Jane Russell RIP

As you probably know by now, Jane Russell died of respiratory problems at her home in Santa Maria, California, aged 89. Howard Hughes promoted his discovery as a sultry sex symbol and thrust her bust into the spotlight, as you can see from this poster for Macao (1952) a black-and-white film noir directed by Josef von Sternberg and Nicholas Ray. Macao benefited greatly from the talents of supporting actress Gloria Grahame. See it when you can. Hughes was so successful in promoting Russell as a pinup while waiting for her first movie to be released - The Outlaw (1943) - that in one poll she was voted Favourite Actress before the voters had seen whether she could act! Her comedic talents became evident in two of her most successful films: The Paleface (1948) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). Click the title link for a slide show of her career.