My Favorite Right-Wing Republican

We took Leah to a screening of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” this weekend at the Cinematheque which was followed by an in-person discussion with actress and former bombshell Jane Russell. Did you know that unlike today, many of the biggest stars in Hollywood in the 1950s were staunch Republicans? Jane Russell was right up there with Ronald Reagan, John Wayne, Lou Costello, June Allyson, Dick Powell, and Jimmy Stewart. During a speech in 2003, she announced that “these days I am a teetotaling, mean-spirited, right-wing, narrow-minded conservative Christian bigot, but not a racist.” Oy, Jane, Jane. The crowd at the Cinematheque would never have guessed she was any of those things based on her delightful Q&A after the film.

The woman is amazing. 84 years old and in great physical shape, sharp as a tack, and honest as all get out. Kendall and I are constantly going to these events where they drag out old movie stars and sometimes they seem so caught up in their own faded glory that you can tell they stopped being real people some time during the Truman administration. Not so, Jane Russell. Just like her character Dorothy Shaw in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” Russell is a straight-talkin’ babe. You get the feeling that she never bought her own publicity, which was a good thing in her case considering it was mostly focused on her famous knockers.

I was surprised to learn about the incredible work Jane Russell has done for the rights of adopted children. After a botched abortion left her unable to have kids, she adopted three children in 1950s but faced major hurdles in the process, especially when she tried to adopt a child overseas. She started working to change the laws, testifying before Congress, and was instrumental in the passage of the Federal Orphan Adoption Amendment of 1953. Since then, she helped pass legislation that allows single parents to adopt and makes it possible for children to cross state lines for adoptions. Her organization WAIF, which she retired from in the late 1990s, has placed over 50,000 children in homes. Whenever the studio sent her on a publicity tour, she spent much of her time in that area working for this cause. The other night whenever anyone tried to compliment her about her life’s work she just shrugged and said “That’s where God put me.” Normally such comments would make me cringe but Jane was so humble and sincere that I could see how her deep faith has guided her life in so many positive ways.

So what’s with the mean-spirited narrow-mindedness? She gave that speech when she was in the throes of a campaign to get prayer back in the schools and to allow the Ten Commandments to remain in public spaces such as courthouses. I don’t agree with either of those ideas, but neither issue makes me start frothing at the mouth as so many other items do in the agenda of the religious right.

Unlike many of her conservative colleagues, Russell is certainly no homophobe. She spent a lot of time in the Q&A waxing nostalgic over her openly gay choreographer in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” Jack Cole. She repeatedly called him a genius and said he was largely responsible for the success of the film since neither she nor Marilyn Monroe could dance a step when they started shooting. Jane seems to enjoy her status as a gay icon (I thought the two gay German guys in front of us were going to pass out from excitement at seeing their idol), and she commented on the bizarre bit of homoerotica in the film when she sings “Ain't There Anyone Here for Love” in the middle of a training session for the Olympic team. As dozens of beefy, near-naked studs go through their work-out moves, Jane darts in and out of their routines singing lines like “I like big muscles, and red corpuscles, I like a beautiful hunk of man.” The men ignore her completely and seem far more interested in each other as they gyrate in suggestive positions. How that scene ever got past the censors is beyond me.

Jane Russell was 32 when she made “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and it is by far the best film of her career. Based on the novel by Anita Loos, it is the story of blonde, money-hungry Lorelei Lee (played by Marilyn Monroe) and her best friend, dark-haired, cynical Dorothy Shaw, who doesn’t give a whit about a man’s wallet but cares a great deal about other parts of him. Before the film started, and sounding like a Christian fundamentalist myself,  I was trying to warn Leah about the outrageous values that are promoted in the film (marrying someone for money, using sexuality to manipulate, etc.). During my elaborate explanation of the film’s twisted message,  Leah stopped me and said, “Dad, it’s a movie, a mooovie! It’s supposed to be fun, it’s not about real life.” Of course we all loved the film, especially seeing it up on the big screen in Technicolor that was so vivid you practically needed to wear sunglasses. Many of the film’s best lines would be considered appalling in a movie today.

Horny Man #1: If this boat goes down, which of the two girls (Monroe or Russell) would you  save?
Horny Man #2: Oh, those girls can’t sink.

