Gail Russell
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Gail Russell (born Betty Gale Russell; September 21, 1924 – August 26, 1961) was an American film and television actress.
Early yearsEdit
Gail Russell was born to George and Gladys (Barnet) Russell in Chicago and then moved to the Los Angeles area when she was a teenager. Her father was initially a musician but later worked for Lockheed Corporation. Before she ventured into acting, Russell had planned to be a commercial artist.<ref name=pdn>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> Her beauty saw her dubbed "the Hedy Lamarr of Santa Monica."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Career and lifeEdit
Russell's beauty brought her to the attention of Paramount Pictures in 1942, and she signed a long-term contract with that studio when she was 18.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>
Russell later said, "suddenly there was this terrific amount of work for myself and no time to myself. It was that way for ten years."<ref name="hedda">Template:Cite news</ref>
At the age of 19, Russell made her film debut in the 1943 film Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour. She also had a small part in Lady in the Dark (1943) and was meant to play a role in Henry Aldrich Haunts a House when, in March 1943, she was cast in a key role in The Uninvited (1944) with Ray Milland. Joan Mortimer played Russell's role in Henry Aldrich instead.<ref name="Schallert, Edwin 5">Template:Cite news</ref>
StardomEdit
The Uninvited was directed by Lewis Allen and was a big success. Producer Charles Brackett claimed in his diary that filming with Russell was difficult.<ref>Brackett, Charles (2014). It's the Pictures That Got Small": Charles Brackett on Billy Wilder and Hollywood's Golden Age. Columbia University Press. p.219 Template:ISBN</ref> Allen said that Ray Milland would take Russell aside and continuously practice her lines with her. Allen also said, "She could only do about five or six lines, and then she'd burst into tears."<ref name=Weaver>Weaver, Tom (September 1997). "Welcoming the Uninvited". Fangoria. No. 166. p.15</ref> According to Allen, Russell, who had not drunk alcohol before, began drinking it to calm herself at the suggestion of the head of make-up on set.<ref name=Weaver/>
According to the National Box Office Digest, it was among the highest-grossing pictures in the United States with rentals of over $500,000.<ref name="nboda">Template:Cite magazine</ref> A delighted Paramount announced Russell for Her Heart in Her Throat and True to the Navy with Eddie Bracken.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Allen directed Russell in Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944), in which she co-starred with Diana Lynn. It was another success.Template:Citation needed
Russell co-starred opposite Alan Ladd in Salty O'Rourke (1945), a horse racing drama.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Her Heart in Her Throat became the third film Russell made with Allen, The Unseen (1945), an unofficial follow up to The Uninvited. True to the Navy became Bring On the Girls; Russell did not appear in that film.Template:Citation needed
Then she and Lynn were in Our Hearts Were Growing Up (1946), a sequel to Our Hearts Were Young and Gay.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Paramount announced her as the female lead in The Virginian (1946) but she did not appear in the final movie.<ref name="Schallert, Edwin 5"/>
She was reunited with Ladd in Calcutta (1947), shot in 1945 but not released until two years later. She made a cameo as herself in two all-star Paramount films, Duffy's Tavern (1945) and Variety Girl (1947).
Loan-outsEdit
Russell was borrowed by Andrew Stone for The Bachelor's Daughters (1946) at United Artists.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Republic Pictures borrowed her to be John Wayne's leading lady in a film Wayne was producing, Angel and the Badman (1947).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Also at Republic she did Moonrise (1948) for Frank Borzage.
Russell returned to Paramount for Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948), directed by John Farrow, who had made Calcutta. She reteamed with Wayne at Republic for Wake of the Red Witch (1948), which was a hit.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
She appeared in a Western, El Paso (1949), with John Payne for Pine-Thomas Productions, a production outfit who released through Paramount.
Russell did Song of India (1949) for Columbia and The Great Dan Patch (1949) for United Artists.
Russell married actor Guy Madison on 1 August 1949.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They separated in less than six months<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but later reunited, then separated in 1953, and divorced in 1954.
She made some more Pine-Thomas films: Captain China (1950) with Payne, and The Lawless (1951) with Macdonald Carey directed by Joseph Losey.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
By 1950 it was well known that she had a problem with alcoholism. According to Yvonne de Carlo, actress Helen Walker took Russell "under her wing and introduced her to the tranquilizing benefits of vodka" when they were Paramount contractees together.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Russell was already drinking on set by her third film, 1944's The Uninvited, to ease her paralyzing stage fright and lack of confidence.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Paramount did not renew her contract.
She made Air Cadet (1951) for Universal.
Legal troublesEdit
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In 1953 John Wayne's then-wife claimed during her divorce proceedings that Wayne and Russell had spent the night together. Wayne and Russell denied this.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In November 1953 she was held in jail overnight after being arrested for drunk driving.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The following month she and Madison separated permanently.
