Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 — June 7, 1937) was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s.

After being signed by director Howard Hughes, Harlow's first major appearance was in Hell's Angels (1930), followed by a series of critically unsuccessful films, before signing with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1932. Harlow became a leading lady for MGM, starring in a string of hit films including Red Dust (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), Reckless (1935) and Suzy (1936). Her co-stars often includedWilliam Powell, Spencer Tracy and, in six films, Clark Gable.

Harlow's popularity rivaled and soon surpassed fellow MGM actresses Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer. She had become one of the biggest movie stars in the world by the late 1930s, often nicknamed the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde", and popular for her "Laughing Vamp" movie persona.

She died of renal failure during the filming of Saratoga in 1937 at the age of 26. The film was completed using doubles and released a little over a month after Harlow's death. The American Film Institute ranked her among the greatest movie stars.

Early life

Harlow was born Harlean Harlow Carpenter in Kansas City, Missouri. The name is sometimes incorrectly spelled Carpentier, following later studio press releases. Her father Mont Clair Carpenter (1877–1974) was a dentist from a working-class background who attended dental college in Kansas City. Her mother Jean Poe Carpenter (née Harlow) was the daughter of a wealthy real estate broker, Skip Harlow, and his wife Ella Harlow (née Williams). The marriage was arranged by Skip Harlow in 1908 and Jean, an intelligent and strong-willed woman, was resentful and became very unhappy in the marriage. The couple lived in Kansas City in a house owned by Skip Harlow.

Harlean was nicknamed "The Baby", a name that would stick with her for the rest of her life. She did not learn that her name was actually "Harlean" until the age of five when she began to attend Miss Barstow's Finishing School for Girls in Kansas City. Harlean and Mother Jean, as she became known when Harlean became a film star, remained very close as the relationship eased Mother Jean's empty existence and unhappy marriage. Harlean's mother was extremely protective and coddling, instilling a sense that her daughter owed everything she had to her. "She was always all mine," she said of her daughter.

When her daughter was at school, Mother Jean became increasingly frustrated and filed for a divorce that was finalized, uncontested, on September 29, 1922. She was granted sole custody of Harlean, who loved her father but would rarely see him for the rest of her life.

Mother Jean moved with Harlean to Hollywood in 1923 with hopes of becoming an actress but was too old at 34 to begin a film career - major roles were usually assigned to teenage girls. Harlean attended the Hollywood School for Girls and met Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Joel McCrea and Irene Mayer Selznick. Finances dwindling, the pair returned to Kansas City within two years after Skip Harlow issued an ultimatum he would disinherit his daughter if she did not return. Harlean dropped out of school in Hollywood in the spring of 1925. Several weeks later Skip Harlow sent her to a summer camp called Camp Cha-Ton-Ka in Michigamme, Michigan, where Harlean became ill with scarlet fever. Mother Jean traveled to Michigan to care for her, rowing herself across the lake to the camp, but was told that she could not see her daughter.

Marriage and early career: 1927–1929

Harlow next attended the Ferry Hall School (now Lake Forest Academy) in Lake Forest, Illinois. Her mother had an ulterior motive for Harlean's attendance there as it was close to the Chicago home of her boy-friend Marino Bello. Freshmen were paired with a "big sister" from the senior class and Harlean's big sister introduced her to Charles "Chuck" McGrew, heir to a large fortune, in the fall of 1926. Soon the two began to date. On January 18, 1927 Mother Jean married Bello, although Harlean was not present.

Sixteen-year-old Harlean and twenty-year-old McGrew eloped on September 21, 1927. McGrew turned 21 two months after the marriage and received part of his large inheritance. The couple moved to Los Angeles in 1928, settling into a home in Beverly Hills where Harlean thrived as a wealthy socialite. McGrew hoped to distance Harlean from her mother with the move. Neither McGrew nor Harlean worked and both, especially McGrew, were thought to drink heavily.

