The start date is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jane Russell and recently it was the 10th anniversary of her passing in 2011. She became an instant star as she was discovered by Howard Hughes and signed to a seven-year contract. He placed her in the film The Outlaw, which was released in 1943, but it had been filmed between November 1940 and March 1941. The film was delayed by censorship controls as the story seemed to take second place to the display at every opportunity of Miss Russell’s ample assets. The delay meant publicity for the film lasted nearly two years and she became a wartime pin-up adored by GIs. When the film opened it was a box office smash. She did not make masses of films, only 33 screen credits, but she was in The Paleface 1948 and Son of Paleface 1952 with Bob Hope, who always introduced her as “the two and only Jane Russell” and said that “culture is the ability to describe Jane Russell without moving your hands”. She made thrillers such as His Kind of Woman 1951 and Macao 1952 with Robert Mitchum, but probably her best-loved film was Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 1953 with Marilyn Monroe and she later made Gentlemen Marry Brunettes 1955, showing her comedy skills. At the height of her fame she effectively retired, though sang in nightclubs, performing at Las Vegas, made a record, even a duet with Frank Sinatra and she remained a celebrity all her days, in later years involved with Christian charities and was the founder of the Hollywood Christian Group, forming a hymn quartet. Born in Bemidji, Minnesota, in her early years her family lived in Edmonton, Canada, but when her father retired from the U.S. Army they moved to Southern California and a ranch on Sherman Way, Van Nuys, and she attended Van Nuys High School. Marrying three times during her career, she lived in Montecito and Santa Barbara, Sedona in Arizona where she co-owned Dude’s Nightclub and has a street named after her in Iowa City, iowa, but she spent her later years and ended her days in Santa Maria in the Santa Maria Valley, Central California. We believe she is worthy of a match in her honour – if the number or ratings do not suit, then please make contact.
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