Jean Harlow Trivia

Trivia

  • Along with Hedy Lamarr, they were the primary inspirations for Batman creator Bob Kane`s Catwoman character.
    Posted by Chief Editor MandyLovesVi
  • When she died in 1937, her estate was valued at over $1 million and left entirely to her mother.
    Posted by Chief Editor MandyLovesVi
  • Once lived in Chateau Marmont, the famous Los Angeles hotel.
    Posted by Chief Editor MandyLovesVi
  • Is portrayed by Gwen Stefani in The Aviator (2004), by Carroll Baker in Harlow (1965/I), by Susan Buckner in The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977) (TV), by Lindsay Bloom in Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell (1978) and by Carol Lynley in Harlow (1965/II)
    Posted by Chief Editor MandyLovesVi
  • Is one of the many movie stars mentioned in Madonna`s song "Vogue"
    Posted by Chief Editor MandyLovesVi
  • Was voted the 49th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
    Posted by Chief Editor MandyLovesVi
  • Measurements: 34B-25-36 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
    Posted by Chief Editor MandyLovesVi
  • She used to put ice on her nipples right before shooting a scene in order to appear sexier.
    Posted by Chief Editor MandyLovesVi
  • She had to stick to a strict diet to keep thin, eating mostly vegetables and salads.
    Posted by Chief Editor MandyLovesVi
  • Never wore any underwear and always slept in the nude.
    Posted by Chief Editor MandyLovesVi
  • Went on a salary strike from MGM in 1934, during which she wrote a novel, "Today is Tonight." The book was not published until 1965.
    Posted by Chief Editor MandyLovesVi
  • Was the godmother of Millicent Siegel, daughter of the notorious mobster Bugsy Siegel.
    Posted by Chief Editor MandyLovesVi
  • Favorite brand of cigarette was "Fatima".
    Posted by Chief Editor MandyLovesVi
  • Attended the 1936 Oscars with her then lover William Powell, her close friend and co-star Clark Gable, and his new lover Carole Lombard, who was Powell's ex-wife. Harlow was so ill during the evening, Lombard had to help her to the Powder Room to recover and to re-apply her make-up.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Following the end of her third marriage she met actor William Powell. They were together for two years, but Jean became ill and died before Powell proposed marriage.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Is one of the many movie stars mentioned in Madonna's song "Vogue"
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • She used to put ice on her nipples right before shooting a scene in order to appear sexier.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • On the day Hollywood canine superstar Rin Tin Tin died at age of 16 (112 in doggie years), Harlow, who lived across the street from his master, Lee Duncan, came over and cradled the dog's head in her lap as the famous pooch made his final exit to Doggie Heaven.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, USA, in the Great Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Benediction, at the end of the corridor, on the left side, second to the last private room marked "Harlow."
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Went on a salary strike from MGM in 1934, during which she wrote a novel, "Today is Tonight." The book was not published until 1965.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • A new musical called "In Hell With Harlow" about an after-death meeting between her and Protestant WWII martyr Dietrich Boenhoffer never reached the stage. The production, written by best-selling author Paul L. Williams, was to star Dawn Winarski and Greg Korin.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • In the 1933 Hollywood satire Bombshell (1933) Harlow is known as "the 'if' girl" -- a spoof loosely based on 1920's sex symbol and "It girl" Clara Bow.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Known as the "original blonde bombshell", pre-dating Marilyn Monroe as a blonde sex symbol.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • She spent the night of April 6, 1933 - the day when Prohibition was set to expire at midnight - at the Los Angeles Brewing Co. with fellow movie star Walter Huston. A maker of "near-beer" and de-natured alcohol (the alcohol was subtracted from the full-strength beer the company continued to brew during Prohibition, but could not legally market), the company was ready to immediately get back into the market for strong waters. Skipping the denaturing process, Los Angeles Brewing whipped up a huge consignment of the genuine stuff (to be marketed as Eastside beer and ale in bottles and kegs), which was loaded onto trucks parked at the brewery, ready to roll the day when suds could be shipped legally. Two treasury agents and many guards were there that night in the company parking lot, to ensure things went smoothly, safely and legally. At 12:01 AM at the dawning of the new day of April 7, 1933, when the sale and consumption of intoxicating beverages was once again legal (if not a constitutional right) in the United States, Huston gave a short speech and Harlow broke a bottle of beer over the first truck lined up and ready to deliver its legal load of liquid refreshment, thus christening the reborn brewery. The trucks rolled out, many staffed with armed guards riding shotgun lest the thirsty multitude get too frisky along the delivery routes. When the night was over, the brewery had done over $250,000 in business (approximately $3,387,000 in 2005 dollars) and had collected a stack of cash 18 inches high. Harlow has stayed the night, partying with brewery employees.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Born at 5:40pm-CST
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Her funeral wasn't the average funeral. Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, took charge and made it a Hollywood "event." He had Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy sing his favorite song, "Oh, Sweet Mystery of Life" ,in the church chapel, followed by a huge banquet with an orchestra.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • When she died in 1937, her estate was valued at over $1 million, left entirely to her mother.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • She was at a dinner party and kept on addressing Margot Asquith (wife of prime minister Herbert Asquith) as MargoT (pronouncing the 'T'). Margot finally had enough and said to her "No Jean, the T is silent, as in Harlow".
