The Life and tragedy of Jean Harlow (Part III)

Following the death of Paul Bern and the filming of Red Dust, Jean Harlow filmed “Hold Your Man” alongside Clark Gable. The audiences were crazy for the on-screen duo, despite the lackluster film. Harlow actually sang the title song

onscreen. Despite the Hollywood slump amid the Depression, Hold Your Man grossed a 400% profit. Harlow was nearly the most successful star on the MGM lot.

Prior to filming “Hold Your Man,” Harlow was slated to appear in Dinner at Eight alongside such stars as Lionel Barrymore and Marie Dressler. She played the role of Kitty Packard, the trampy wife of a tycoon. In this role, Harlow reached her comedic pinnacle. She demonstrated her natural ability to be funny and a great sense of timing. The film was one of which she was most proud. Despite her remarkable comedic talent, Harlow lamented that she was never taken very seriously. Most people still viewed her as the ditzy, tarty characters she portrayed onscreen. This perception would continue to follow her throughout her entire career.

Harlow’s greatest performance would come in her next film, Bombshell, where she played the role of Lola Burns, the “If” Girl. The script for this film was written with Clara Bow (The “It” Girl) as the basis for the lead character. Lola Burns lived in a mansion with her drunken father and brother who sponge off of her and a secretary who steals from her – not far off from the situation Bow was really in. Many mistakenly assumed the character was based on Harlow and her family, replacing her mother and step-father with an on-screen father and brother. Harlow aced her role, once again revealing her comedic prowess, seemingly oblivious to the thought that she was, in some way, acting out her own situation. While Harlow spent her days working, her mother and Bello continued spending her hard earned money. Mother Jean built a large white mansion (known as the whitest house in Hollywood) while Marino Bello walked around in designer suits, bragging about his riches and mob connections.

While at work on Bombshell, The Baby met and began dating Max Baer, a married prizefighter who showed little appreciation for her private deviating from her onscreen persona. Despite Baer’s attempts to end the relationship, the press caught on to the buzz and reported their affair. His wife sued for a divorce, citing Harlow as a respondent. Neither Harlow nor MGM needed the bad press at the same time as the one year anniversary of Paul Bern’s suicide. It was decided that in order to avoid yet another scandal, Harlow must be married at once.

On the morning of September 18, 1933, Jean Harlow married cameraman Hal Rosson in Yuma, Arizona. He bore a resemblance to Paul Bern in both age and physical appearance – a fact not ignored by the press. In truth, however, the two were very different. Rosson had a great sense of humor, was a lover of women and, most importantly, showed no signs of sexual issues or inabilities as Bern had. Despite the quickie studio wedding, Harlow and Rosson had a good, friendly relationship. Truth be told, Hal Rosson had been infatuated by Harlow before they had ever been married, so the whole endeavor was very real for him.

In response to the wedding, Mother Jean and Bello had Rosson sign a postnuptial agreement. Soon after, The Baby and Hal moved out of the whitest house in Hollywood and settled into a hotel on Sunset Boulevard. That same day, Max Baer’s wife officially filed for divorce – not naming Harlow in her suit. Scandal had

been avoided. During this same time, on September 29, 1933, Harlow pressed her hands into the cement at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and appeared at the premier of Bombshell.

Bombshell was loved by audiences as well as Harlow while critics praised her growing talent. The Baby also began to garner international acclaim. At the same time, she decided that she no longer wanted to play the same types of characters that had created her tart-like image.

Though easily one of the most popular and famous actors at MGM, Harlow was paid far less than most others. Compared to Garbo’s $250,000 per picture, Jean’s $1500 per week was hardly anything at all. She wasn’t in it for the money, but her step-father was. Marino Bello insisted upon $5000 per week for Jean’s services to MGM, threatening to keep her from work until his demands were met. She was already under contract and so MGM refused to pay her more money. She did not report to work for several weeks as the behest of her greedy stepfather, halting the production of her next film. During this time, she gave interviews, read scripts and wrote a novel titled “Today is Tonight.” Upon completion, Marino Bello commissioned a writer to create a script from the novel and he shopped it to every studio in town, despite a clause in The Baby’s contract forbidding her from providing her services to any other employer or person without MGM consent. Louis B Mayer refused to allow the script to be sold. After six months passed with no consensus between the two parties, audiences became restless, forcing MGM to finally create a new contract. Jean Harlow would now be paid $3000 per week.

Following this victory and the avoidance of the Max Baer scandal months before, Harlow and Hal Rosson separated and divorced. He never blamed The Baby and, instead, pointed the finger at her greedy step-father and mother who had a firm grip on Jean. The same month in which she left Rosson, Jean met the man who many have described as “the love of her life.”

