Musical Jimmy!

In one of his earilest roles, Jimmy played a singing and dancing sailor. Yes! It's true! The film is Born To Dance from 1936 and co-stars Eleanor Powell, Sid Silvers, and Buddy Ebsen. Jim is mighty adorable in this film, and not a bad singer (or dancer) either, his voice wasn't even dubbed in this movie!

Here's an adorable photo from Born To Dance:


Eleanor Powell was one lucky lady! ;)

Also, here is the movie trailer:

In Memoriam: Jean Harlow, 1911-1937

It has been 72 years ago, today, since The Original Blonde Bombshell (and one of my personal favorite actresses), Miss Jean Harlow, passed away.

A detailed biography from JeanHarlow.com:

Before the days of Madonna and Marilyn Monroe, the "Original Blonde Bombshell" made her mark on Hollywood and the world, leaving behind a new image of the Hollywood sex goddess. Harlean Carpenter, later known as Jean Harlow, was born on March 3, 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri. Although she would sadly only live to age 26, Jean achieved a great deal of success during her lifetime. In an acting career that lasted 10 short years, Jean made 36 movies. Some of her other achievements included being voted No. 22 on the American Film Institute's list of the "Greatest American Screen Legends" (female), and becoming the first movie actress to appear on the cover of Life magazine.

Jean displayed talent in both her sensual and comedic performances, but she initially captivated fans with her trendsetting platinum blonde hair. As she gained fame, peroxide sales in the United States skyrocketed. Botched attempts to look like Jean forced thousands of women to cut their hair. Hollywood producers of the past had consistently cast dark-haired women to play the parts of vixens, but Jean emerged as the first star to incorporate the platinum blonde look into her acting.

Jean was born the daughter of a successful dentist and his wife. Jean's mother, known as Mother Jean, had dreams of becoming an actress, which led her to divorce her husband and move to Hollywood with her young daughter. Jean's mother never allowed her to see her father, however Jean would sneak visits with him throughout her life. Mother Jean soon remarried a man named Marino Bello and the family moved to Chicago, where Jean attended high school.

Poor health afflicted Jean throughout her childhood. At age five, she contracted meningitis and suffered from scarlet fever at age 15. Jean left home at age 16 to marry 23-year-old Charles McGrew. Shortly after the wedding the couple left Chicago and moved to Beverly Hills. Jean's true aspiration in life was to be a wife and mother, however she sought work as an extra in films to please Mother Jean. Although at first Jean was not interested in making films, she received her first role in Why is a Plumber? in 1927. She and McGrew divorced after two years, but her big career break was about to occur.

In 1930, movie producer and entrepreneur Howard Hughes became interested in Jean and cast her in Hell's Angels. In Hell's Angels, she spoke the now famous line, "Would you be shocked if I changed into something more comfortable?" Jean's appearance in Hell's Angels solidified her role as America's new sex symbol. This victory was followed by another hit, Platinum Blonde, and several films with Clark Gable. In total, she and Gable would star in six movies together including Red Dust, The Secret Six and Wife vs. Secretary. During the filming of Red Dust, Jean's second husband of only two months, producer Paul Bern, committed suicide.

In 1933's Dinner at Eight, Jean was at her comedic best. Later that year she starred in Bombshell, a Hollywood parody based loosely on her real-life experiences with her controlling mother and greedy stepfather. Also in 1933, Jean married cinematographer Harold Rosson in a union that would only last eight months. To accompany her escalating career, in 1935 she legally changed her name to Jean Harlow, her mother's maiden name.

Following the end of her marriage, Jean found the love of her life in actor William Powell. They were together for two years, however before they could wed, Jean's health declined. While filming Saratoga in 1937, Jean was hospitalized with uremic poisoning and kidney failure, a result of the scarlet fever she had suffered during childhood. In the days before dialysis and kidney transplants, nothing could be done and Jean died on June 7, 1937. The film had to be finished using long angle shots and a double, Mary Dees. Clark Gable was reported to have said that he felt as if he was "in the arms of a ghost." After a large Hollywood funeral organized by Louis B. Mayer of MGM, Jean was buried in the mausoleum in Forest Lawn Glendale, in Los Angeles.

Jean was labeled a "screen siren" for her sensational dialogue and revealing costumes, but audiences, directors and producers alike appreciated her flair for comedy and drama. Had she lived longer, it is likely that she would have stayed on a successful path in Hollywood for years to come. In an acting career that lasted only 10 years, Jean Harlow forever established herself as one of the most captivating actresses of all time.

Jean actually co-starred in a movie with Jimmy, one his first, 1936's Wife Vs. Secretary. He had a supporting part, as Jean's boyfriend in the picture.


Jimmy had this to say about Jean: "When it came to kissing - Harlow was the best.".
hehe ;).

She really seemed like such a sweet, down-to-earth lady. R.I.P Jean.

Blog ideas and an early studio portrait

First order of business: blog ideas! I saw a lot of you had music added to your blogs, so I added some too. It's an episode of the classic radio show Suspense. This particular episode starred Jimmy, and aired in 1949.

I added a TV schedule to the sidebar on the right, I was going to make a detailed post about the TV listings, but seeing as it's the last week of May, I thought I'd just post it next month.

Another idea was doing "Photo Fridays" because it sounds good together, ha ha, where I would post a Jimmy picture every Friday. I would still be posting pictures throughout the week, of course, but Fridays would be reserved for pictures. Just a thought. Maybe I'll start that this week.

I also thought of doing a "movie of the month" and "poll of the month" thing, but I'm still deciding on those. If I decide to do either and/or all both, they'll start next month. I was also thinking of posting links to some of Jimmy's movies on YouTube in the sidebar, but maybe I'll just post them as seperate entries. I'll think about it.

Whew! I think that's it! I just wanted to touch base with all of you so you can know what's going on here in the 'technical' department. ;) Any feedback from followers would be much appreciated, as I want this blog to seem as much yours as it is mine, and I would like you to be involved as much as possible to make this an active place for Jimmy's fans. Now, on to jimmy.



This is a very early M-G-M publicity photo taken probably around 1936. I personally think this is one of the most adorable photos of him I've seen. :)

I promise I'll make more detailed Jimmy posts soon once I get this blog off the ground more, but for now, I hope you're all enjoying the pictures!