Details
Jane Russell's acting career was launched on one of the most notorious publicity campaigns in the history of cinema for The Outlaw, a film produced and ultimately directed by Howard Hughes. Russell should have quickly and quietly disappeared from public consciousness. Yet, she managed to use The Outlaw as a springboard for a noted entertainment career that found her starring opposite stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Robert Mitchum, Vincent Price, Frank Sinatra, and Groucho Marx. Ultimately, Russell herself would be elevated to the status of "film legend" during her lifetime.
The book Mean Moody Magnificent: Jane Russell and the Marketing of a Hollywood Legend explores Russell's life and career and examines how she used a constant stream of provocative publicity to her advantage while somehow managing to elevate her public persona above that publicity. The book also explores how the highly sexualized marketing of Jane Russell the Movie Star conflicted with the off-screen Russell, a woman of strong religious faith who spent much of her life devoted to advocating for international adoption. Serving as a companion to Russell's 1985 autobiography, Mean Moody Magnificent! is the first volume to explore the life and filmography of Jane Russell.
The book Mean Moody Magnificent: Jane Russell and the Marketing of a Hollywood Legend explores Russell's life and career and examines how she used a constant stream of provocative publicity to her advantage while somehow managing to elevate her public persona above that publicity. The book also explores how the highly sexualized marketing of Jane Russell the Movie Star conflicted with the off-screen Russell, a woman of strong religious faith who spent much of her life devoted to advocating for international adoption. Serving as a companion to Russell's 1985 autobiography, Mean Moody Magnificent! is the first volume to explore the life and filmography of Jane Russell.
Table of Contents
Introduction
From Bemidji to Burbank
Valley Girl
Daughter Grows Up
Accidental Aspiring Actress
The Howards
Shooting an Outlaw
Motionless Picture Actress
Mean... Moody... Magnificent
Mrs. Robert Waterfield
Kickstarting a Career
House in the Clouds
"Mitch"
Wing-Ding Tonight
International Uproar
What Happened In Vegas
Blondes
A Woman of Faith
JR in 3D
WAIF
Russ-Field
Do Lord
On Stage and Small Screen
Endings, Beginnings, & Endings
A Life Onscreen
Path and Detours
Living Legend