In Los Angeles, Harlean befriended Rosalie Roy, a young aspiring actress. Lacking a car, Roy asked Harlean to drive her to Fox Studios for an appointment. Reputedly Harlean was noticed and approached by Fox executives while waiting for her friend but stated that she was not interested. Nevertheless she was given dictated letters of introduction toCentral Casting. A few days later Rosalie Roy bet Harlean that she did not have the nerve to go and audition. Unwilling to lose a wager and pressed by her enthusiastic mother, Harlean drove to Central Casting and signed in under her mother's maiden name, Jean Harlow.

After several calls from Central Casting and a number of rejected job offers, Harlean was pressed into accepting work by her mother, now back in Los Angeles. She appeared in her first film, Honor Bound, as an unbilled extra for $7 a day. This led to small parts in silent feature films such as Moran of the Marines (1928), This Thing Called Love (1929), Close Harmony (1929), and The Love Parade (1929) among others.

In December 1928, she signed a five-year contract with Hal Roach Studios for $100 per week. She had a co-starring role in Laurel and Hardy's short Double Whoopee in 1929, and went on to appear in two more of their films: Liberty and Bacon Grabbers (both 1929).

In March 1929, however, she parted with Roach, who tore up her contract after Harlow told him, "It's breaking up my marriage, what can I do?" In June 1929 Harlow separated from her husband and moved in with her mother and Bello. After her separation from McGrew, Harlow worked as an extra in several movies. She landed her first speaking role in 1929's The Saturday Night Kid, starring Clara Bow.

Breakthrough: 1930–1932

In late 1929, she was spotted by James Hall, an actor filming Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels. Hughes, re-shooting the previous silent film intosound, needed a new actress to replace Greta Nissen, who had a Norwegian accent that was considered to be undesirable for a talkie. Harlow made a test and got the part.

Hughes signed Harlow to a five-year, $100-per-week contract on October 24, 1929. Hell's Angels premiered in Hollywood on May 27, 1930 atGrauman's Chinese Theater, becoming the second highest-grossing film of 1930 (behind only Greta Garbo's talkie debut in Anna Christie). The movie made Harlow an international star, but though she was popular with audiences, critics were less than enthusiastic, The New Yorkercalled her performance "plain awful", though Variety magazine conceded; "It doesn't matter what degree of talent she possesses ... nobody ever starved possessing what she's got." During the shooting Harlow met MGM executive Paul Bern. She was again an uncredited extra in the 1931 Charlie Chaplin film City Lights.

With no projects planned for Harlow, Hughes sent her to New York, Seattle and Kansas City for Hell's Angelspremieres. In 1931, loaned out by Hughes' Caddo Company to other studios, she gained more attention when she appeared in The Secret Six, with Wallace Beery and Clark Gable, Iron Man, with Lew Ayres andRobert Armstrong, and The Public Enemy, with James Cagney. Though the successes of the films ranged from moderate to hit, Harlow's acting was mocked by critics. Concerned, Hughes sent her on a brief publicity tour which was not a success as Harlow dreaded such personal appearances.

Harlow was next cast in Platinum Blonde (1931) with Loretta Young. The film, originally titled Gallagher, was renamed by Hughes to promote Harlow, capitalizing on her hair color, called "platinum" by Hughes' publicists. Though Harlow denied her hair was dyed, the platinum blonde color was reportedly achieved by bleaching with a weekly application of ammonia, Clorox bleach and Lux soap flakes. This process weakened and damaged Harlow's naturally ash-blonde hair. Many female fans began dyeing their hair to match hers. Howard Hughes' team organized a series of "Platinum Blonde" clubs across the nation, with a prize of $10,000 to any beautician who could match Harlow's shade.

