Jean Harlow was in the film industry for only nine years, but she became one of Hollywood's biggest movie stars, whose image in the public eye has endured.
46 Facts About Jean Harlow
2.
Jean Harlow was first signed by business magnate Howard Hughes, who directed her first major role in Hell's Angels.
3.
Jean Harlow's popularity rivaled and then surpassed that of MGM's top leading ladies Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo and Norma Shearer.
4.
Jean Harlow died at the age of 26 of kidney failure while filming Saratoga.
5.
Jean Harlow was born as Harlean Jean Harlow Carpenter in a house located at 3344 Olive Street in Kansas City, Missouri.
6.
Jean Harlow's father, Mont Clair Carpenter, son of Abraham L Carpenter and Dianna, was a dentist who attended dental school in Kansas City.
7.
In 1908, Skip Jean Harlow arranged his daughter's marriage to Mont Clair Carpenter.
8.
Jean Harlow was underage at the time and grew resentful and unhappy in the marriage, but the Carpenters remained together living in a Kansas City house owned by her father.
9.
In 1923, the 32-year-old Jean Harlow Carpenter took her daughter and moved to Hollywood in hopes of becoming an actress, but was told that she was too old to begin a film career.
10.
Jean Harlow Carpenter traveled to Michigan to care for Harlean, rowing herself across the lake to the camp, but was told that she could not see her daughter.
11.
Jean Harlow Carpenter had an ulterior motive for her daughter's attendance at this particular school: It was close to the Chicago home of her boyfriend, Marino Bello.
12.
The couple left Chicago and moved to Los Angeles, settling into a home in Beverly Hills, where Jean Harlow thrived as a wealthy socialite.
13.
In December 1928, Harlean as Jean Harlow signed a five-year contract with Hal Roach Studios for $100 per week.
14.
Jean Harlow had small roles in the 1929 Laurel and Hardy shorts: Double Whoopee, Liberty and Bacon Grabbers, the last giving her a costarring credit.
15.
In late 1929, Jean Harlow was spotted by Ben Lyon, an actor filming Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels; another account gives Angels head cameraman Arthur Landau as the man that spotted and suggested her to Hughes.
16.
Jean Harlow screen-tested for Hughes, who gave her the part and signed her to a five-year, $100-per-week contract on October 24,1929.
17.
In spite of her relative success with Hell's Angels, Jean Harlow again found herself in the role of "uncredited extra" in the Charlie Chaplin film City Lights, though her appearance did not make the final cut.
18.
Hughes sent her on a brief publicity tour in order to bolster her career, but this was not a success as Jean Harlow dreaded making personal appearances.
19.
Jean Harlow briefly dated Abner Zwillman, who bought her a jeweled bracelet and a red Cadillac, and made a large cash loan to studio head Harry Cohn to obtain a two-picture deal for her at Columbia Pictures.
20.
When mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel came to Hollywood to expand casino operations, Jean Harlow became the informal godmother of Siegel's eldest daughter, Millicent, when the family lived in Beverly Hills.
21.
Bern then began urging close friend Irving Thalberg, production head of MGM, to sign Jean Harlow, noting her popularity and established image.
22.
At MGM, Jean Harlow was given superior movie roles to show off her looks and nascent comedic talent.
23.
The film is often noted as being one of the few films in which Jean Harlow did not appear with platinum blonde hair; she wore a red wig for the role.
24.
Jean Harlow later told Page that the snub had caused her to cry until she saw herself, noticed the red wig, and burst out laughing when she realized Page had not recognized her.
25.
Jean Harlow next starred in Red Dust, her second film with Clark Gable.
26.
Jean Harlow was paired multiple times with Spencer Tracy and William Powell.
27.
Rosson and Jean Harlow were friends, and Rosson went along with the plan.
28.
The film was the studio's attempt to soften Jean Harlow's image, but suffered from censorship problems, so much so that its original title, Born to Be Kissed, had to be changed.
29.
Jean Harlow was consistently voted one of the strongest box office draws in the United States from 1933 onward, often outranking her female colleagues at MGM in audience popularity polls.
30.
Jean Harlow's movies continued to make huge profits at the box office even during the middle of the Depression.
31.
Jean Harlow then starred in Riffraff a financial disappointment that co-starred Spencer Tracy and Una Merkel.
32.
Jean Harlow recovered in time to attend the Academy Awards ceremony with William Powell.
33.
Almost two months later, Jean Harlow recovered, and shooting began on April 22,1937.
34.
On May 20,1937, while filming Saratoga, Jean Harlow began to complain of illness.
35.
The doctor was not aware that Jean Harlow had been ill during the previous year with a severe sunburn and influenza.
36.
The next day, Powell checked on Jean Harlow and discovered that her condition had not improved.
37.
Jean Harlow contacted her mother and insisted that she cut her holiday short to be at her daughter's side.
38.
Mother Jean told MGM Harlow was feeling better on June 3, and co-workers expected her back on the set by Monday, June 7,1937.
39.
On June 6,1937, Jean Harlow said that she could not see Powell clearly and could not tell how many fingers he was holding up.
40.
Some claimed that her mother had refused to call a doctor because she was a Christian Scientist or that Jean Harlow had declined hospital treatment or surgery.
41.
Jean Harlow was interred in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale in a private room of multicolored marble, which William Powell bought for $25,000.
42.
Jean Harlow's mother was buried there in 1958, but Powell married actress Diana Lewis in 1940.
43.
The film was released on July 23,1937, less than two months after Jean Harlow's death, and was a hit with audiences, grossing $3.3 million in worldwide rentals and becoming MGM's most successful film of the year, as well as the highest-grossing film of her career.
44.
Jean Harlow's name was given to a cocktail, the "Jean Harlow", which is equal parts light rum and sweet vermouth.
45.
On February 8,1960, Jean Harlow was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6910 Hollywood Boulevard on the south part of the Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.
46.
In 1965, two films about Jean Harlow were released, both titled Harlow.