Many people think of Marilyn Monroe as Hollywood’s first blonde bombshell, but in reality, Marilyn mimicked her style and look from her predecessor and idol, Jean Harlow. Nicknamed the “Original Blonde Bombshell,” Jean lived a life that was full of glamor, glitz, and tragedy. While her time on Earth was short, her acting talents and larger-than-life personality cemented her as a legend who will be known around the world until the end of time.
Before the world knew her as Jean Harlow, she was known as Harlean Harlow Carpenter. Born on March 3, 1911, in Kansas City, Missouri, Harlean lived a typical childhood that did not include dreams of show business. Her mother, however, did dream of stardom, and she wanted to live out her dreams of becoming an actress through her daughter. At the age of 16, much to her mother’s chagrin, Harlean eloped with her boyfriend and moved to Los Angeles, California. To earn some money and appease her mother, Harlean started auditioning for movies, using both her mother’s first name and maiden name as her stage name. Thus, the movie star Jean Harlow was born.
Initially, the parts Jean booked were small and mostly uncredited, but it didn’t take long for Hollywood execs to take notice of her. In 1930, just two years after she landed her first part as an extra in Honor Bound (1928), Jean was hired to replace the lead in Hell’s Angels (1930), a Howard Hughes production. Hughes was instantly taken with her and signed her to a five-year contract. He was also anxious to make her the next “It” star, someone who could command the same prestige and adoration that stars such as Mary Pickford and Clara Bow had. In order to accomplish that, though, Howard would need to market a trait of Jean’s that set her apart from the rest of the thousands upon thousands of Hollywood starlets hoping to be the next big thing. The answer to his dilemma? Give Jean a nickname based on her hair color.
See, Jean was not your average blond. The color of her blond hair was practically almost white, so much so that it looked platinum. In fact, according to her hairstylist, Alfred Pagano, it took a special combination of “peroxide, ammonia, Clorox, and Lux flakes [a brand of soap]” to create the color. Howard Hughes’ marketing team tried a variety of nicknames to convey her unique trait, such as “Blonde Landslide” and “Darling Cyclone,” but it was the name that his publicity director created that helped to make her a star: “Platinum Blonde.” The marketability of Jean’s hair was powerful, and Hughes used that to his advantage. In one marketing ploy, Howard offered $10,000 to any hairstylist that could recreate her hair color, right down to the perfect hue and shade. No hairstylist was ever able to do so.
After Hell’s Angels was released, Jean’s career soared, and she became known as an actress who could excel at both comedies and dramas. Some notable films Jean made include Red-Headed Woman (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), China Seas (1935), and Libeled Lady (1936). She was also frequently paired with Clark Gable, making six movies with him during her nine-year film career. But while her professional life was soaring, her personal life was clouded with tragedy.
After divorcing her first husband in 1930, Jean married Paul Bern, a Hollywood exec, in 1932. But that marriage would only last two months; on September 5, 1932, Paul Bern was found dead in his bedroom. His death was ruled a suicide, but rumors and gossip still swirled, partly because of the cryptic suicide note that Paul left behind. In 1933, Jean tried to find happiness one more time with Harold Rosson, but that marriage ended in divorce six months later.
In the beginning of 1937, Jean’s health started to fail. After battling a slow recovery from the flu and surgery for her wisdom teeth, Jean’s body started growing weaker and weaker. On the set of what would be her final film, Saratoga (1937), Jean’s health was rapidly deteriorating; she was bloated, fatigued, and short of breath, but she refused to quit because she did not want to ruin the movie’s production. On May 29, 1937, Jean’s co-star and close friend, Clark Gable, noticed her “labored breathing and her brow covered in sweat,” so filming on the movie was halted, much to Jean’s protests. Diagnosed with a kidney infection, Jean was taken home to recuperate, but her health continued to fail. On June 6, 1937, she was rushed to the hospital, “her kidney infection spreading quickly through her body.” On June 7, 1937, Jean died of uremic poisoning and cerebral edema, caused by kidney failure.
She was only 26.
Jean was very good at both comedy and drama. I’ve seen “Libeled Lady” “Dinner at Eight” and “Red Headed Woman”, which was considered risqué, since it was during the Hayes Code era. It’s a shame she passed so young, but at least we have her movies.