Harlow next filmed Three Wise Girls (1932) with Mae Clark and Walter Byron. Paul Bern then arranged to borrow her for The Beast of the City(1932) that co-starred Walter Huston. After filming Bern booked a ten-week personal appearance tour on the East Coast. To the surprise of many, especially Harlow herself, she packed every theater in which she appeared, often appearing in a single venue for several nights. Despite critical disparagement and poor roles, Harlow's popularity and following was large and growing and, in February 1932, the tour was extended by six weeks.

According to Fay Wray, who played Ann Darrow in 1933's King Kong, Harlow was the original choice to play the screaming blonde heroine. Because MGM put Harlow under exclusive contract during the pre-production phase of the film, she became unavailable for Kong, and the part went to the brunette Wray, wearing a blonde wig.

MGM stardom: 1932–1936

Paul Bern, by now romantically involved with Harlow, spoke to Louis B. Mayer about buying-out her contract with Hughes and signing her to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but Mayer declined. MGM's leading ladies were presented as elegant, while Harlow's "floozy" screen persona was abhorrent to Mayer. Bern then began urging close friend Irving Thalberg, production head of MGM, to sign Harlow, noting her popularity and established image. After initial reluctance Thalberg agreed and, on March 3, 1932, Harlow's twenty-first birthday, Bern called her with the news that MGM had purchased her contract from Hughes for $30,000. Harlow officially joined the studio on April 20, 1932.

At MGM Harlow was given superior movie roles to show off her looks and nascent comedic talent. Though Harlow's screen persona changed dramatically during her career, one constant was her apparent sense of humor. In 1932, she starred in the comedy Red-Headed Woman, for which she received $1,250 a week. The film is often noted as being one of the few films Harlow did not appear in with platinum blonde hair; she wore red wig for the role. She next starred in Red Dust, her second film with Clark Gable. Harlow and Gable worked well together and co-starred in a total of six films. She was also paired multiple times with Spencer Tracy and William Powell. She was later paired with up-and-coming male co-stars such as Robert Taylor and Franchot Tone in an effort to boost their careers.

At this point MGM began trying to distinguish Harlow's public persona from that of her screen characters, changing her childhood surname from common "Carpenter" to chic "Carpentier", claiming that writer Edgar Allan Poe was one of her ancestors and publishing photographs of Harlow doing charity work to change her image from that of a tramp to a all-American girl. This transformation proved difficult: once Harlow was heard muttering, "My God, must I always wear a low-cut dress to be important?"

During the making of Red Dust, Harlow's second husband, MGM producer Paul Bern, was found shot dead at their home, creating a lasting scandal. Initially there was speculation that Harlow had killed Bern, but Bern's death was officially ruled a suicide. Harlow kept silent, survived the ordeal, and became more popular than ever.

After Bern's death Harlow began an indiscreet affair with boxer Max Baer who, though separated from his wife Dorothy Dunbar, was threatened with divorce proceedings naming Harlow as a co-respondent for "alienation of affection", a legal term for adultery. After Bern's mysterious death the studio did not want another scandal and defused the situation by arranging a marriage between Harlow and cinematographer Harold Rosson. Rosson and Harlow were friends and Rosson went along with the plan. They quietly divorced seven months later.

By 1933, MGM realized the value of the Harlow-Clark Gable team and paired them again in Hold Your Man (1933), which was also a box office success. The same year she played the lonely wife of Wallace Beery in the all-star Dinner at Eight, and played a pressured Hollywood film star in Bombshell with Lee Tracy. The film has often been cited as being based on Harlow's own life or that of 1920s "It girl", Clara Bow.

The following year, she was teamed with Lionel Barrymore and Franchot Tone in The Girl from Missouri (1934). The film was MGM's attempt to present Harlow as a more elegant and classy film actress, like that of other female stars at MGM at the time. While the movie drew unfavorable reviews, it was a large box office success upon release.

