Jean Harlow

At 26 years old, Jean Harlow has this physical status:

Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; 1936-May 7, 1937) was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s.

Harlow was only on television from 1928 to 1937, before her death at the age of 26, but she became one of the country's top movie stars, and her image in the public eye has endured.

She was often referred to as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" in the media, and her "Laughing Vamp" movie persona was in high demand. Harlow was signed by billionaire producer Howard Hughes, who made her first major appearance as a sex symbol in Hell's Angels (1930).

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer bought out Harlow's contract in 1932, after a string of critically flop films and Hughes' loss of interest in her career.

Harlow became a leading lady, appearing in a number of hits, including her breakthrough acting role Red-Headed Woman (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), and Suzy (1936).

Harlow became one of MGM's top stars of the 1930s, with her following quickly surpassing those of MGM colleagues Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer. Harlow was killed during the filming of MGM's Saratoga (1937).

The studio was able to complete the film by using body doubles for Harlow in long shots.

The photograph was published a little over a month after Harlow's death.

Jean Harlow has been named as the 22nd female celebrity of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute.

Early life

Harlow was born Harlean Harlow Carpenter in a house located at 3344 Olive Street in Kansas City, Missouri, Missouri.

Mont Clair Carpenter (1877-1974), the son of Abraham L. Carpenter and Dianna (née Beal), was a dentist who attended dental school in Kansas City. He came from a working-class background. Jean Poe Carpenter (née Harlow) was the daughter of wealthy real estate broker Skip Harlow and his wife, Ella Harlow (née Williams). Skip Harlow arranged his daughter's marriage to Mont Clair Carpenter in 1908. She was underage at the time and became angry and dissatisfied with her parents' union, but the Carpenters stayed together in a Kansas City home owned by her father.

Harlean's nickname was "The Baby," a term she aspired to and which stayed for the remainder of her life. When Miss Bartow's Finishing School for Girls used the word, she didn't know her real name was Harlean until she was five years old. Harlean was always close to her mother, who was extremely protective. Her mother was rumored to have instilled a sense of responsibility in her daughter that she owed everything to her; she was always mine! "In interviews, Mama Jean described her daughter as "fragile." When Harlean first gained stardom as Jean Harlow, Jean Carpenter was later identified as "Mama Jean."

When Harlean was finishing high school, her mother applied for a divorce. The uncontested divorce of Harlean was announced on September 29, 1922, giving sole custody of the child to her mother. Although Harlean loved her father, she didn't see him often after the divorce.

Jean Carpenter, 32, took her daughter and moved to Hollywood in 1923 with the intention of becoming an actress, but she was told she was too old to start 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 she dropped out at the age of 14, in the spring of 1925.

Jean and Harlean moved to Kansas City after Skip Harlow issued an ultimatum that if their daughter did not return, they would disinherit her mother. Skip sent his granddaughter to summer camp at Camp Cha-Ton-Ka in Michigamme, Michigan, where she was ill with scarlet fever. Jean Carpenter came to Michigan to assist Harlean, rowing herself across the lake to the camp, but was told she would not see her daughter.

Harlean's first attended the Ferry Hall School (now Lake Forest Academy) in Lake Forest, Illinois. Jean Carpenter had a ulterior motive for her daughter's attendance at this particular academy: it was close to her boyfriend Marino Bello's Chicago home.

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Career

Harlean befriended Rosalie Roy, a young aspiring actress, while living in Los Angeles. Rosalie begged Harlean to take her to Fox Studios for an appointment, rather than owning a vehicle. Harlean was noticed and approached by Fox executives who said she was not interested in Rosalie. Nevertheless, she was sent letters introducing Central Casting. Rosalie Roy threwled Harlean that she didn't have the nerve to attend an audition just a few days later. Harlean went to Central Casting and signed in under her mother's maiden name, Jean Harlow, refusing to lose a bet and pressured by her ardent mother who had followed her daughter to Los Angeles by this time.

Mother Jean finally forced her into doing film after numerous calls from casting and a number of unsuccessful career choices by Harlean's, a number of times, and she eventually accepted work at the studio. Harlean appeared in her first film, Honor Bound (1928), as an unbilled "extra" for $7 a day and a box lunch, which is common pay for such jobs. This resulted in a wage increase to $10 a day and small roles in feature films like Moran of the Marines (1928) and Charley Chase's lost film Chasing Husbands (1928). In December 1928, Harlean as Jean Harlow signed a five-year deal with Hal Roach Studios for $100 per week. She appeared in a few scenes in the 1929 Laurel and Hardy shorts: Double Whoopee, Liberty, and Bacon Grabbers, the last of which gave her little recognition.

