The American Film Institute
ranked Jean Harlow as one of the greatest movie stars of all time. She was
discovered by the legendary Howard Hughes while re-shooting his film,
Hell's Angels (1930)
from silent into sound. When the original star's
(Greta Nissen) accent was too strong for the talkies, Hughes needed a new star.
He had a brief meeting with Harlow and hired her on the spot and signed
hr to a five-year contract.Harlow
quickly emerged as the sex symbol of the 1930s. The Los Angeles Times
had one word for her = “Sexquisite.” She was often referred to as "Platinum Blonde" and the "Blonde Bombshell" in all the columns due to her
famous platinum blonde hair. Hughes convinced the producers of
the film Platinum Blonde (1931) to rename it from its original title of
Gallagher in order to promote Harlow's image.
MGM executive Paul Bern convinced his friend
Irving Thalberg, production head of MGM, to buy Harlow's contract from
Hughes for $30,000. Harlow married Bern shortly
thereafter. MGM assigned Harlow movie roles to show off her beauty and
her comedic talents comedy and she soon became a superstar. It was during
the making of the film Red Dust that Paul
Bern found shot to death in the house. Bern’s butler found his body in his
wife’s all-white bedroom. He was nude, sprawled in front of a full-length
mirror and drenched in Jean’s favorite perfume, creating a scandal. After it was
officially ruled that his death was a suicide, Harlow survived the
ordea and became more popular than ever. Her films continued to make huge
profits at the box office, even during the middle of the Depression. Some
credit Harlow's films with keeping MGM profitable.
While filming Saratoga (1937) with Clark
Gable, Harlow collapsed on set and was rushed to the hospital, where she was
diagnosed with uremic poisoning and from which she died eight days later.
She was buried in the negligee that she had worn just weeks before while
filming a scene for Saratoga. After her death, there was a
wide-spread rumor that bleach from her hair seeped into her brain and killed
her.
So to celebrate Harlow's birthday, watch
Platinum Blonde and bite into some tasty Platinum Blondies.
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