# Jane Russell, RIP **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 1, 2011, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026 "2011-03-01T04:03:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/1 "2011-03-01T04:03:30Z")
I’m rather surprised I didn’t see this posted already. But here it is. [Jane Russell](http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/28/russell.obit/?hpt=T2) has died: > [@](#): > > The 1940s and '50s movie bombshell, whose name was synonymous with voluptuousness, died Monday morning at her home in Santa Maria, California, her family said. Jane Russell was 89. And just for old times sake, here’s Jane starring in [Gentlemen Prefer Blondes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pthokb18V7U), in what has to be the single gayest moment in classic Hollywood history. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/2 "2011-03-01T04:08:41Z")
I assume she got buried in her fanciest bra? That takes me back a ton of years (early 1970’s I believe). ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/3 "2011-03-01T04:50:20Z")
They will be missed. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/4 "2011-03-01T04:57:50Z")
Lift and separate. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/5 "2011-03-01T05:02:23Z")
_Gentlemen Prefer Blondes_ is the only movie I’ve seen her in. Reading the obit, I expected to see more film credits-- she was gorgeous and funny, and she could sing. She’s so iconic, it just seems weird that she wasn’t in more movies. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/6 "2011-03-01T05:06:03Z")
Custom casket? RIP, Jane. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/7 "2011-03-01T05:40:48Z")
Jane Russell’s secret code during WWII was 38-24-36 Of course it wasn’t a WELL KEPT secret 😃 RIP ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/8 "2011-03-01T08:37:07Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > And just for old times sake, here’s Jane starring in [Gentlemen Prefer Blondes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pthokb18V7U), in what has to be the single gayest moment in classic Hollywood history. I’m pretty sure this was the inspiration for “I Can Make You a Man” from **The Rocky Horror Picture Show.** ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/9 "2011-03-01T09:00:59Z")
I love the pic in the OP’s link, of Russell with the Marilyn Monroe stamp. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/10 "2011-03-01T11:56:13Z")
The jokes were inevitable – and were part of the marketing. The film she made with Frank Sinatra and Groucho Marx (!!!) was supposed to be titled _It’s Only Money_ (the title of a song Groucho and Frank sing as a duet), but when she came on board they changed it to _Double Dynamite_. The ad for _The French Line_ had the tagline _J.R. in 3D. Need we say more?_ And supposedly Howard Hughes advertised for _The Outlaw_ by having a skywriting plane make two circles with dots in the centers. Not surprising that she ended up a spokeswoman for Playtex. It _is_ a bit surprising, as stated above, that she didn’t make more films. She blamed it on Hollywood’s unwillingness to employ actresses over 30. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/11 "2011-03-01T12:59:12Z")
Aside from GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, my other fav of hers is SON OF PALEFACE, with Bob Hope and Roy Rogers. Sigh. Another legend, gone. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/12 "2011-03-01T13:36:53Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > And supposedly Howard Hughes advertised for _The Outlaw_ by having a skywriting plane make two circles with dots in the centers. AKA _A Sale of Two Titties_. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/13 "2011-03-01T14:05:06Z")
> [@](#): > > AKA A Sale of Two Titties. Groucho Marx’s quip. Which I think might have been about _Double Dynamite_, the film he was in with her. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/14 "2011-03-01T15:38:25Z")
_The Outlaw_ was such an odd film. It had what has to be the most inappropriate musical score of any dramatic movie. I don’t think Hughes could decide whether he wanted to make a comedy or a drama, and it shows throughout (despite the implied rape scene). But the promo photos of Jane lolling about [in the hay](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036241/) are still very sexy. RIP, bombshell. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/15 "2011-03-01T16:17:23Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > _The Outlaw_ was such an odd film. It had what has to be the most inappropriate musical score of any dramatic movie. I don’t think Hughes could decide whether he wanted to make a comedy or a drama, and it shows throughout (despite the implied rape scene). But the promo photos of Jane lolling about [in the hay](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036241/) are still very sexy. RIP, bombshell. I’ve seen _The Outlaw_ twice and remember it as dreadful. Jane’s screen time is too short and all the acting is terrible. Jane’s good stuff was with Victor Mature and Robert Mitchum. _Underwater_ exploited her figure better than _The Outlaw_ and was a much better movie (for the day.) One thing about it: until Raquel came along, Jane was IT! Age was unkind to her face, though. Nevertheless, I was shocked to see that she has gone. A classic. ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/16 "2011-03-01T16:56:45Z")
RIP. She was very talented especially at comedy, pity that she had so few good movies. At moments like these, I really miss a former poster, **Eve**. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/17 "2011-03-02T05:20:43Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > _Gentlemen Prefer Blondes_ is the only movie I’ve seen her in. Reading the obit, I expected to see more film credits-- she was gorgeous and funny, and she could sing. She’s so iconic, it just seems weird that she wasn’t in more movies. She loved making movies but hated the movies she ended up making. And becoming an early version of a born-again christian didn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/18 "2011-03-02T05:43:59Z")
Aww. Loved her, loved her movies just to goggle at the Technicolor, and the costume design. I recall seeing her on Larry King years ago and he asked about the famous bra Howard Hughes had supposedly invented and insisted she wear in a movie. She said she took it, but when the time came, she didn’t wear that thing, she wore her very own everyday bra and no one noticed. And she told her bust size, which was NOT particularly large. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/19 "2011-03-02T05:49:35Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I assume she got buried in her fanciest bra? > [@Chefguy](#): > > _The Outlaw_ was such an odd film. It had what has to be the most inappropriate musical score of any dramatic movie. I don’t think Hughes could decide whether he wanted to make a comedy or a drama, and it shows throughout (despite the implied rape scene). But the promo photos of Jane lolling about [in the hay](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036241/) are still very sexy. RIP, bombshell. Supposedly, Howard Hughes designed her cantilevered bra for this movie. Gotta hand it to him, despite his quirks, the man was a genius. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026/20 "2011-03-02T11:02:38Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Groucho Marx’s quip. Which I think might have been about _Double Dynamite_, the film he was in with her. There’s a quip in “Son of Groucho” that calling the film “Double Dynamite” was Hughes’s idea. It had nothing to do with the film but a way to capitalize of Russell’s bosom. Groucho said with thinking like that, you can understand why Hughes was a millionaire, because if he wasn’t he’d starve to death. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-russell-rip/573026.md?page=2)