly surrounded by scandal regarding her failed marriages and the numerous men in her life. Cast out of character as a proper English 'Miss' by Howard Hughes in the huge hit 'Hell's Angels' in 1930, Harlow swiftly became a national and international sex symbol. Despite much criticism of her acting ability, Harlow's popularity among movie fans was immense. Many of her female fans dyed their hair platinum to match hers and, loth to miss an opportunity, Howard Hughes's team organized a series of "Platinum Blonde" clubs across the nation, with a prize of $10,000 to any hairdresser who could match Harlow's shade.

In 1931 her career received a great boost when she was cast as the love interest, opposite James Cagney, in the gangster epic 'The Public Enemy' but she really came into her own in partnership with the young, virile Clark Gable in the MGM movies 'Red Dust' in 1932, 'Hold Your Man' in 1933, and 'China Seas' in 1935, typically portraying a loose-living tramp whose honest sexiness is refreshingly appealing to both costar and audience.

During the filming of Red Dust, Jean's second husband of only two months, producer Paul Bern, an MGM executive, committed suicide by shooting himself the day after his former common-law wife met Harlow. A a few days later the former Mrs. Bern was found floating in the Sacramento River, after allegedly committing suicide. The tragedy of Harlow's life was beginning to unfold. She began an affair with champion boxer Max Baer but another scandal threatened to erupt when Baer's estranged wife named Harlow as co-respondent in a divorce case. In an attempt to defuse the situation MGM in 1933, arranged for a friend of Harlow's, cinematographer Harold Rosson, to marry her. They quietly divorced 7 months later.

Following the end this marriage, she found the genuine romantic love of her life in heartthrob actor William Powell. They were together for two years, but before they could wed, Jean's health, never vigorous, began to decline. She showed her comedic talents to the full in the ensemble 'Dinner at Eight' in 1933, and she began playing showbiz roles that flirted with autobiography, such as 'Bombshell' in 1933, 'The girl from Missouri' in 1934, and 'Reckless' in 1935.

She showed flair for the new genre of screwball comedy in 'Wife vs. Secretary' in 1936 and 'Libeled Lady' the same year, in which she strikes sparks off rival Myrna Loy. The Hays Code toned down her image, leading to less clingy gowns and cutting out risque dialogue and compromising situations.

Her last film was a rather stuffy reunion with Gable in 'Saratoga' in 1937. It was during the fiming of 'Saratoga' that Harlow collapsed on set and was diagnosed with uremic poisoning, caused by her scarlet fever as a child. After constant medical attention at home for eight days her condition worsened and she was hospitalized, dying on June 27, 1937.

She was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in Glendale, California in a private room in the Great Mausoleum, paid for by William Powell. She was just twenty-six years old.