Thumbnail Biography:
In Jean Harlow’s brief 7 year career she was able to pack as many classic performances in as an actress with a career 3 times as long. From her inauspicious feature debut in The Public Enemy (’31), to China Seas(’37), which was released after her death, Harlow captivated the public like no other movie star, until perhaps Marilyn Monroe. Her raw sexuality, combined with a classic comediennes sense of timing, rhythm and attitude made her a box office favorite throughout the 1930’s. Before she died in 1937 of kidney disease, the result of a bought with scarlet fever as a teen ager, Harlow evolved from a wooden line reader to a nuanced actress, capable of broad comedy and heartfelt drama, sometimes in the same role.
Before she was Jean Harlow, she was Harlean Carpenter, born in Kansas City in 1911 to 19 year old Jean Harlow Carpenter, who had been forced to marry a local business man. While both families were wealthy, Mama Jean, as Harlow’s mother would always be know, wanted nothing to do with Kansas City, divorced her husband & moved the child to Los Angeles when Harlean was 12. After Mama Jean’s attempt at an acting career failed the 2 moved back to KC, then to Chicago, where Harlean met her first husband, 19 year old Charles McGrew. She was 16 and the marriage lasted 2 years, but it did allow mother and daughter the opportunity to return to Los Angeles, as McGrew was an heir to a fortune and came into his inheritance.
As Harlean blossomed into a woman it became very apparent that she had a natural beauty that was combined with an innate and open sexuality. It also became clear to her mother that Harlean was the one desitined to be a movie star, so she changed her name to Jean Harlow, taking her mother’s first & maiden names. Unbilled and brief roles, including a film with Clara Bow (The Saturday Night Kid 1929) & 2 Laurel & Hardy movies (Liberty & Bacon Grabbers, both 1929) followed. Her big break came when she was tapped to play in Howard Hughes sound reshooting of Hell’s Angels (’30). Clearly uncomfortable & wooden reading her lines, critics slammed performance, however, she did make an immediate impression on notorious lothario Hughes, who signed her to a 5 year contract for $100 a week.
Now an internationally known movie star, albeit for her natural physical gifts and not her talent, Harlow spent most of her time on a Hell’s Angels publicity tour, as well as being loaned out by Hughes for small roles, all of which drew more criticism for her acting. The Public Enemy (’31), with James Cagney, however, was a major hit and further enhanced Harlow’s image as a sex symbol. It was on loan out again, this time to Columbia & director Frank Capra for Platinum Blonde (’31) that Harlow began to establish her persona beyond her just her looks, to establish her comedic touch. She plays a rich socialite, which was certainly against what her ‘type’ would become, but her casual asides foreshadowed what she do in films like Red Headed Woman & Red Dust. What Platinum Blonde also did was create an aura around Harlow’s signature hair, which became a trend among fans. The downside, of course, was the brutal treatment Harlow went through to create the look; a combination of peroxide, ammonia, Clorox Bleach & Lux soap flakes. Later in the decade her hair would be so destroyed that she had to wear a wig.
Sometime in 1930 Harlow met MGM producer Paul Bern, who would at first be her benefactor and then her husband. Bern was on Irving Thalberg’s staff at MGM & was one his most trusted confidants and helped convince studio head Louis B. Mayer to buy out Harlow’s contract in 1932. While Harlow never fit into the “MGM mold” of a female star; she was neither exotic, like Garbo nor pure like Norma Shearer, she did have an appeal that Mayer reluctantly agreed to exploit. Working at once to find a suitable vehicle, Bern & MGM put her Red Headed Woman (’32), ratcheting up her “platinum blonde” to fiery red, in attempt to exploit the commotion over her hair color. Based on a popular book, Red Headed Woman was just what Harlow & MGM needed to spring board her to super stardom. Red Headed Woman opened on June 25th, 1932 and Harlow was married to Burn on July 2nd, her movie star status secure.
The marriage to Bern didn’t last long and would create on the greatest scandals and mysteries in Hollywood history. Just 2 months after the small wedding Bern apparently committed suicide in the couple’s home. When the chauffer discovered Burn’s body the following morning, naked and with a gun clutched in his hand, his first call was not to the police, but to MGM studios. The lapse between when that first call was made & when the call finally went to the police is full of mystery and intrigue, as well as who and how many MGM executives arrived at the house that morning. (David Stenn’s Bombshell: The Life & Death of Jean Harlow offers a convincing accounting of Bern’s suicide, while Samuel Marx & Joyce Vanderkeen’s Deadly Illusions: Jean Harlow & the Murder of Paul Bern offers a more conspiratorial version of the events. Marx was an MGM story editor and claims to have been at Bern’s residence the morning of his death). Whatever the actual truth was it will never be conclusively known because MGM management, including Louis B. Mayer, Irving Thalberg & Howard Strickling, among others, made sure that the story that emerged was right out of the writer’s room & did everything to protect their asset: Jean Harlow. Public opinion, as well as the local DA, was at first against Harlow, who was considered a person of knowledge. She had spent the night at her mother’s, but people had heard arguments the night of Bern’s death, and some accounts had a woman leaving the house much later. Whether that woman was Bern’s common law wife, heretofore unknown even to Bern’s closest confidants, or Harlow is unknown. When Dorothy Millette turned up several weeks later, also a victim of an apparent suicide, the mystery only grew deeper. Harlow, for her part, was grief stricken an unable to testify at the coroner’s inquest into Bern’s death, primarily at the insistence of MGM execs. She did, however, pay for Millette’s grave stone & funeral, even having the stone engraved “Dorothy Millette Bern.”