Due to the financial success of Red Dust and Hold Your Man, MGM cast Harlow with Clark Gable in two more films: China Seas (1935), withWallace Beery and Rosalind Russell, and Wife vs. Secretary (1936), with Myrna Loy and James Stewart. James Stewart later spoke of a scene in a car with Harlow in Wife vs. Secretary, saying, "Clarence Brown, the director, wasn't too pleased by the way I did the smooching. He made us repeat the scene about half a dozen times... I botched it up on purpose. That Jean Harlow sure was a good kisser. I realized that until then I had never been really kissed."

From 1933 to 1935, Harlow was consistently listed in the "Top Ten Moneymaking Stars Poll" of the Motion Picture Herald. She ranked fourth at the box office in 1933, which at that time was higher than fellow MGM actresses: Greta Garbo ranked seventh, Norma Shearer ranked ninth, andJoan Crawford ranked tenth. She ranked seventh in 1934 and sixth in 1935. In 1935, she appeared in Reckless with William Powell and Franchot Tone. It was her first musical film, and while her character sings in the movie, Harlow's voice for the performance was dubbed with skilled vocalist Virginia Verrill.

By the mid-1930s Harlow was one of the biggest stars in the United States and, it was hoped, MGM's next Greta Garbo. Still young, her star continued to rise while the popularity of other female stars at MGM, such as Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer, waned. Harlow's movies continued to make huge profits at the box office even during the middle of the Depression. Some credit them with keeping MGM profitable at a time when other studios were falling into bankruptcy.

After her third marriage ended in 1934, Harlow met William Powell, another MGM star, and quickly fell in love. The couple were reportedly engaged for two years, but differences kept them from formalizing their relationship (she wanted children; he did not). Harlow also said that Louis B. Mayer would never allow them to marry.

In 1936, she played the title role in Suzy, which again co-starred Franchot Tone and a young Cary Grant. While critics noted that Harlow dominated the film, they also stated that is was not one of her best performances. The film was the first of films in years to lose money at the box office. She later starred in Riffraff (1936) with Spencer Tracy and Una Merkel, and Libeled Lady (1936) again with William Powell andSpencer Tracy along with Myrna Loy.

Final films and death

In late 1936, she filmed W.S. Van Dyke's comedy Personal Property, co-starring Robert Taylor. It would prove to be Harlow's final fully completed motion picture appearance. After filming ended, Harlow and the cast of Personal Property traveled to Washington, D.C. where they attended several parties to celebrate PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt's 55th birthday. The trip was physically taxing on Harlow and she contracted influenza. She recovered in time to attend the Academy Awards ceremony with Powell.

Production for Harlow's final film Saratoga, co-starring Clark Gable, was scheduled to begin filming in March 1937. However, production was delayed when she developedsepticemia after a wisdom tooth extraction and had to be hospitalized. After she recovered, shooting began on April 22. On May 20, 1937, while shooting Saratoga, Harlow began to complain of illness. Her symptoms—fatigue, nausea, water weight and abdominal pain—did not seem very serious to her doctor, who believed she was suffering fromcholecystitis and influenza. However he was apparently unaware that Harlow had been ill during the previous year with a severe sunburn and influenza. Her friend and co-star Myrna Loy noticed Harlow’s grey complexion, fatigue and weight gain. On May 29, Harlow was shooting a scene in which the character she was playing had a fever. Harlow was clearly sicker than her character and, when she leaned against her co-star Clark Gable between scenes, said; "I feel terrible. Get me back to my dressing room." Harlow requested that the assistant director telephone William Powell, who left his own set to escort Harlow back home.

On May 30, Powell checked on Harlow, recalled her mother from a holiday trip when he found her condition had not improved and summoned her doctor to her home. Harlow's illnesses had delayed three previous films (Wife vs. Secretary, Suzy, and Libeled Lady), so there was no great concern initially. On June 2, it was announced that Harlow was suffering from influenza. Harlow felt better on June 3 and co-workers expected her back on the set by Monday, June 7. Press reports were contradictory, with headlines like "Jean Harlow seriously ill" and "Harlow past illness crisis."

