A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive and often synonymous with sexuality.
68-416: Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter ; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the pre-Code era of American cinema. Often nicknamed the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde", Harlow was popular for her "Laughing Vamp " screen persona. Harlow
136-524: A "big sister" from the senior class who introduced her to 19-year-old Charles "Chuck" Fremont McGrew III, an heir to a large fortune. By the fall of 1926, Harlow and Chuck were dating seriously, and they were married in 1928. Jean Carpenter was also married that same year to Marino Bello, on January 18. However, Harlow did not attend her mother's wedding. In 1928, two months after the wedding, Chuck McGrew turned 21 and received part of his inheritance. The couple left Chicago and moved to Los Angeles, settling into
204-643: A 10-week personal-appearance tour on the East Coast. To the surprise of many, especially Harlow herself, she packed every theater in which she appeared, often appearing in a single venue for several nights. Despite critical disparagement and poor roles, Harlow's popularity and following were large and growing, and in February 1932, the tour was extended by six weeks. According to Fay Wray , who played Ann Darrow in RKO Pictures 's King Kong (1933), Harlow
272-512: A concerned Gable visited her and later remarked that she was severely bloated and that he smelled urine on her breath when he kissed her—both signs of kidney failure . Dr. Leland Chapman, a colleague of Fishbaugh, was called in to give a second opinion on Harlow's condition. Chapman recognized that she was not suffering from an inflamed gallbladder , but was in the final stages of kidney failure. On June 6, 1937, Harlow said that she could not see Powell clearly and could not tell how many fingers he
340-512: A doctor because she was a Christian Scientist or that Harlow had declined hospital treatment or surgery. From the onset of her illness, Harlow had been attended by a doctor while she was resting at home. Two nurses also visited her house, and various equipment was brought from a nearby hospital. Harlow's grayish complexion, recurring illnesses, and severe sunburn were signs of the disease. Toxins also adversely affected her brain and central nervous system. Harlow suffered from scarlet fever when she
408-476: A financial disappointment that co-starred Spencer Tracy and Una Merkel . Afterwards the release of worldwide hit Libeled Lady (1936), in which she was top-billed over Powell, Loy, and Tracy, brought good reviews for Harlow's comedic performance. During the filming, Jean Harlow was involved with William Powell while Spencer Tracy was having an affair with Myrna Loy. She then filmed W.S. Van Dyke 's comedy Personal Property (1937), co-starring Robert Taylor . It
476-516: A former Ferry Hall student. The film industry made much of Harlow's superior education: "To be admitted to Ferry Hall was a social achievement; to graduate from the school was a scholastic accomplishment". Ironically, Harlow never graduated. Following Tremain's departure in 1947, the school slipped into financially hard times. Enrollment, which had been filled to capacity during the World War II , dropped off significantly; though some "suggested
544-576: A home in Beverly Hills , where Harlow thrived as a wealthy socialite . McGrew hoped to distance Harlow from her mother with the move. Neither Chuck nor Harlow worked during this time, and both were considered heavy drinkers. While living in Los Angeles, Harlean befriended a young aspiring actress named Rosalie Roy. Not owning a car herself, Rosalie asked Harlean to drive her to Fox Studios for an appointment. While waiting for Rosalie, Harlean
612-412: A machine for pleasure." She is noted to have inspired Marilyn Monroe , Madonna and others. Sex symbol The term sex symbol was first used between the 1910s and 1920s to describe the first emerging film stars of the era. Movie studios have relied heavily on the looks and sex appeal of their actors to be able to attract audiences. The use of this concept increased during World War II . In
680-407: A main competition for ESPN The Magazine , ESPN launched The Body Issue in 2009. The Body Issue caused controversies regarding perceived sexual objectification . Sex appeal of female athletes is often used to promote their sport. During a Dan Patrick interview, Hope Solo expressed her concern over marketing of female athletes after she did The Body Issue . Rotten Tomatoes states that