When Bern died Harlow was in the midst of shooting her follow up to Red Headed Woman, Red Dust (’32), with MGM’s hottest male star, Clark Gable. Given a few days off, she was right back on set to complete filming. Red Dust was also a huge hit and further solidified Harlow’s status as Hollywood’s hottest star. Her nude bathing in a rain barrel scene also cemented Harlow as a Hollywood icon. The candid & casual openness of her sexuality was made clear when during the shooting of the famous scene Harlow stood up, completely naked and said “here’s a shot for the boys in the lab,” to the delight of all the technicians on set. Sadly, the film was destroyed by MGM.
Harlow went on to star in 4 more films with Gable (Hold Your Man (’32), Wife Vs. Secretary (’36), China Seas (’35), & Saratoga(’37), the All-star classic Dinner at Eight (’33)), which she professed to be her favorite, and a couple of films (Bombshell (’33) & Reckless (‘35)) that had odd personal overtones. She remained a box office sensation until her death at 36 on June 7th, 1937. Since her mother subscribed to the beliefs of the Christian Science Faith, many attributed Harlow’s death to a lack of medical attention, but Stenn (Bombshell: The Life & Death of Jean Harlow) details that a misdiagnosis by a family doctor lead to her early death. Engaged to William Powell (The Thin Man (’34), My Man Godfrey (’36)) at the time of her death, Harlow was never able to achieve true happiness in her lifetime. She was greatly mourned in Hollywood by fans, colleagues & executives alike and her funeral was one of the biggest in Hollywood history. While her life was short, her talent and beauty has allowed her films & persona to endure.
In Jean Harlow’s brief 7 year career she was able to pack as many classic performances in as an actress with a career 3 times as long. From her inauspicious feature debut in The Public Enemy (’31), to China Seas(’37), which was released after her death, Harlow captivated the public like no other movie star, until perhaps Marilyn Monroe. Her raw sexuality, combined with a classic comediennes sense of timing, rhythm and attitude made her a box office favorite throughout the 1930’s. Before she died in 1937 of kidney disease, the result of a bought with scarlet fever as a teen ager, Harlow evolved from a wooden line reader to a nuanced actress, capable of broad comedy and heartfelt drama, sometimes in the same role.
Before she was Jean Harlow, she was Harlean Carpenter, born in Kansas City in 1911 to 19 year old Jean Harlow Carpenter, who had been forced to marry a local business man. While both families were wealthy, Mama Jean, as Harlow’s mother would always be know, wanted nothing to do with Kansas City, divorced her husband & moved the child to Los Angeles when Harlean was 12. After Mama Jean’s attempt at an acting career failed the 2 moved back to KC, then to Chicago, where Harlean met her first husband, 19 year old Charles McGrew. She was 16 and the marriage lasted 2 years, but it did allow mother and daughter the opportunity to return to Los Angeles, as McGrew was an heir to a fortune and came into his inheritance.
As Harlean blossomed into a woman it became very apparent that she had a natural beauty that was combined with an innate and open sexuality. It also became clear to her mother that Harlean was the one desitined to be a movie star, so she changed her name to Jean Harlow, taking her mother’s first & maiden names. Unbilled and brief roles, including a film with Clara Bow (The Saturday Night Kid 1929) & 2 Laurel & Hardy movies (Liberty & Bacon Grabbers, both 1929) followed. Her big break came when she was tapped to play in Howard Hughes sound reshooting of Hell’s Angels (’30). Clearly uncomfortable & wooden reading her lines, critics slammed performance, however, she did make an immediate impression on notorious lothario Hughes, who signed her to a 5 year contract for $100 a week.