In January 1954, in a court in Santa Monica, California, Russell pleaded guilty to a charge of drunkenness, receiving a $150 fine (Template:Inflation). The fine was in lieu of a jail sentence, with the provision that she not use intoxicants or attend night spots for two years. In the same court session, she received a continuance on a charge of driving while drunk.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>
She sued Madison for divorce in May 1954.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The divorce was finalized in October 1954. During the court proceedings Madison claimed that Russell would never do any housework and would not allow visitors or servants in the house.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In October 1954 she was admitted to a hospital in a coma after an attack of hepatitis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In February 1955 she hit another car containing a couple and their baby while driving. She was fined $50.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The couple later sued her for $30,000 (Template:Inflation) and settled out of court.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
ComebackEdit
Russell returned to work in a co-starring role with Randolph Scott in the western Seven Men from Now (1956), produced by her friend Wayne and directed by Budd Boetticher. The film and Russell's performance were lauded and she seemed poised to make a comeback.<ref name="hedda"/>
Russell was expected to follow Seven Men from Now with Madame Courage, again with Boetticher as director, but the film was never made.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Instead Russell appeared in an episode of Studio 57 and had a substantial role in The Tattered Dress (1957).<ref name="los"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In April 1957 she was found unconscious on the floor at her home.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On July 5, 1957, she was photographed by a Los Angeles Times photographer after she drove her convertible into the front of Jan's Coffee Shop at 8424 Beverly Boulevard, injuring a janitor. After failing a sobriety test, Russell was arrested and charged with driving under the influence.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The janitor sued her for $75,000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She failed to appear at a court appearance and was discovered at home passed out due to drinking.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She was fined $420, given a 30-day suspended sentence and put on three years' probation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
She appeared in No Place to Land (1958) for Republic.
She had roles in episodes of The Rebel and Manhunt. "I guess there are still a lot of doubts about me", she said in April 1960. "And this is one of the reasons why I want to get back to the business to prove to people I can do a picture. I'm stronger now. The future looks pretty good."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In November 1960 she was announced for a film with Mark Stevens and George Raft called Cause of Death<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but it appears to have not been made. She was top billed in her last film, the low-budget The Silent Call (1961).
DeathEdit
Russell moved to a small house where she lived alone. She would periodically try to stop drinking then start again. On one occasion, Russell was hospitalized. On August 26, 1961, she was found dead at her residence in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, at the age of 36.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She was found by two neighbors who were concerned they had not seen her for several days. An empty vodka bottle was by Russell's side, and the house was full of empty bottles.<ref name="los">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Russell died from liver damage attributed to "acute and chronic alcoholism" with aspiration of stomach contents as an additional cause.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> She was also found to have been suffering from malnutrition at the time of her death.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
FilmographyEdit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour | Virginia Lowry | Alternative title: Henry Gets Glamour |
| 1944 | Lady in the Dark | Barbara (at 17) | |
| 1944 | The Uninvited | Stella Meredith | |
| 1944 | Our Hearts Were Young and Gay | Cornelia Otis Skinner | |
| 1945 | Salty O'Rourke | Barbara Brooks | |
| 1945 | The Unseen | Elizabeth Howard | |
| 1946 | Our Hearts Were Growing Up | Cornelia Otis Skinner | |
| 1946 | The Bachelor's Daughters | Eileen | Alternative title: Bachelor Girls |
| 1947 | Angel and the Badman | Penelope Worth | Alternative title: Angel and the Outlaw |
| 1947 | Calcutta | Virginia Moore | |
| 1948 | Moonrise | Gilly Johnson | |
| 1948 | Night Has a Thousand Eyes | Jean Courtland | |
| 1948 | Wake of the Red Witch | Angelique Desaix | |
| 1949 | Song of India | Princess Tara | |
| 1949 | El Paso | Susan Jeffers | |
| 1949 | The Great Dan Patch | Cissy Lathrop | Alternative title: Ride a Reckless Mile |
| 1950 | Captain China | Kim Mitchell | |
| 1950 | The Lawless | Sunny Garcia | Alternative title: The Dividing Line |
| 1951 | Air Cadet | Janet Page | Alternative title: Jet Men of the Air |
| 1956 | Studio 57 | Episode: "Time, Tide and a Woman" | |
| 1956 | Seven Men from Now | Annie Greer | |
| 1957 | The Tattered Dress | Carol Morrow | |
| 1958 | No Place to Land | Lynn Dillon | Alternative title: Man Mad |
| 1960 | The Rebel | Cassandra | Episode: "Noblesse Oblige" |
| 1960 | Manhunt | Mrs. Clarke | Episode: "Matinee Mobster" |
| 1961 | The Silent Call | Flore Brancato |
Radio appearancesEdit
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 | This Is Hollywood | The Bachelor's Daughters<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> |
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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