Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The Two And Only

I have to admit, I had no idea Jane Russell was still alive. But, she was, and until yesterday was 89 years young. She died too late to make the Oscar R.I.P. list, but at least she didn't get skipped, poor Corey Haim.
Anyway, I only really knew her from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which is certainly a fun romp. Thanks to jet lag, I woke up at 4am today so I've had plenty of time to do research.

The duet with her & Marilyn is fantastic, but for fun here's "Ain't There Anyone Here For Love," her solo number where the boys are wearing skin colored trunks (we'd now call that peach). Hollywood sure was racy back then.



Furthermore, I hadn't heard the story of how Howard Hughes claimed to have created a special "cantilever bra" to hold up her 38D rack. I mean, I had only learned the word "cantilever" last year, so maybe I had heard this but didn't know what it meant.

I had heard the Bob Hope quip though, he once introduced her as "the two and only Jane Russell." Boobs!

I had no idea there was a sequel to Blondes: Gentlemen Marry Brunettes. Yikes. And really, she guest-starred on Hunter? I bet she played Dee Dee's mom.

More importantly, I had NO idea that in 1971 she took over for Stritchy in Company. I kinda wish there was a youtube of her doing "The Ladies Who Lunch" with those bathing suit boys in the background.

In conclusion, here she is doing "Looking for Trouble" from The French Line. Ladies and Gentlemen, here they are, Miss Jane Russell:

2 comments:

ALH said...

Midge, who you also love, makes a reference to that bra technology in REAR WINDOW.

Also, I knew her from her Playtex ads. When they came on, my Grandma Louise would say, "She should know about bras."

  said...

I remember watching a lot of Gentleman Prefer Blonds in college (Steven was my roommate, after all) and there is a shot during the pool sequence where she looks like she was inadvertently pushed in the water. Please confirm. Thanks.