‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ star Jane Russell dies

‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ star Jane Russell, who became a controversial Hollywood sex symbol, has died at the age of 89.

Russell, best known as the voluptuous star of 1940s and 1950s movies, died of respiratory failure at her home in Santa Maria, central California.The eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes discovered Russell and put her in her first movie, ‘The Outlaw’, which stuck her with the sexpot image based on her bosom, reportedly a size 38D.In 1953 Russell paired with Marilyn Monroe in her biggest hit, ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’. In the musical based on the novel by Anita Loos she and Monroe teamed up to sing ‘Two Little Girls From Little Rock’ and seek romance in Paris.’Jane tried to convert me (to religion) and I tried to introduce her to Freud,’ Monroe said.She was born Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell on June 21, 1921, in Bemidji, Minnesota, and the family later moved to Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. Her mother was a lay preacher, and she encouraged the family to build a chapel in their back yard.Despite her mother’s Christian teachings, young Jane had a wild side. She wrote in her 1985 autobiography, ‘My Paths And Detours’, in which she revealed that during high school she had a back-alley abortion, which may have rendered her unable to bear children.Her early ambition was to design clothes and houses, but that was postponed until her later years. While working as a receptionist, she was spotted by a movie agent who submitted her photos to Hughes.Although she had all but abandoned Hollywood after the 1960s for a quieter life, her daughter-in-law Etta Waterfield said Russell remained active until just a few weeks ago when her health began to fail.Until then she was active with her church and charities that were close to her heart and as a member of a singing group that made occasional appearances around Santa Maria.She is survived by her children, Thomas Waterfield, Tracy Foundas and Robert ‘Buck’ Waterfield, six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.Russell’s hand and foot prints are immortalised on the forecourt of Hollywood’s legendary Grauman’s Chinese Theater. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. – www.dailymail.co.za

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