748-583: A man from the National Peace Conference to speak at the school. From 1904-1914, the Seminary was headed by Socialist Frances L. Hughes. In 1918, Eloise Ruthven Tremain took over as the head of the Seminary, beginning a 27-year-long period "noted mostly for the principal's control." Under Tremain's control, the Seminary entered a period of notable organization and financial success, continually running surpluses. Tremain "quickly raised
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#1732787876122816-475: A number of job offers rejected by Harlean, Mother Jean finally pressed her into accepting work at the studio. Harlean appeared in her first film, Honor Bound (1928), as an unbilled "extra" for $ 7 a day (equivalent to approximately $ 124 in 2023 dollars) and a box lunch, common pay for such work. This led to a wage increase to $ 10 per day and small parts in feature films such as Moran of the Marines (1928) and
884-486: A string of hits built on her comedic talent: Red-Headed Woman (1932), Red Dust (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), Reckless (1935) and Suzy (1936). Harlow's popularity rivaled and then surpassed that of MGM's top leading ladies Joan Crawford , Greta Garbo and Norma Shearer . She died at the age of 26 of kidney failure while filming Saratoga . MGM completed the film with the use of body doubles and released it less than two months after her death; it became
952-519: A total of six films. She was also paired multiple times with Spencer Tracy and William Powell . MGM began trying to distinguish Harlow's public persona from her screen characters by putting out press releases that her childhood surname was not the common 'Carpenter' but the chic 'Carpentiér', claiming that writer Edgar Allan Poe was one of her ancestors and publishing photographs of her doing charity work to change her image to that of an all-American woman. This transformation proved difficult; once, Harlow
1020-508: A two-picture deal for her at Columbia Pictures . The relationship ended when he reportedly referred to her in derogatory and vulgar terms when speaking to other associated crime figures, as revealed in secret surveillance recordings. Columbia Pictures first cast Harlow in a Frank Capra film with Loretta Young , originally titled Gallagher for Young's lead character but renamed Platinum Blonde to capitalize on Hughes' publicity of Harlow's "platinum" hair color. Though Harlow denied her hair
1088-434: A week. It was the first film in which she "resembles something of an actress", portraying a woman who is successful at being amoral in a film that does not moralize or punish the character for her behavior. The film is often noted as being one of the few films in which Harlow did not appear with platinum blonde hair; she wore a red wig for the role. While Harlow was filming Red-Headed Woman , actress Anita Page passed her on
1156-433: Is considered to be the most popular Sexyman, having beaten other characters such as Arataka Reigen from the manga Mob Psycho 100 in a poll that gained the attention of Toby Fox , the creator of Undertale . Similarly, in otaku communities, characters from anime or manga that fans find sexually or romantically attractive are referred to as "waifus" or "husbandos". Ferry Hall School The Ferry Hall School
1224-666: The 1934 California gubernatorial election . The trip was physically taxing for Harlow, and she contracted influenza . She recovered in time to attend the Academy Awards ceremony with William Powell. Filming for Harlow's final film, Saratoga , co-starring Clark Gable , was scheduled to begin in March 1937. However, production was delayed when she developed sepsis after a multiple wisdom tooth extraction, and had to be hospitalized. Almost two months later, Harlow recovered, and shooting began on April 22, 1937. She also appeared on
1292-836: The Charley Chase lost film Chasing Husbands (1928). In December 1928, Harlean as Jean Harlow signed a five-year contract with Hal Roach Studios for $ 100 per week. She had small roles in the 1929 Laurel and Hardy shorts: Double Whoopee , Liberty and Bacon Grabbers , the last giving her a costarring credit. In March 1929, she parted with Hal Roach , who tore up her contract after Harlow told him, "It's breaking up my marriage, what can I do?" In June 1929, Harlow separated from her husband and moved in with Mother Jean and Bello. After her separation from McGrew, Harlow continued working as an "extra" in such films as This Thing Called Love , Close Harmony , and The Love Parade (all 1929), until she landed her first speaking role in
