Posts Tagged with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

MARILYN ON HER CO-STARS
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MARILYN ON HER CO-STARS

Marilyn on her co-stars Jane Russell (from ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.’) Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall (from ‘How To Marry A Millionaire.’)

” I had worked with a lot of women those first movies– Jane Russell, Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall. They were all wonderful, and I was in such awe of them. They were giants. Everybody expected such fireworks.
Jane and I had an immediate rapport.. I sure learned a lot from her. I also learned through her the importance of having friendly people around, the best artisans in the business.. Howard Hughes saw to that.
Betty was adorable. So funny and so witty, she kept all of us in stitches. Bacall showed a professionalism I found remarkable. She was always prepared, knew her lines and her character, but she wasn’t so rigid that she couldn’t improvise when something unexpected came up.”

Excerpt from “Mimosa: Memories of Marilyn & the Making of The Misfits.”
Book by Ralph Roberts
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HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY JANE RUSSELL


Today we are wishing Jane Russell a very happy birthday on what would have been her 100th birthday.  Russell was an American film actress and one of Hollywood’s leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s.  She had a career in Hollywood spanning 4 decades and some of her biggest hits included: “The Outlaw,” “The Tall Men,” “Underwater!” and “The Las Vegas Story.”

In a publicity still for her first motion picture and box office hit “The Outlaw.”  This provocative shot saw her catapulted into stardom

 

Of course, undoubtably, her biggest screen success came with the release of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” alongside Marilyn in 1953.  Monroe and Russell got along famously and throughout the years, right up until Janes death in 2011, she never had a cruel or unkind word to say about her co-star.

“I didn’t experience any of the lateness or unprofessionalism you hear about, that came way later. She worked very hard and always knew her lines and was absolutely determined to get ahead.” Russell remembers, “we got along very well and when I found out she was a little nervous about going out on the set, I’d stop by her dressing room and you know, say ‘come on Blondel, it’s time to go! We’re due…’ and she’d say ‘oh! alright Jane’ and we’d trot on the set together.”

Happy Birthday Jane Russell, you are forever missed.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GWEN VERDON
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY GWEN VERDON

Remembering the ultra-talented Gwen Verdon, who was born on this day in 1925. She is most famous for her roles in ‘Damn Yankees’ & ‘Chicago’ (and for being the muse of Bob Fosse). She was also Jack Cole’s assistant during the filming of ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.’

MONROE AND TRAVILLA
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MONROE AND TRAVILLA

 

Marilyn and Travilla

Legendary costume designer William Travlla worked with Marilyn on 8 of her movies made at FOX Studios. Which designs are some of your favourite??

“Don’t Bother To Knock”
“Monkey Business”
“Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”
“How To Marry A Millionaire”
“River Of No Return”
“There’s No Business Like Show Business”
“The Seven Year Itch”
“Bus Stop”


“Givenchy gave Audrey Hepburn a little black dress, Jean Louis made Rita Hayworth sizzle in “Gilda,” Adrian helped make Greta Garbo a goddess, and Marilyn had Travilla to flatter her natural assets. Travilla was a FOX contract designer who workd under wardrobe director Charles Le Maire. He personally crafted the clothes worn by Marilyn for both industry functions and in the majority of her FOX films after she was elevated to star status. They had a friendly personal relationship, and unlike Garbo, who later told Adrian that she never liked the clothes he designed for her, Marilyn was delighted to be dressed by Travilla.”
~‘Marilyn Monroe: Platinum FOX’ by Cindy De La Hoz.