Mr. Edmonds: Are you going to stand there and tell me that you’re not marrying my son for his money?
Lorelei (outraged): It’s true!
Mr. Edmonds: Then why are you marrying him?
Lorelei: I’m marrying him for YOUR money!

And of course, one of Marilyn's most famous songs:

He's your guy when stocks are high
But beware when they start to descend.
It's then that those louses
Go back to their spouses
Diamonds are a girl's best friend!

Hideous, right? But so, so good! Considering the fluff that it is, I think “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” is a near perfect film. To my feminist friends who are shocked and repulsed, I say go watch it in a movie theatre with 400 fans.

Jane Russell grew up in a deeply religious home with a mother who quoted from Scripture at every meal. How odd, then, that she ended up becoming famous as a sex symbol who pushed the envelope to such an extent that preachers were calling for boycotts of some of her early films. It wasn’t really her doing. Howard Hughes first caught sight of Jane in 1940 (she was working as a virtual receptionist in a Van Nuys podiatrist’s office) and signed her to a seven-year contract. But he was far more interested in showcasing her ample bust than he was in finding good roles for his new star. Hughes was obsessed with Russell’s breasts and she admitted that while the famous story of Hughes designing a special bra for her appearance in her first film, “The Outlaw,” is absolutely true, he never knew that she didn’t actually wear the bra on the screen. She found Hughes’ design for the first seamless bra uncomfortable so she just tossed it away and put tissues on the outside of her regular bra to smooth out the seams. Hughes never knew the difference. Some of the shots of Jane bending over in “The Outlaw” showed so much cleavage that it took Hughes three years to get the film past the censor board. In the meantime, he had her doing one publicity junket after another, most with the aim of wowing the crowds with her voluptuous boobs. As Bob Hope used to introduce her, “Here comes the two-and-only, Miss Jane Russell.”

Jane was a team player but she would only go so far in this constant exploitation of her body. She refused Hughes’ request to wear a bikini in “The French Line” (at that time, Russell told us, “only the bad girls in the south of France wore them”) but she did agree to wear a cut-out bathing suit and do a bump-and-grind number that was condemned by the Catholic League of Decency. The film was released in 3-D with Jane’s breasts jutting out so far into the audience that viewers would jerk their heads away for fear of being struck. What other film in history has such a tasteless tag line: “J.R. in 3-D: It’ll knock both your eyes out!” Following this film Jane marched into Hughes’ office and said “Howard! Enough with my breasts already!” The billionaire agreed to give it a rest. Jane was a consultant on last year’s “The Aviator” and said that if she and Hughes’ other old friends were allowed anywhere near the tycoon during those last crazy years they would have gotten him to a hospital whether he liked it or not.

Russell had many nice things to say about her Democratic co-star Marilyn Monroe (I wonder if they ever discussed politics). Though this was her first real starring role, Marilyn already had her own coach on the set and after every take she’d look at her instead of famed director Howard Hawks. Needless to say, Hawks was not pleased. But Jane and Marilyn got along great. One thing I was happy Leah was able to witness was the warm relationship in the film between the two leads. For my money I can’t think of a better cinematic depiction of girlfriends. Though wildly different in temperament and ambition, the two women loved each other and were fiercely loyal. The 1950s version of Thelma and Louise without the violence? Jane said that Marilyn was extremely sensitive. When she overheard Tommy Noonan, who played her boyfriend Gus in the film, tell a reporter that kissing Marilyn Monroe is like getting eaten alive, she ran off in tears. When she was too insecure to come out of her dressing room on some mornings, Jane would hightail it over there and tell her to get moving—the crew was waiting. Marilyn always obeyed. You get the impression that if no-nonsense Jane had been around more coddled, temperamental movie stars, there would have been far less histrionics on Hollywood sets.

I really like Jane Russell but I do find it a little hard to reconcile the woman we met the other night with the self-described “narrow-minded conservative Christian bigot.” Some of Russell's past affiliations I just have to ignore, like her involvement with Phyllis Schlafly’s dreaded Eagle Forum. Still, one quality I admire about this Good Ol’ Gal who has helped so many children around the world, is her ability to consider people as individuals, not just as labels that represent the values she’s against. Look at her great affection for frequent co-star, bad boy Robert Mitchum, who once spent time on a Georgia chain gang and was arrested in 1948 for marijuana possession. The prickly actor was never repentant and yet he and Christian conservative Jane got along famously. When asked to describe Jane Russell, Mitchum said, “An authentic original. She tells it like it is.” Louella Parsons called them "the hottest couple that ever hit the screen." In the closing line of their best film together, “His Kind of Woman,” Mitchum sums it up. He looks into Jane Russell’s eyes and says, “You could be a handy thing to have around the house.”