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • One of the last photos taken of Jean showed her carrying a copy of 'Gone with the Wind'. She was determined to read it, but as her illness progressed, couldn't get past more than the first few pages. When she was admitted to hospital, she reminded one of her nurses to pack it. The nurse, realizing how serious Harlow's illness was, remarked "She'll never finish it." Her words came true when Harlow died later that week.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Measurements: 34B-25-36 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Dated the notorious mobster Abner "Longy" Zwillman, who secured a two-picture deal for Harlow with Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures by loaning Cohn $500,000 in cash. He also purchased her a jeweled charm bracelet and a red Cadillac.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Ranked #22 on the American Film Institute's "100 Years, 100 Legends" list in June 1999.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Is portrayed by Gwen Stefani in The Aviator (2004), by Carroll Baker in Harlow (1965/I), by Susan Buckner in The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977) (TV), by Lindsay Bloom in Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell (1978) and by Carol Lynley in Harlow (1965/II)
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Never wore any underwear and always slept in the nude.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Height is often listed as 5'2"-5'3 1/2"
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Was photographed nude at age 17 by Hollywood photographer Edward Bower Hesser in Griffith Park in 1928.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Her birth name was Harlean Carpenter - the first name an amalgam of her mother's maiden name, Jean Harlow, which she later took as her stage name. At the height of her career, it came out that this wasn't her real name, and the insatiable public wanted to know what her real name was. The studio released her 'real' name as Harlean Carpentier. The 'I' they added in her last name was done to make it sound more foreign and romantic.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Of her final performance in "Saratoga" (1937), critic Graham Greene wrote "Her technique was the gangster's technique - she toted a breast like a man totes a gun".
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • The premiere of her first feature film, Hell's Angels (1930), on May 27, 1930, drew an estimated crowd of 50,000 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. The film also has an expensive eight-minute two-color Technicolor sequence - the only color footage of Harlow that exists.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • She was voted the 49th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Was the idol of Marilyn Monroe, who backed out of a bio-pic on her life. After reading the script, Monroe reportedly told her agent, "I hope they don't do that to me after I'm gone." Both Harlow and Monroe costarred in their last films with Clark Gable, Harlow in Saratoga (1937) and Monroe in The Misfits (1961)
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Harlow was interred at Glendale's Forest Lawn Cemetery in a private crypt reportedly purchased by William Powell for $25,000. The Crypt and sanctuary room contained marble from France,Italy, and Spain, and was a tribute to the woman he then loved.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Once lived in Chateau Marmont, the famous Los Angeles hotel.
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • Was portrayed by singer Gwen Stefani in The Aviator (2004).
    (imdb.com)
    Posted by Editor wdwdemo
  • A portrait of Jean Harlow taking by Clarence Sinclair Bull recently sold at auction for $8,000.00.
    Posted by Chief Editor crown022002
  • Everyone on the MGM lot called her `The Baby` with the exception of Clark Gable. A very close friend, he always called her "Sis".
    Posted by Chief Editor crown022002
  • For many years, it was a widely-held belief that she died because her mother, a Christian Scientist, refused to let doctors operate on her after she became ill (Christian Scientists prefer prayer to be their primary physician). This story was even reprinted in David Shipman`s famous book "The Great Movie Stars", but it has recently been proven to be completely untrue.
    Posted by Chief Editor crown022002
  • Measurements: 34B-25-36
    Posted by Chief Editor crown022002
  • She had to stick to a strict diet to keep thin, eating mostly vegetables and salads.
    Posted by Chief Editor crown022002
  • Had two famous superstitions: She always wore a "lucky" ankle chain on her left leg (visible in some films if you look closely), and had a "lucky" mirror in her dressing room. She wouldn`t leave the room without first looking at it.
    Posted by Chief Editor crown022002
  • She was at a dinner party and kept on addressing Margot Asquith (wife of prime minister Herbert Asquith) as MargoT (pronouncing the `T`). Margot finally had enough and said to her No Jean, the T is silent, as in Harlow
    Posted by Chief Editor crown022002
  • She was the very first film actress to grace the cover of LIFE magazine in May 1937.
    Posted by Chief Editor crown022002
  • Her final film, Saratoga (1937), became the highest grossing film of 1937 and set all-time house records, due almost entirely to her untimely death.
    Posted by Chief Editor crown022002
  • Refused the lead in King Kong (1933), as well as the lead in the Tod Browning classic Freaks (1932).
    Posted by Chief Editor crown022002
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