Hal Roach, who sacked her job after Harlow told him, "It's breaking up my marriage, what can I do?" she said in March 1929. Harlow divorced from her husband in June 1929 and joined Mother Jean and Bello in Mother Jean and Bello. Harlow continued to appear in films like This Thing Called Love, Close Harmony, and The Love Parade (all 1929), until she landed her first speaking role in the Clara Bow film The Saturday Night Kid. In 1929, Harlow and her husband divorced.

Harlow was discovered by Ben Lyon, a filmmaker filming Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels; another account lists Angels head cameraman Arthur Landau as the man who noticed and suggested her to Hughes. Hughes was reshooting the majority of his originally silent film with sound, and she needed an actress to replace Greta Nissen, whose Norwegian accent was offputting for her character. On October 24, 1929, Harlow screen-tested Hughes, who offered her the opportunity and then committed her to a five-year, $100-per-week deal. Harlow met MGM executive Paul Berne on filming.

On May 27, 1930, Hell's Angels premiered in Hollywood at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, becoming the year's highest-grossing film, surpassing even Greta Garbo's debut in Anna Christie. Harlow was made a worldwide celebrity by the Hell's Angels. Despite being popular with audiences, the critics were less empathetic. The New Yorker called her performance "plain awful," though Variety magazine acknowledged that "it doesn't matter what kind of talent she has... nobody ever starved having what she has" despite her size.

Despite her relative success with Hell's Angels, Harlow landed herself in the role of "uncredited extra" in Charlie Chaplin's film City Lights (1931), but she did not make the final cut. Hughes decided to bring her to New York, Seattle, and Kansas City for the Hell's Angels premieres, because Harlow has no other projects scheduled for the time. His Caddo Company loaned her out to other studios, where she gained more fame when appearing in The Secret Six alongside Wallace Beery and Clark Gable; Iron Man, with Lew Ayres and Robert Armstrong; and The Public Enemy, with James Cagney. Despite the fact that these films went from moderate to hit, critics mocked Harlow's acting ability. Hughes sent her on a brief publicity tour in order to boost her career, but it was not fruitful, since Harlow feared making personal appearances.

Harlow dated Abner Zwillman, who bought her a jeweled bracelet and a red Cadillac, and made a large cash loan to studio head Harry Cohn in order to get a two-picture contract for her at Columbia Pictures for a brief period. As seen in undercover surveillance footage, the relationship came to an end when he reportedly spoke to her in derogatory and vulgar terms when referring to other related crime figures.

Harlow was first cast in a Frank Capra film starring Loretta Young, but the company renamed Platinum Blonde to capitalize on Hughes' publicity of Harlow's "platinum" hair color. Although Harlow denied that her hair had been bleached, the platinum blonde color was allegedly created by a weekly application of ammonia, Clorox bleach, and Lux soap flakes. Harlow's naturally ash-blonde hair was degraded during this process. Many female supporters began dying their hair to match hers and Hughes' team's started a number of "Platinum Blonde" clubs around the country, giving a $10,000 award to any beautician who could match Harlow's color. No one could, and the award went unclaimed, but the publicity campaign was fruitful, and Harlow's "Platinum Blonde" nickname stuck. Three Wise Girls (1932), Mae Clarke and Walter Byron's second film for the studio, was her second film for the company.

Paul Bern then arranged for Hughes to loan her for MGM's The Beast of the City (1932), co-starring Walter Huston. Bern arranged a 10-week personal appearance tour on the East Coast after filming. She packed every theater in which she appeared, even Harlow herself, often performing in a single venue for many nights, much to the delight of many, especially Harlow herself. Despite severe inequity and poor performances, Harlow's fame and success were high and expanding, and in February 1932, the tour was extended by six weeks.

According to Fay Wray, who appeared Ann Darrow in RKO Pictures' King Kong (1933), Harlow was the first choice to portray the screaming blonde heroine, but it was limited to MGM during the film's pre-production phase, and the actress was Wray, a brunette who had to wear a blonde wig.

When mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel moved to Hollywood to increase casino operations, Harlow became Siegel's eldest daughter, Millicent, when the family lived in Beverly Hills.

Paul Bern was already intimately involved with Harlow, and she consulted with Louis B. Mayer about her MGM career and moving her to MGM, but Mayer declined. The leading ladies of MGM were styled elegant, and Harlow's screen persona was not as good as Mayer. Bern then started urging close friend Irving Thalberg, MGM's project manager, to sign Harlow, acknowledging her fame and established reputation. Thalberg's initial reluctance evaporated, and Bern called Harlow's 21st birthday on March 3, 1932, just days after her MGM bought her deal from Hughes for $30,000. Harlow first joined the studio on April 20, 1932.