1360-504: The Clara Bow film The Saturday Night Kid . Harlow and her husband divorced in 1929. In late 1929, Harlow was spotted by Ben Lyon , an actor filming Howard Hughes ' Hell's Angels ; another account gives Angels head cameraman Arthur Landau as the man who spotted and suggested her to Hughes. Hughes was reshooting most of his originally silent film with sound and needed an actress to replace Greta Nissen , whose Norwegian accent
1428-632: The sexual revolution . In the late 1980s and 1990s, martial artist and actor Jean-Claude Van Damme was considered a sex symbol. In the 1990s, Pamela Anderson gained international recognition for her starring role of "C.J." Parker on the action drama series Baywatch , further cementing her status as a sex symbol. In sports, many female athletes have become sex symbols. Young males often prioritise female athletes' physiques over their performance. Women are more likely to show more skin than men. With Sports Illustrated (a magazine which had started issuing its annual " swimsuit issue " in 1964) being
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#17327878761221496-538: The 1930s cartoon character Betty Boop is "the first and most famous sex symbol on animated screen". Jessica Rabbit (voiced by Kathleen Turner ) from the 1988 live-action/animation crossover film Who Framed Roger Rabbit has been described as a sex symbol as well. Video games have had several characters who are considered sex symbols, such as Lara Croft , who has had several appearances in mainstream media . In online fandoms , certain fictional characters may gain massive popularity as sex symbols, particularly on
1564-401: The 1950s was epitomized by sex symbols such as James Dean and Marlon Brando , and women like Marilyn Monroe , Jayne Mansfield , Mamie Van Doren and French superstar Brigitte Bardot were seen as the archetype of the blonde bombshell. While until the 1950s, the sex symbol was just seen as a sexual ideal, in the 1960s it was seen as a symbol of the emancipation of bodies and sexuality with
1632-426: The 20th century, sex symbols could be male as well as female: actors such as the romantic Sessue Hayakawa and the athletic Douglas Fairbanks were popular in the 1910s and 1920s. Archetypal screen lover Rudolph Valentino 's death in 1926 caused mass hysteria among his female fans. In Hollywood, many film stars were seen as sex symbols, such as Errol Flynn , Gary Cooper , and Clark Gable . The "bad boy" image of
1700-510: The May 3 cover of Life magazine in photographs by Martin Munkácsi . On May 20, 1937, while filming Saratoga , Harlow began to complain of illness. Her symptoms— fatigue , nausea , fluid retention and abdominal pain —did not seem very serious to the studio doctor, who believed that she was suffering from cholecystitis and influenza. The doctor was not aware that Harlow had been ill during
1768-660: The US, and, it was hoped, MGM's next Greta Garbo . Still young, her star continued to rise while the popularity of other female stars at MGM, such as Garbo, Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer , waned. Harlow's movies continued to make huge profits at the box office even during the middle of the Depression . After her third marriage ended in 1934, Harlow met William Powell , another MGM star, and quickly fell in love. The couple were reportedly engaged for two years, but differences that ranged from past marriages to Powell's uncertainty about
1836-610: The all-star comedy-drama Dinner at Eight , and played a pressured Hollywood film star in the screwball comedy Bombshell with Lee Tracy and Franchot Tone . The film has been said to be based on Harlow's own life or that of 1920s " It girl " Clara Bow . The following year, she was teamed with Lionel Barrymore and Tone in The Girl from Missouri (1934). The film was the studio's attempt to soften Harlow's image, but suffered from censorship problems, so much so that its original title, Born to Be Kissed , had to be changed. After
1904-491: The assistant director telephone William Powell , who immediately left his own movie set, in order to escort her back home. The next day, Powell checked on Harlow and discovered that her condition had not improved. He contacted her mother and insisted that she cut her holiday short to be at her daughter's side. Powell also summoned a doctor. Because Harlow's previous illnesses had delayed the shooting of three movies ( Wife vs. Secretary , Suzy , and Libeled Lady ), initially there
1972-425: The crime scene re-arranged by MGM executives to make it appear Bern had killed himself. After Bern's death, Harlow began an indiscreet affair with boxer Max Baer who, though separated from his wife Dorothy Dunbar , was threatened with divorce proceedings naming Harlow as a co-respondent for alienation of affection , a legal term for adultery . After Bern's death, the studio did not want another scandal and defused
