Thursday Thirteen #468

Platinum edition. Within the world of classic film nerds, Marilyn Monroe has been all over the place this month in honor of her 100th birthday. I am fascinated not only by Marilyn, but why she endures. Even if you've never seen a Marilyn Monroe movie, you're familiar with her image. Children not yet born will see the picture of Marilyn on the subway grate, her white dress blowing up.

Yet Jean Harlow is not recognized or remembered outside the classic film world. That's not only too bad – because she was luminous and funny – it's confusing because her filmography is of much higher quality than Marilyn's. Marilyn made quite a few high-profile, crappy movies, Harlow did not.

So here are 13 facts about the original Platinum Blonde. 

1. Jean Harlow was born Harlean Harlow Carpenter, but throughout her life, friends and family called her "The Baby." 

2. She dropped out of high school at 16 to marry a very wealthy boy when he turned 21 and came into his inheritance. They moved to Beverly Hills, where she envisioned life as a socialite. But they were very young, with too much time on their hands and too much money. The union lasted less than two years.

3. As her marriage was ending, she helped out a friend who needed a daily ride to work at Fox Studios. Her good looks got her noticed and she was invited for a screen test. At first The Baby refused, but her friend called her "chicken" and bet she wouldn't go through with it. You know what happened. 

4. She was renamed Jean Harlow and today she's #22 on the American Film Institute (AFI) list of greatest film actresses of all time. 

5. She became a star at age 19 in 1930's Hell's Angels, where she uttered the famous line about slipping "into something more comfortable." 

6. She was famous for her curves, her pencil-thin eyebrows and most of all, her platinum hair. While the studio refused to reveal how this white-and-bright shade was achieved, rumor had it that a combination of ammonia, Clorox bleach and soap flakes. Unfortunately, fans tried to do this at home, with predictably disastrous results. 

7. She was among the most profitable stars of the decade, ranking as one of the top box office draws 5 times between 1930 and 1937. She was making $4,000/week at the time of her death. That's $5,000,000/year in today's dollars. (And remember, Jean was making $4,000/week during The Depression. That was the annual income for couples back then.)

8. Jean Harlow made many top quality films, and in 1933, 1936, and 1938, her movies were nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. She was paired with the biggest stars of her time – James Cagney, Spencer Tracy, William Powell and Clark Gable. Though never romantically involved in real life, she and Gable were a great screen team and made six successful films together. She was working with him when she died.

9. Reading about her, I'm struck by how beloved "The Baby" was by those who worked with her. Directors praised her professionalism. Crews found her approachable. With other actresses of the period, especially Carole Lombard and Myrna Loy, she was friendly and not at all competitive. There's little if any gossip/controversy surrounding her professional life. Which I guess balances out the plethora of scandal and tumult in her private life.

10. She and actor William Powell were engaged at the time of her death. He would have been her fourth husband in 10 years. The first was Charles McGrew (see #2). Her third husband was cinematographer Harold Rossen. Naturally so many trips to the altar caused pearl clutching and tsk-ing. But it was her second husband that caused an earthquake of a scandal that reverberates to this day.

11. Her second husband was studio executive Paul Bern. Balding and more than 20 years her senior and, even though they made an odd-looking couple, she adored him. Just two months into their marriage, he was found dead in their home. Nude and shot in the head. It was officially ruled a suicide but, since Jean was one of the biggest stars in the world, rumors abound. Is it true he killed himself because he couldn't perform sexually with The Blonde Bombshell? Was the long-time lover he tossed over for Jean really the one who pulled the trigger? To this day, there is controversy.

12. Jean was the world's premiere sex symbol when she died of kidney failure at the age of 26. While her death seemed sudden to the public, she had been ill for months (though she continued to work). As with Bern, rumors blazed about Harlow's death. Could she have survived but for her mother's adherence to Christian Science and refusal to get Jean medical help? Did all those years of dangerous hair dye damage her kidneys (see #7)? The likely truth is less sensational: Like many in the 1920s, she had scarlet fever as a kid. As a result, she suffered from high blood pressure for the rest of her life and it's not unusual for scarlet fever to damage the kidneys. However, since forensic medicine wasn't that advanced in 1937, it's impossible for us today to know for sure what killed The Blonde Bombshell.

13. When I watch her movies (and I've now seen three), I'm impressed by her way with comedy. She delivers rapid-fire monologues with perfect diction and just the right emphasis. And her walk! She enters every room like a force of nature. Onscreen, she's a sweet, smart, funny dame. I'm just sorry that The Baby didn't find more joy in her own short life.

Here's the lady herself. I look forward to seeing more of her work.

 

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