Harlow was given greater film opportunities at MGM to showcase her beauty and nascent comedic talent. Though her screen persona changed dramatically throughout her career, one thing that remained constant was her sense of humor. She appeared in 1932 on the comedy Red-Headed Woman for which she was paid $1,250 a week. It was the first film in which she "resembles something of an actress" in a film that does not moralize or punish the woman for her behavior. Harlow did not have platinum blonde hair in this film, according to sources; she wore a red wig for the role. Anita Page, a red-Headed Woman, was walking her on the studio lot while Harlow was filming Red-Headed Woman. She told Page that the snub made her to weep until she saw herself, noticed the red wig, and burst out laughing when she discovered that Page did not know her. "That shows how sensitive she was," Page said. "She was a wonderful person in so many ways."

Clark Gable's second film starring her in Red Dust came after she appeared in Red Dust. Harlow and Gable co-starred in a total of six films together and co-starred. Spencer Tracy and William Powell were also paired several times. MGM began to separate Harlow's public persona from her screen characters by denying that writer Edgar Allan Poe was one of her ancestors and releasing photos of her doing charitable work to rename her as an all-American woman. Harlow's first experience was challenging; "My God, must I always wear a low-cut dress to be relevant?" he said.

During the making of Red Dust, Bern — her husband of two months — was discovered dead at their house; this caused a long-running controversy. Harlow was suspected of murdering Bernay, but he was declared suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Louis B. Mayer was concerned about negative publicity after the incident and planned to replace Harlow in the film, but he was given the opportunity to Tallulah Bankhead. "To damn the radiant Jean for the misfortune of another would be one of the worst acts of all time," Bankhead wrote in her autobiography. "I told Mr. Mayer as much as possible." Harlow stayed silent, survived the ordeal, and became more popular than ever. Bern's biography in 2009 said he was killed by a former lover, as well as the crime scene rearranged by MGM executives to make it appear that Bern had killed himself.

Harlow began an indiscretion of father Max Baer, who had separated from his wife Dorothy Dunbar, but was branded co-respondent for alienation of affection, a legal term for adultery. The studio avoided another controversy after Bern's death by booking a marriage between Harlow and cinematographer Harold Rosson. Rosson and Harlow were friends, and Rosson went along with the scheme. They were happily divorced eight months later.

MGM realized the value of the Harlow-Gable crew with Red Dust by 1933 and paired them with Hold Your Man (1933), which was also a box-office smash. She appeared in the all-star comedy-drama Dinner at Eight and played a cynical Hollywood film actress in the screwball comedy Bombshell with Lee Tracy and Franchot Tone in the same year. The film is said to be based on Harlow's personal life or that of 1920s "It girl" Clara Bow.

She was partnered with Lionel Barrymore and Tone in The Girl from Missouri (1934), the following year. The film was the studio's attempt to soften Harlow's image, but it had to be renamed Born to Be Kissed to be changed.

MGM portrayed the Harlow-Gable team in two more successful films, including China Seas (1935), with Wallace Beery and Rosalind Russell; and Wife vs. Secretary (1936), with Myrna Loy and James Stewart. In a scene in a car with Harlow in Wife vs. Secretary, Stewart later recalled, "Clarence Brown, the producer, was not too happy by the way I did the smooching." We were made to repeat the scene about half a dozen times... I botched it up on purpose. Jean Harlow, I'm sure, was a good kisser. I knew that I hadn't been really kissed up until then."

Harlow was consistently voted one of the highest box office draws in the United States from 1933 to 2016, often outranking her female colleagues at MGM in audience popularity polls. Greta Garbo, the country's next great actress by the mid-1930s, was one of the country's top actors, and it was hoped that MGM's next Greta Garbo would arrive in the mid-1930s. Although her star, Garbo, Joan Crawford, and Norma Shearer, who were still young, her role continued to rise, although MGM's, like Garbo, Joan Crawford, and Norma Shearer, waned. And during the Great Depression, Harlow's movies continued to bring in huge sums at the box office.

Harlow met William Powell, another MGM celebrity, and immediately fell in love after her third marriage ended in 1934. According to reports, the couple were engaged for two years, but their relationship was still strained by a variety of marriages to Powell's inability, which prevented them from publicly expressing their love. Reckless (1935), the actress' first film musical, co-starred the two co-stars; her voice was dubbed with that of a highly trained vocalist Virginia Verrill.

Suzy (1936), in which she appeared in a title role, received the highest accolades over four-time co-star Tone and Cary Grant, who appeared in four films. Though critics noted that Harlow dominated the film, it was nevertheless a good box-office success. She co-starred Spencer Tracy and Una Merkel in Riffraff (1936), a financial loss for the co-star. Harlow's comedic appearances followed the debut of Libeled Lady (1936), in which she was top-billed over Powell, Loy, and Tracy. She then filmed W.S., which was followed by her. Personal Property (1937), co-starring Robert Taylor, was a van Dyke's comedic comedy. It was Harlow's last complete motion picture appearance.

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