2040-915: The divorce. In 1923, the 32-year-old Jean Carpenter took her daughter and moved to Hollywood in hopes of becoming an actress, but was told that she was too old to begin a film career. Harlean was enrolled at the Hollywood School for Girls, where she met Douglas Fairbanks Jr. , Joel McCrea , and Irene Mayer Selznick , but dropped out at the age of 14, in the spring of 1925. With their finances dwindling, Jean and Harlean moved back to Kansas City after Skip Harlow issued an ultimatum that he would disinherit his daughter if they did not return. Several weeks later, Skip sent his granddaughter to summer camp at Camp Cha-Ton-Ka, in Michigamme, Michigan , where she became ill with scarlet fever . Jean Carpenter traveled to Michigan to care for Harlean, rowing herself across
2108-405: The esteem of Ferry Hall in the local community" and brought Ferry Hall to the forefront of American schools for girls, garnering national attention. Tremain engineered the Seminary's legal and financial independence in 1925 from Lake Forest University , to which it had formerly been tied. Hollywood film studios were aware of Ferry Hall's stature and used it in promoting the career of Jean Harlow ,
Jean Harlow - Misplaced Pages Continue
2176-409: The film was finished using three doubles ( Mary Dees for close-ups, Geraldine Dvorak for long shots, and Paula Winslowe for dubbing Harlow's lines) and rewriting some scenes without her. The film was released on July 23, 1937, less than two months after Harlow's death, and was a hit with audiences, grossing $ 3.3 million in worldwide rentals and becoming the highest-grossing film of the year, as well as
2244-414: The film, offering the role to Tallulah Bankhead . Bankhead was appalled by the offer and wrote in her autobiography, "To damn the radiant Jean for the misfortune of another would be one of the shabbiest acts of all time. I told Mr. Mayer as much." Harlow kept silent, survived the ordeal, and became more popular than ever. A 2009 biography of Bern asserted that Bern was, in fact, murdered by a former lover and
2312-522: The future, kept them from publicly formalizing their relationship. The two co-starred in her next film Reckless (1935), her first movie musical ; her voice was dubbed with that of vocalist Virginia Verrill . Suzy (1936), in which she played the title role, gave her top billing over four time co-star Tone and Cary Grant . While critics noted that Harlow dominated the film, it was a reasonable box-office success. She then starred in Riffraff (1936)
2380-574: The highest-grossing film of 1937, as well as the highest-grossing film of her career. Harlow was born Harlean Harlow Carpenter in a house located at 3344 Olive Street in Kansas City, Missouri . Her father, Mont Clair Carpenter (1877–1974), son of Abraham L. Carpenter and Dianna ( née Beal), was a dentist who attended dental school in Kansas City. He was from a working-class background. Her mother, Jean Poe Carpenter ( née Harlow; 1891–1958),
2448-472: The highest-grossing film of Jean Harlow's career. According to Camille Paglia , the notion that blondes have more fun was started in Hollywood by Harlow. Pagilia noted "The women who really started all this in Hollywood was Jean Harlow, with that platinum blonde look which was so incredibly unnatural. With her it was associated with being a harlot — she was mimicking the slouchy, louche look of someone who's
2516-591: The highest-grossing film of that year, besting even Greta Garbo 's talkie debut in Anna Christie . Hell's Angels made Harlow an international star. Though she was popular with audiences, the critics were less than enthusiastic. The New Yorker called her performance "plain awful", though Variety magazine conceded, "It doesn't matter what degree of talent she possesses ... nobody ever starved possessing what she's got." In spite of her relative success with Hell's Angels , Harlow again found herself in
2584-522: The hit Hold Your Man , MGM cast the Harlow-Gable team in two more successful films: China Seas (1935), with Wallace Beery and Rosalind Russell ; and Wife vs. Secretary (1936), with Myrna Loy and James Stewart . Stewart later spoke of a scene in a car with Harlow in Wife vs. Secretary , saying, " Clarence Brown , the director, wasn't too pleased by the way I did the smooching. He made us repeat
