Jane Russell is best known for her role in Howard Hughes’ 1943 film The Outlaw. The famous publicity photos taken for the film depict Russell in tight-fitting clothing, sitting on a hay stack in a sexually inviting manner. The photo and her role in the film sent Hollywood censors reeling. Hughes ultimately triumphed, though, and the photo became the pin-up for many displaced WWII soldiers.
It was ultimately Russell’s bounteous bosom that catapulted her into Hollywood stardom and which American wartime soldiers named two Korean hills. All of which amused Russell, a conservative at heart, and which came through onscreen and added to her irresistible charm but also made her a victim of Hollywood typecasting.
Jane Russell is survived by three children, six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.