In 1933, William Powell was considered to be washed up. He lost his contract with Warner Brothers at about the same time his second marriage to actress Carole Lombard ended in divorce. His agent was the brother of and MGM executive who was persuaded to sign Powell to a movie, Manhattan Melodrama, co-starring Myrna Loy.

Shortly after, the pair began the Thin Man series, making both stars more popular than ever.

Powell was a charming, witty gentleman. While filming his first movie with Loy, he met Jean Harlow and began dating her not too long after. Their affair was confirmed shortly after Harlow’s divorce was finalized and they were cast together in “Reckless,” a musical about a woman whose husband shoots himself. The resemblance to her real life situation with Paul Bern was not lost on her. To make matters worse, Harlow’s famous and over dyed blonde hair began to break off and fall out. She had to wear custom wigs for the duration of the movie to cover her rapidly deteriorating mane.

Before long, Powell and Harlow celebrated their first anniversary, but their relationship was not without its trials. Powel detested Mother Jean and Marino Bello and refused to be around them, so Jean was forced to travel between Powell’s home and the home she shared with the Bello’s.

William Powell uncovered the truth behind Marino Bello’s so-called Mexican gold mine investments for which he took 25% of Jean’s salary. There were no mines at all, rather a Mexican mistress and simple greed. After some negotiating, Bello walked away from his marriage to Mother Jean with several thousand dollars and a release from his portion of the mortgage obligation, leaving The Baby deep in debt. With her money hungry stepfather gone and a new love, Jean’s life was looking up.

Her next film, China Seas, was her highest grossing of all and she was about to go under a transformation from Platinum Blonde to Brownette.

Her first film as a Brownette, Riffraff, was golden. Her new look paired with her ever-increasing talent as an actress made her shine. The following picture, Wife vs Secretary, with Jimmy Stewart and Myrna Loy, won more rave reviews, though she did suffer a setback during filming. Harlow collapsed onset, later attributed to fatigue from overworking herself. She did recover and continued on with her busy schedule.

Harlow and Powell had now been together for two years and rumors of impending marriage surrounded the couple. They were not engaged, however, though Jean was desperately in love with him and wanted nothing more than to marry Powell and start a family. He didn’t want to get married again, however, and Jean satisfied herself with spending as much time with him as possible.

While her personal life left much to be desired (especially if rumors of an abortion in mid-1936 are true) her career was at an all-time high. Her films were high grossing and she was not short of work. She took a break from her hectic schedule to accompany Powell and Myrna Loy on location to film After the Thin Man. While there, it became apparent that Harlow was changing, physically. Her face was puffier and she was heavier than ever before. Her skin also turned more pale and grey and she was incredibly fatigued. In addition, her relationship with Powell and lack of movement gave her more reasons to drink.

In December of 19236, Powell finally bought Jean a ring, an 85-carat sapphire that she considered an engagement ring, though Powell did not. His refusal to even admit to being engaged caused her further grief and she began to drink even more. She also took on a lover, Bill Freide, thought claimed that she and William Powell were still very much together.

Harlow began work on Saratoga, and it was very apparent that she was becoming ill. Her face was more bloated and pale than before and she was constantly exhausted. She was also fighting a nasty infection from a wisdom teeth removal that had never completely cleared up, causing her considerable pain. In the midst of filming, Harlow left the set early, and found Powell on his film set to let him know she would be going home sick. He promised to see her later and she left for his house.

On June 2, she complained of abdominal pain, threw up and became delirious. Her doctor set up camp at her bedside and she made some improvement. She was able to sit up and read and eat a little bit. Many took her illness to be a consequence of her heavy drinking, but in reality it was much more serious than that. Harlow’s condition quickly worsened until she swelled to twice her size. Her breath reeked of urine and she was in incredible pain. Another doctor was summoned, but he declared privately that is was too late to save her. The Baby was suffering from kidney failure. Her kidneys completely shut down, causing urea to be secreted from her mouth and sweat, which is why she reeked so badly of urine and was so bloated.

After gathering a medical history from Mother Jean, it was determined that Harlow’s kidney’s were badly damaged after her bout with Scarlet Fever and had slowly worsened ever since, which explained her frequent headaches. Her drinking lowered her immune system which made her more susceptible to illness. This, paired with her barely functioning system caused the final illness that was not plaguing her.

The Baby’s vision began to blur and she eventually needed two blood transfusions. She retained so much liquid that her skull began to swell. Powell was allowed to see her briefly and left, crying, knowing she was not going to make it much longer. Her beloved aunt Jetty asked her to hang on, to which Jean said that she didn’t want to. The Baby was too tired to fight any longer.

On the morning of Monday, June 7, 1937, in Good Samaritan Hospital, Harlean Harlow Carpenter slipped into a coma. Several hours later, at 11:38am, one of Hollywood’s most famous and beloved actresses was dead at the age of twenty-six.