2652-584: The lake to the camp, but was told that she could not see her daughter. Harlean next attended the Ferry Hall School (now Lake Forest Academy ) in Lake Forest, Illinois . Jean Carpenter had an ulterior motive for her daughter's attendance at this particular school: It was close to the Chicago home of her boyfriend, Marino Bello. During Harlow's freshman year at the school, she was paired with
2720-411: The news that MGM had purchased her contract from Hughes for $ 30,000. Harlow officially joined the studio on April 20, 1932. At MGM, Harlow was given superior movie roles to show off her looks and nascent comedic talent. Though her screen persona changed dramatically during her career, one constant was her sense of humor. In 1932, she starred in the comedy Red-Headed Woman for which she received $ 1,250
2788-399: The previous year with a severe sunburn and influenza. Friend and co-star Una Merkel noticed Harlow's on-set weight gain, gray pallor and fatigue. On May 29, while Harlow filmed a scene in which her character had a fever, she was clearly sicker than her character and leaned against her co-star Gable between takes and said, "I feel terrible! Get me back to my dressing room." She requested that
Jean Harlow - Misplaced Pages Continue
2856-465: The prize went unclaimed, but the publicity scheme worked and the "Platinum Blonde" nickname stuck with Harlow. Her second film for that studio was Three Wise Girls (1932), with Mae Clarke and Walter Byron , in which she was top billed for the first time. Paul Bern then arranged with Hughes to borrow her for MGM's The Beast of the City (1932), co-starring Walter Huston . After filming, Bern booked
2924-693: The role of "uncredited extra" in the Charlie Chaplin film City Lights (1931), though her appearance did not make the final cut. With no other projects planned for Harlow at the time, Hughes decided to send her to New York, Seattle, and Kansas City for Hell's Angels premieres. In 1931, his Caddo Company loaned her out to other studios, where she gained more attention by appearing in The Secret Six , with Wallace Beery and Clark Gable ; Iron Man , with Lew Ayres and Robert Armstrong ; and The Public Enemy , with James Cagney . Even though
2992-588: The same room were reserved for Harlow's mother and Powell. Harlow's mother was buried there in 1958, but Powell married actress Diana Lewis in 1940. After his death in 1984, he was cremated and his ashes buried in Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California . MGM planned to replace Harlow in Saratoga with either Jean Arthur or Virginia Bruce , but because of public objections,
3060-475: The scene about half a dozen times ... I botched it up on purpose. That Jean Harlow sure was a good kisser. I realized that until then, I had never been really kissed." Harlow was consistently voted one of the strongest box office draws in the United States from 1933 onward, often outranking her female colleagues at MGM in audience popularity polls. By the mid-1930s, she was one of the biggest stars in
3128-481: The school needed to reestablish its reputation through public relations and advertising," new headmistress Frances Wallace "stubbornly refused to try" these avenues. Ferry Hall's trustees stepped in and organized a major capital campaign that was intended to retire the mortgage still owed to Lake Forest College, eventually succeeding in the early 1950s. The centennial celebration of Ferry Hall in 1969 included such figures as Maria Tallchief and Gwendolyn Brooks . In
3196-485: The school was very noticeable in the form of mandatory chapel, strict visitation rules (particularly for men), and rare opportunities to leave the campus. Over time, the Seminary became the "liberal alter-ego" of the town of Lake Forest , which "maintained staunchly conservative Republican Values." The Seminary was well known for the support of social justice and missionary work, and became notable for inviting such figures as Eugene V. Debs , photographer Jacob Riis , and
3264-650: The school. It immediately became known as a school for daughters of the Midwestern social elite, and was supported by such figures as Speaker of the House James G. Blaine and Illinois Lieutenant Governor William Bross . The first principal was Edward Payson Weston , a Congregationalist minister from Maine . Ferry Hall was "no mere finishing school"; rather, it provided something of liberal arts education for women, including uncommonly-taught subjects such as science and mathematics. The Presbyterian influence on
3332-497: The situation by arranging a marriage between Harlow and cinematographer Harold Rosson . Rosson and Harlow were friends, and Rosson went along with the plan. They quietly divorced eight months later. By 1933, MGM realized the value of the Harlow-Gable team with Red Dust and paired them again in Hold Your Man (1933), which was also a box-office success. In the same year, she played the adulterous wife of Wallace Beery in
