Star of the Month

 

JEAN HARLOW

BIRTH: March 3, 1911

DEATH: June 7, 1937

AGED: 26 yrs old

DIED FROM: Cerebral Edema caused by uremic poisoning due to Kidney failure

REAL NAME: Harlean Carpenter

NICKNAME: Baby-she thought that was her real name until she went to school. Sis but only by Clark Gable. The Blonde Bombshell; The Platinum Blonde

MARRIAGES: 3-a rich playboy, Charles McGraw(1927-1928), Producer, Paul Bern (1932), Harold Rosson (1933-1934)

AFFAIRS: Abner Zwillman, notorious mobster; Max Baer, a famous boxer.

ENGAGED: William Powell

TALENT: Knew how to make sex OK before and during the censorship stronghold. 

KNOWN FOR: Being Godmother to Bugsy Siegel’s daughter. Cradled the famous dog, Rin Tin Tin when he was dying of old age. She was known for her peroxide, bleached hair and extreme, penciled in eyebrows. Wearing a lot of white gowns and, no underwear so had to, apparently, dye her pubic hair platinum. Took ice cubes to her nipples so they would stick out from the outfits she wore. 

This is one famous, classic film star that Marilyn Monroe idolized and where that term, blonde bombshell, was coined( by Howard Hughes). She was pretty free-spirited even though she and her mom were extremely close. Her mom credited herself for making “Baby” famous when, in fact, she and her mobster husband, often took advantage of their daughter’s fame and money.  When Harlow married Paul Bern, an MGM Producer, married, no one expected he was to die 2 months later leaving behind a note ending it with, “Remember, last night was only a comedy.”  The suicide by gunshot still stands but I don’t buy it nor do I buy that he had underdeveloped genitalia because, simply, this gal would never have  been with him as she loved sex, in my humble opinion. I believe, like a book I read ( I can’t think of it now…Maybe, it’s called “Deadly Illusion.”) that he was still married to his first wife whom he had institutionalized and never told anyone. She escaped and he had to tell his “new” wife about his actual wife but asked Jean to leave so he could talk to his first wife. This first wife shot and killed Paul Bern with MGM execs covering up the fact that their star was involved with a bigamist. His first wife was found a few days later, drowned and, it seems, she jumped off a bridge into the river. Jean Harlow never talked about it.  She married her 3rd husband, with his understanding, since they were good friends, to ward off unwanted publicity from her affair with the boxer, Max Baer because his wife was going to name Harlow in the divorce proceedings. 

She met and fell hard for William Powell who was quite a bit older than her, but they seemed to be quite happy until she started to get weaker. People commented on how she looked ashen and bloated but, when she saw a doctor, he misdiagnosed her. She was making her last film, Saratoga Trunk with her friend and oft-filmed companion, Clark Gable when she collapsed on set. When Gable went to visit her,  he could smell urine on her breath but, by this time, it was too late and, she died at only 26. For decades and, in many of my books, it was written that Her mother, Mama Jean, a devout Christian Scientist, refused to have her looked at by a doctor, but that seems to be debunked and, let’s face it, MGM would never let one of their stars languish like this without a doctor because she was too much of a commodity for them.

She was actually too young to die.

FILMS

1. Hell’s Angels-1930

2. Public Enemy-1931

3. Platinum Blonde-1931

4. Red-Headed Woman-1932

5. Red Dust- 1932

6. Dinner At Eight-1932

7. Bombshell-1933

8. China Seas-1935

9. Wife Vs Secretary-1936

10. Libeled Lady-1936