Jane Russell

It's five minutes to show time. Jane Russell gingerly folds her glasses and sips her Sprite. At 84, she needs a little help up the single step to the tiny stage in the darkened hotel bar. Her eyes aren't what they used to be -- she has macular degeneration -- and she wears hearing aids in both ears.

Actress Jane Russell, who became a star with the 1943 release of "The Outlaw," Howard Hughes' challenge to the Hollywood production code, has died. She was 89. Russell went on to play Calamity Jane opposite Bob Hope in "The Paleface" (1948), and she starred with Marilyn Monroe in the 1953 musical "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. " As former Times staff writer Claudia Luther explains in her obituary of the actress, "Russell's provocative performance in 'The Outlaw' -- and the studio publicity shots posing her in a low-cut blouse reclined on a stack of hay bales -- marked a turning point in moviedom sexuality.

She was born on June 21, 1921, with the tongue-twisting name of Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell. She is better known, however, as Jane Russell, the sultry brunet sex symbol whose roles lit up the silver screen and outraged censors during the 1940s and '50s. As a toddler she moved with her family from Minnesota to Southern California, settling in Van Nuys.

Jane Russell, the dark-haired siren whose sensational debut in the 1943 film "The Outlaw" inspired producer Howard Hughes to challenge the power and strict morality of Hollywood's production code, died Monday at her home in Santa Maria, Calif. She was 89. FOR THE RECORD: Jane Russell: In Section A on March 1, Jane Russell's obituary and an accompanying caption said Russell and Marilyn Monroe performed "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" together in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. " In fact, Russell and Monroe each performed the song separately in the film.

Poster auction: An original movie poster for "The Outlaw" (1943), featuring Jane Russell in a provocative pose, sold for about $82,200 at auction in London, Christie's said.

JAZZ Cassandra Wilson The sultry vocalist, a two-time Grammy winner who's equally comfortable in the worlds of pop, R&B and traditional jazz, takes center stage at the Catalina Jazz Club. Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 W. Sunset Blvd. 8 and 10 p.m. $35-$40. (323) 466-2210. www.catalinajazzclub.com. BOOKS The Black Body A reading and panel discussion features contributors to this collection of original essays about race written by black, white and biracial individuals.

Mary Jane Russell, 77, a fashion model in the 1940s and '50s who was a frequent subject of photographers Louise Dahl-Wolfe and Irving Penn, died of pulmonary fibrosis Nov. 20 in Charleston, S.C., her husband, Edward T. Russell, told the New York Times. Born Mary Jane Walton in Teaneck, N.J., Russell studied art and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College.

Actress Jane Russell, who became a star with the 1943 release of "The Outlaw," Howard Hughes' challenge to the Hollywood production code, has died. She was 89. Russell went on to play Calamity Jane opposite Bob Hope in "The Paleface" (1948), and she starred with Marilyn Monroe in the 1953 musical "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. " As former Times staff writer Claudia Luther explains in her obituary of the actress, "Russell's provocative performance in 'The Outlaw' -- and the studio publicity shots posing her in a low-cut blouse reclined on a stack of hay bales -- marked a turning point in moviedom sexuality.

Jane Russell, the dark-haired siren whose sensational debut in the 1943 film "The Outlaw" inspired producer Howard Hughes to challenge the power and strict morality of Hollywood's production code, died Monday at her home in Santa Maria, Calif. She was 89. FOR THE RECORD: Jane Russell: In Section A on March 1, Jane Russell's obituary and an accompanying caption said Russell and Marilyn Monroe performed "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" together in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. " In fact, Russell and Monroe each performed the song separately in the film.

There have been many chapters in Jane Russell's long, rich life, and most of them are reflected in her Santa Barbara home. But the one chapter you might think would be the most apparent is one of the least evident: Russell the actress. Although she was first and best known as a movie star, there is surprisingly little evidence of her days as the ingenue introduced to the world in Howard Hughes' 1940s movie "The Outlaw."

JAZZ Cassandra Wilson The sultry vocalist, a two-time Grammy winner who's equally comfortable in the worlds of pop, R&B and traditional jazz, takes center stage at the Catalina Jazz Club. Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 W. Sunset Blvd. 8 and 10 p.m. $35-$40. (323) 466-2210. www.catalinajazzclub.com. BOOKS The Black Body A reading and panel discussion features contributors to this collection of original essays about race written by black, white and biracial individuals.

What do you tell someone who still wants to see how Joan Van Ark is holding up, chat with Dr. Kildare and Wyatt Earp or look into the, um, eyes of a bevy of still-buoyant "Baywatch" babes? Stand in line. That and 20 bucks buys you a Vaseline-free lens into pop culture's past at the Hollywood Show, where time is elastic, even if its famous faces and figures are not. The quarterly autograph and memorabilia show -- a retro nirvana for TV Land, VH1 and Turner Classic Movies fans and celebrity signature collectors -- unites vintage Tinseltown idols and survivors with the people who made them as-seen-on-TV commodities.

It's five minutes to show time. Jane Russell gingerly folds her glasses and sips her Sprite. At 84, she needs a little help up the single step to the tiny stage in the darkened hotel bar. Her eyes aren't what they used to be -- she has macular degeneration -- and she wears hearing aids in both ears.

Mary Jane Russell, 77, a fashion model in the 1940s and '50s who was a frequent subject of photographers Louise Dahl-Wolfe and Irving Penn, died of pulmonary fibrosis Nov. 20 in Charleston, S.C., her husband, Edward T. Russell, told the New York Times. Born Mary Jane Walton in Teaneck, N.J., Russell studied art and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College.

Poster auction: An original movie poster for "The Outlaw" (1943), featuring Jane Russell in a provocative pose, sold for about $82,200 at auction in London, Christie's said.

There have been many chapters in Jane Russell's long, rich life, and most of them are reflected in her Santa Barbara home. But the one chapter you might think would be the most apparent is one of the least evident: Russell the actress. Although she was first and best known as a movie star, there is surprisingly little evidence of her days as the ingenue introduced to the world in Howard Hughes' 1940s movie "The Outlaw."

What do you tell someone who still wants to see how Joan Van Ark is holding up, chat with Dr. Kildare and Wyatt Earp or look into the, um, eyes of a bevy of still-buoyant "Baywatch" babes? Stand in line. That and 20 bucks buys you a Vaseline-free lens into pop culture's past at the Hollywood Show, where time is elastic, even if its famous faces and figures are not. The quarterly autograph and memorabilia show -- a retro nirvana for TV Land, VH1 and Turner Classic Movies fans and celebrity signature collectors -- unites vintage Tinseltown idols and survivors with the people who made them as-seen-on-TV commodities.

Outraged friends and colleagues are rallying to the defense of late '50s screen hunk Jeff Chandler to offset damage done to his reputation by Esther William's racy bestselling autobiography, "The Million Dollar Mermaid." According to Williams, who began a love affair with Chandler during the shooting of "Raw Wind in Eden" in 1956, Chandler was "happy and secure only in women's clothing." Cross-dressing, she writes, gave the actor a sexual thrill.

She was born on June 21, 1921, with the tongue-twisting name of Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell. She is better known, however, as Jane Russell, the sultry brunet sex symbol whose roles lit up the silver screen and outraged censors during the 1940s and '50s. As a toddler she moved with her family from Minnesota to Southern California, settling in Van Nuys.