Now an internationally known movie star, albeit for her natural physical gifts and not her talent, Harlow spent most of her time on a Hell’s Angels publicity tour, as well as being loaned out by Hughes for small roles, all of which drew more criticism for her acting. The Public Enemy (’31), with James Cagney, however, was a major hit and further enhanced Harlow’s image as a sex symbol. It was on loan out again, this time to Columbia & director Frank Capra for Platinum Blonde (’31) that Harlow began to establish her persona beyond her just her looks, to establish her comedic touch. She plays a rich socialite, which was certainly against what her ‘type’ would become, but her casual asides foreshadowed what she do in films like Red Headed Woman & Red Dust. What Platinum Blonde also did was create an aura around Harlow’s signature hair, which became a trend among fans. The downside, of course, was the brutal treatment Harlow went through to create the look; a combination of peroxide, ammonia, Clorox Bleach & Lux soap flakes. Later in the decade her hair would be so destroyed that she had to wear a wig.
Sometime in 1930 Harlow met MGM producer Paul Bern, who would at first be her benefactor and then her husband. Bern was on Irving Thalberg’s staff at MGM & was one his most trusted confidants and helped convince studio head Louis B. Mayer to buy out Harlow’s contract in 1932. While Harlow never fit into the “MGM mold” of a female star; she was neither exotic, like Garbo nor pure like Norma Shearer, she did have an appeal that Mayer reluctantly agreed to exploit. Working at once to find a suitable vehicle, Bern & MGM put her Red Headed Woman (’32), ratcheting up her “platinum blonde” to fiery red, in attempt to exploit the commotion over her hair color. Based on a popular book, Red Headed Woman was just what Harlow & MGM needed to spring board her to super stardom. Red Headed Woman opened on June 25th, 1932 and Harlow was married to Burn on July 2nd, her movie star status secure.
The marriage to Bern didn’t last long and would create on the greatest scandals and mysteries in Hollywood history. Just 2 months after the small wedding Bern apparently committed suicide in the couple’s home. When the chauffer discovered Burn’s body the following morning, naked and with a gun clutched in his hand, his first call was not to the police, but to MGM studios. The lapse between when that first call was made & when the call finally went to the police is full of mystery and intrigue, as well as who and how many MGM executives arrived at the house that morning. (David Stenn’s Bombshell: The Life & Death of Jean Harlow offers a convincing accounting of Bern’s suicide, while Samuel Marx & Joyce Vanderkeen’s Deadly Illusions: Jean Harlow & the Murder of Paul Bern offers a more conspiratorial version of the events. Marx was an MGM story editor and claims to have been at Bern’s residence the morning of his death). Whatever the actual truth was it will never be conclusively known because MGM management, including Louis B. Mayer, Irving Thalberg & Howard Strickling, among others, made sure that the story that emerged was right out of the writer’s room & did everything to protect their asset: Jean Harlow. Public opinion, as well as the local DA, was at first against Harlow, who was considered a person of knowledge. She had spent the night at her mother’s, but people had heard arguments the night of Bern’s death, and some accounts had a woman leaving the house much later. Whether that woman was Bern’s common law wife, heretofore unknown even to Bern’s closest confidants, or Harlow is unknown. When Dorothy Millette turned up several weeks later, also a victim of an apparent suicide, the mystery only grew deeper. Harlow, for her part, was grief stricken an unable to testify at the coroner’s inquest into Bern’s death, primarily at the insistence of MGM execs. She did, however, pay for Millette’s grave stone & funeral, even having the stone engraved “Dorothy Millette Bern.”
When Bern died Harlow was in the midst of shooting her follow up to Red Headed Woman, Red Dust (’32), with MGM’s hottest male star, Clark Gable. Given a few days off, she was right back on set to complete filming. Red Dust was also a huge hit and further solidified Harlow’s status as Hollywood’s hottest star. Her nude bathing in a rain barrel scene also cemented Harlow as a Hollywood icon. The candid & casual openness of her sexuality was made clear when during the shooting of the famous scene Harlow stood up, completely naked and said “here’s a shot for the boys in the lab,” to the delight of all the technicians on set. Sadly, the film was destroyed by MGM.
Harlow went on to star in 4 more films with Gable (Hold Your Man (’32), Wife Vs. Secretary (’36), China Seas (’35), & Saratoga(’37), the All-star classic Dinner at Eight (’33)), which she professed to be her favorite, and a couple of films (Bombshell (’33) & Reckless (‘35)) that had odd personal overtones. She remained a box office sensation until her death at 36 on June 7th, 1937. Since her mother subscribed to the beliefs of the Christian Science Faith, many attributed Harlow’s death to a lack of medical attention, but Stenn (Bombshell: The Life & Death of Jean Harlow) details that a misdiagnosis by a family doctor lead to her early death. Engaged to William Powell (The Thin Man (’34), My Man Godfrey (’36)) at the time of her death, Harlow was never able to achieve true happiness in her lifetime. She was greatly mourned in Hollywood by fans, colleagues & executives alike and her funeral was one of the biggest in Hollywood history. While her life was short, her talent and beauty has allowed her films & persona to endure.