3400-485: The studio lot without acknowledging her. She later told Page that the snub had caused her to cry until she saw herself, noticed the red wig, and burst out laughing when she realized Page had not recognized her. "That shows you how sensitive she was", Page said. "She was a lovely person in so many ways." She next starred in Red Dust , her second film with Clark Gable. Harlow and Gable worked well together and co-starred in
3468-425: The successes of these films ranged from moderate to hit, Harlow's acting ability was mocked by critics. Hughes sent her on a brief publicity tour in order to bolster her career, but this was not a success as Harlow dreaded making personal appearances. Harlow briefly dated gangster Abner Zwillman , who bought her a jeweled bracelet and a red Cadillac , and made a large cash loan to studio head Harry Cohn to obtain
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#17327878761223536-533: The website Tumblr . On Tumblr, these characters are known as "Sexymen", and are notable for having substantially large followings. In addition, they are often the subject of large quantities of fan art and are often shipped with other characters. Examples of Sexymen in Tumblr fandoms include the Once-ler as depicted in the 2012 Lorax film , as well as Sans from the video game Undertale . Sans in particular
3604-521: Was 15, and speculation that she suffered a poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis following the incident, which may have caused high blood pressure and ultimately kidney failure, has been suggested. Her death certificate lists the cause of death as "acute respiratory infection", "acute nephritis ", and " uremia ". One MGM writer later said, "The day Baby died...there wasn't one sound in the commissary for three hours." Frequent costar Spencer Tracy wrote in his diary, "Jean Harlow died. Grand girl." Harlow
3672-489: Was Harlow's final completed motion picture appearance. In January 1937, Harlow and Robert Taylor traveled to Washington, D.C. , to take part in fundraising activities associated with President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's birthday, for the organization later known as the March of Dimes . Harlow, a Democrat, had campaigned for Roosevelt in the 1936 United States presidential election , and two years earlier for Upton Sinclair in
3740-477: Was a girls' preparatory school founded in 1869 in Lake Forest , Illinois , United States. In 1974, Ferry Hall merged into Lake Forest Academy . Originally named The Young Ladies' Seminary at Ferry Hall, the school was founded in 1869. The capital for the project was made possible by a bequest from the will of Rev. William Montague Ferry , a Presbyterian minister and missionary. In its first year of existence, Ferry Hall enrolled 66 students, 37 of whom boarded at
3808-415: Was accustomed and which endured for the rest of her life. It was not until she was five years old that she learned her real name was Harlean, when staff and students at Miss Barstow's Finishing School for Girls used the name. Harlean was always very close to her mother, who was extremely protective. Her mother was reported to have instilled a sense in her daughter that she owed everything she had to her; "She
3876-411: Was always all mine!", Mama Jean said of her daughter in interviews. Jean Carpenter was later known by "Mama Jean" when Harlean achieved star status as Jean Harlow. When Harlean was at finishing school, her mother filed for a divorce. On September 29, 1922, the uncontested divorce was finalized, giving sole custody of Harlean to her mother. Although Harlean loved her father, she did not see him often after
3944-445: Was bleached, the platinum blonde color was reportedly achieved with a weekly application of ammonia , Clorox bleach , and Lux soap flakes . This process weakened and damaged Harlow's naturally ash-blonde hair. Many female fans began dyeing their hair to match hers and Hughes' team organized a series of "Platinum Blonde" clubs across the nation offering a prize of $ 10,000 to any beautician who could match Harlow's shade. No one could, and
4012-432: Was heard muttering, "My God, must I always wear a low-cut dress to be important?" During the making of Red Dust , Bern—her husband of two months—was found dead at their home; this created a lasting scandal. Initially, Harlow was suspected of killing Bern, but his death was officially ruled a suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wound. Louis B. Mayer feared negative publicity from the incident and intended to replace Harlow in