When Harlow said on June 6 that she could not see Powell properly, he again called a doctor. As she slipped into a deep slumber and experienced difficulty breathing, the doctor finally realized that she was suffering from something serious. That evening Harlow was taken toGood Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, where she slipped into a coma. The next day at 11:37 a.m. Harlow died in the hospital at the age of 26. In the doctor’s press releases the cause of death was given as cerebral edema, a complication of kidney failure. Hospital records mention uremia.

For years rumors circulated about Harlow's death. Some claimed that her mother had refused to call a doctor because she was a Christian Scientist or that Harlow herself had declined hospital treatment or surgery. There were also rumors that Harlow had died because of alcoholism, a botched abortion, over-dieting, sunstroke, poisoning due to platinum hair dye or various venereal diseases. However medical bulletins, hospital records and testimony of her relatives and friends prove it was kidney disease. From the onset of her illness, resting at home, Harlow had been attended by a doctor: two nurses visited her house and various equipment was brought from a nearby hospital.However, Harlow’s mother had barred some visitors, such as the MGM doctor, who later stated that it was because they were Christian Scientists. It has been suggested that she still wanted to control her daughter but there is no truth to the allegation that she refused medical care for Harlow.

Harlow's kidney failure could not have been cured in the 1930s. The death rate from acute kidney failure has decreased to 25% only after the advent of antibiotics, dialysis, and kidney transplantation. Harlow’s grey complexion, recurring illnesses, and severe sunburn were signs of the disease as her kidneys had been slowly failing and toxins accumulated in her body, exposing her to other illnesses and causing symptoms including swelling, fatigue, and lack of appetite. Toxins also adversely impacted her brain and central nervous system. Speculation has suggested that Harlow suffered a post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, following scarlet fever when she was young, which may have caused high blood pressure and ultimately kidney failure.

News of Harlow's death spread quickly. Spencer Tracy wrote in his diary, "Jean Harlow died today. Grand gal." One of the MGM writers later said: "The day Baby died there wasn't one sound in the commissary for three hours." MGM closed on the day of her funeral on June 9. She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California in the Great Mausoleum in a private room of multicolored marble which William Powell bought for $25,000. She was buried in the gown she wore in Libeled Lady and in her hands she held a white gardenia and a note which Powell had written: "Goodnight, my dearest darling." There is a simple inscription on Harlow's grave; "Our Baby". Spaces in the same room were reserved for Harlow’s mother and William Powell. Harlow’s mother was buried there in 1958, but Powell remarried in 1940 and after his death in 1984 was cremated: his ashes were buried with his son at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, CA.

MGM planned to replace Harlow in Saratoga with either Jean Arthur or Virginia Bruce, but because of public objections the film was finished by using three doubles (one for close-ups, one for long shots and one for dubbing Harlow’s lines) and re-writing some scenes without her. The film was released on July 23, 1937, over a month after Harlow's death, and was a hit with audiences. It became MGM's second-highest grossing picture of 1937. Since the film's release, viewers have tried to spot these stand-ins and signs of Harlow's illness.

Novel

Harlow wrote a novel entitled Today is Tonight. In Arthur Landau's introduction to the 1965 paperback edition, Harlow stated her intention to write the book around 1933–1934 but it was not published during her lifetime. After her death, Landau writes, her mother sold the film rights to MGM, though no film was made. The publication rights were passed from Harlow's mother to a family friend and the book was finally published in 1965.

Film portrayals

In 1965, two films about Jean Harlow were released, both called Harlow. The first film was released by Magna in May 1965 and stars Carol Lynley. The second was released in June 1965 by Paramount Pictures and stars Carroll Baker. Both were poorly received and did not perform well at the box office. In 1978, Lindsay Bloom portrayed her inHughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell. In 2004, Gwen Stefani briefly appeared as Harlow in Martin Scorsese's Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator.

In August 1993, Sharon Stone hosted a documentary about Harlow entitled Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell, which aired on Turner Classic Movies.

Source: Wikipedia