Comments

[Pearl]

Danny, no mention of Jane doing the Playtex bra commercials in the late seventies, early eighties?

Maybe you'd better "hook up" Neil from Citizen of the Month with Jane and her ample bosom... ;)

[Danny]

Oh, you're right, Pearl! I had every intention of mentioning those spots for that 18-hour bra designed for "us full figure gals...cross your heart!" Even in the 1970s Jane Russell was every TV-watching boy's fantasy. I never really got what the 18 hours meant, though. I guess the amount of time you could wear that tank-like brassiere before the straps would start to draw blood?

[david]

This is great stuff, Danny. There's no one I admire so much as someone whom I disagree with but like anyway. Especially when they do the stuff that Jane Russell has done.

Leah's upbringing is priceless. You could not possibly be doing better than letting her see these iconic figures and movies.

And those nephews! Oy!

[OldOldLady Of The Hills]

Hey Danny...
I love Leah telling you..'This a Mooovie!!!' LOL, Jane Russell is such an interesting combination of contradictions, isn't she? As you said, WAIF is a fantastic organization and was unique for it's time...I don't think there was anything like this before, and certainly not for a
l-o-n-g time afterward...In the late 70's I think she was going through some difficult personal problems...she flirted with Primal Therapy with someone in Santa Barbara...very brave, I thought...I know how hard THAT Is! An amazing person...what a great nighht at 'the movies'!

[Mark Daniels]

People genuinely striving to follow Christ should be fairly able to get along with and appreciate anybody. The New Testament tells people, "To the extent it depends on you, seek to live in peace with everyone..."

There are fatheads who call themselves Christians, but are really religious legalists.

The Christian approach should be to love all our fellow sinners even as we recoil at sin.

I like your profile of Russell. You had a different experience meeting her than my wife did meeting Lana Turner many years ago.

Mark Daniels

[Danny]

Mark, thanks for that take on real Christians as opposed to hypocritical ones. You can smell that kind of hypcrisy a mile away which is why I so appreciated Jane Russell since she was devoid of it. But your last line begs for its own post on your blog. I for one am anxious to know what happened during your wife's Lana Turner encounter!

[Neil]

Wow, I wish I knew about that screening. I honestly didn't even know Jane Rusell was still with us.

And your lecture about the movie's values to Leah. How amusing. There's worse stuff going on in a typical episode of "The Simpsons."

[justin kreutzmann]

GREAT BLOG!

can't go wrong with Jane Russell!

[Terri]

What a great profile of Jane Russell. As a kid, I watched all her movies in the 50's and really liked her, so I enjoyed your blog.
And your daughter, Leah, sounds way too cool. I'm new to your blog, so will have to cruise around to find out her age....but she sounds very special and you, even more so, for exposing her to such important things in life.

[SuperAmanda]

What an amzing blog, perhaps the best! But before I go on with the barrage of well earned compliments, as a Jane Russell fan allow me to illuminate the history behind the infamous Howard Hughes bra: she never wore it because it was poorly made. During the Outlaw shoot she simply took one of her own bras, encased the seams in tissue (HH wanted no seams) and pulled the straps to the side.Jan mentions this in her own bio. Jane was also very ample in the hip area as well and should be remembered as having the roundest fullest back side in Hollywood apart from a post Cincetta Sophia Loren. With so many actresses today fighting genetics and being chosen for a hipless/bottomless prepubescent appearance, Jane stands as a beacon of womanhood.
Though NOT just because of her appearance, she is a one of a kind individual-a mint original par excellence.
http://tribes.tribe.net/janerussell

[Danny]

Right on, SuperAmanda, and don't forget Doris Day's well shaped backside as well. The insanity is that by today's absurd Hollywood standards all of these women would probably be considered obese.

[Rosie]

it's time to get hollywood's beauty standards back to the old ways!!! well...er...maybe not the 23 inch waist...i don't feel like putting on a real corset to achieve that.

leah's response is fab...that kid's got a good head on her shoulders and will probably end up making movies herself!

[JC]

Why are conservatives automatically labeled "mean-spirited"? I've known plenty of mean-spirited liberals.