4080-453: Was holding up. That evening, she was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, where she slipped into a coma. The next day at 11:37 a.m., Harlow died in the hospital at the age of 26. In the doctor's press releases, the cause of death was given as cerebral edema , a complication of kidney failure. Hospital records mention uremia . For years, rumors circulated about Harlow's death. Some claimed that her mother had refused to call
4148-681: Was in the film industry for only nine years, but she became one of Hollywood's biggest movie stars, whose image in the public eye has endured. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Harlow number 22 on its greatest female screen legends list. Harlow was first signed by business magnate Howard Hughes , who directed her first major role in Hell's Angels (1930). After a series of critically failed films, and Hughes' loss of interest in her career, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer bought out Harlow's contract in 1932 and cast her in leading roles in
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#17327878761224216-592: Was interred in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale in a private room of multicolored marble, which William Powell bought for $ 25,000 (equivalent to approximately $ 529,861 in 2023 dollars). She was laid to rest in the pink negligee she'd worn in Saratoga and in her hands she had a white gardenia along with a note that Powell had written: "Goodnight, my dearest darling." Harlow's inscription on her crypt reads, "Our Baby". Spaces in
4284-550: Was no great concern regarding this latest bout with a recurring illness. On June 2, it was announced she was again suffering from influenza. Dr. Ernest Fishbaugh, who had been called to Harlow's home to treat her, diagnosed her with an inflamed gallbladder. Mother Jean told MGM that Harlow was feeling better on June 3, and co-workers expected her back on the set by Monday, June 7, 1937. Press reports were contradictory, with headlines reading "Jean Harlow seriously ill" and "Harlow recovers from illness crisis". When she did not return to set,
4352-511: Was noticed and approached by Fox executives, whom she told she was not interested. Nevertheless, she was given letters of introduction to Central Casting . A few days later, Rosalie Roy bet Harlean that she did not have the nerve to go in for an audition. Unwilling to lose a wager and pressed by her enthusiastic mother who had followed her daughter to Los Angeles by this time, Harlean went to Central Casting and signed in under her mother's maiden name, Jean Harlow. After several calls from casting and
4420-499: Was now romantically involved with Harlow and spoke to Louis B. Mayer about buying her contract with Hughes and signing her to MGM, but Mayer declined. MGM's leading ladies were presented as elegant, and Harlow's screen persona was not so to Mayer. Bern then began urging close friend Irving Thalberg , production head of MGM, to sign Harlow, noting her popularity and established image. After initial reluctance Thalberg agreed, and on March 3, 1932, Harlow's 21st birthday, Bern called her with
4488-467: Was the daughter of wealthy real estate broker Skip Harlow and his wife, Ella Harlow ( née Williams). In 1908, Skip Harlow arranged his daughter's marriage to Mont Clair Carpenter. She was underage at the time and grew resentful and unhappy in the marriage, but the Carpenters remained together living in a Kansas City house owned by her father. Harlean's family called her "Baby," a nickname to which she
4556-493: Was the original choice to play the screaming blonde heroine, but was under an exclusive contract with MGM during the film's pre-production phase—and the part went to Wray, a brunette who had to wear a blonde wig. When mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel came to Hollywood to expand casino operations, Harlow became the informal godmother of Siegel's eldest daughter, Millicent, when the family lived in Beverly Hills. Paul Bern
4624-448: Was undesirable for her character. Harlow screen-tested for Hughes, who gave her the part. On October 24, 1929, Harlow signed a five-year contract with Hughes, paying $ 100-per-week (equivalent to approximately $ 1,774 in 2023 dollars). During filming of Hells Angels , Harlow met MGM executive Paul Bern , her future husband, for the first time. Hell's Angels premiered in Hollywood at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on May 27, 1930, and became
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