[Lil]

JC, she called herself "mean spirited"!

[Mr. Alex Simon; Handsome Hub explained by Ms Janet E. Simon; equally Geat!!]

October 7th/2009

Please tell me if Ms Jane (Dyle) Russell has ever really retire for I have a RE-OCURRING DREAM that MY WIFE may have lost Her Life due to an over-dose of Permatyine, similar to a Morphine injection, for my Wife, a Ms Janet Ellen Simon; I feel according telling me in this CLEAR DREAM a Ms Russell with make-up with DISGUISE FOR HOLLY-WOOD Film all grande, NEW INCLUDING
mating as PAL, who became my Reincarnated Daughter who also STAGED Named; a
Ms Julie Iyne also known is a Janet Leigh and her middle name is Ellen; my TRUE WIFE'S;

..A Miss Katherine (KATE) HOLT STARRING WITH ALL STARS great including a Mr. John Wayne is similar to my TOTAL Husband: A GREAT GUY; what I love about my HUSBAND is he is all FAITH; and some calls this all CATHOLIC;

..To me it means all TRUE Men and Women need to keep apart following their MARRIAGE; and I can fully insure a Children Services called 6 fully lied to me; not my Husband True;

Two women: One is Called a Ms Janice Doetzel lied on PAPER which I feel and
I am a loving HUMAN and not a SCAPEGOAT;
and for this handsome ANIMAL is a FRIEND;
not a fiend and I call all those that called me unhygienic; please look at the describe for we and we are SUPERIOR at
THE FAMILY; what has occurred from two women on PAPER plus a WOMAN who was near sued for SLANDAR and forcing our family apart and here name who is polite a Ms Kim Spicer.!; now finally; please tell why all the PEOPLE in the World help (US) COST-FREE; WE GENUINELY LOVE ONE ANOTHER AND
THAT INCLUDES OUR WHOLE FAMILY; you all call your-selves Family loving; then by God's sake and there certainly a
UNIVERSAL CREATOR; and TRUST YOU ME AND BY WHAT IS SACRED IN THE UNITED STATES IN AMERICA: you allow SLANDER to occur in CANADA here in Edmonton and in Alberta!!

AND THANK YOU FOR CARING FROM THE SIMON KIN; ALL TRULY PROPER AND REGISTERED AND BEST OF LUCK!!

A Ms happily Married but (and a Pretty One),
like Ms Jane Russell who WON 93 ACADEMY PERFORMANCE AWARDS AND THAT'S A LOT!!!

[Mr. Alexander Simon]

Dear Ms (Gorgeous) Jane Russell:

January, 4th, 2010 Mr. Alexander Simon, Suite #305, 8820 - 85 Street, Boonie Doon, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6C 3C2 780/466-9719 Dear Mister Malcolm McDowell: THE RAGING MOON; For Release & Immediate. For all the Crew of "A Clock-Work Orange"; my true name, Mister Alexander Simon, is an equal Mister Anthoney Burgess Mystery. I viewed this amazing Movie for the first time in a Theatre called The Odion. The fate is a simply matter of Choice not Religious flair; and like the U.S. Calvary many a Man came running late; what is evident in all Mr. McDowell Movies ... is a Man can have His Cake and eat it! NOW HERE IS A SCRIPT NEW AND HEAVY WITH GREED; Two new Enemies are beginning to run wild with Greed due to a RELIGIOUS FLAVOUR; Five other disgruntled Majors are in the heat of Battle; sixteen bullits hit hard and fast; And like the Great American Flag; 600 Red-Skins all true no; Thereby; The British Brigadiers are sent out for an inspection; A GREAT LIST OF CHARACTERS INCLUDE: 1. A new Mister Stanley Kubrick Film. a. A Mr. 'Steve McQueen' like view for the Hero; b. A Ms. Jane Russell of same calibre; c. Second Leads please provide the feel of Mr. Richard Burton and Mr. Michael Caine; d. Second Leads as well a Ms Marilyn Monroe look and Ms Ellen Burstyn view; More for splat'; and thank you for overviewing this Fame to be made with serious.

Read more: Malcolm McDowell - Actors and Actresses - Films as Actor:, Publications http://www.filmreference.com/Actors-and-Actresses-Ma-Mo/McDowell-Malcolm.html#Comments_form#ixzz0bhhp9gsm