Word Weavers: Jean Harlow

Jean Harlow (1911-1937) was an American actress known as the original “Blonde Bombshell.” She grew to stardom as an extra in silent films and early talkies, captivating audiences with her appearance. Her role as Lola in the 1933 film “Bombshell” popularized the term in Hollywood and the use of it to refer to a striking woman. This was a forerunner to the term "sex symbol,” specifically in Hollywood.

For Further Reading: 

• Bombshell: the life and death of Jean Harlow
• The Hollywood Beauties: Jean Harlow
• Bombshell (1933) Film Synopsis and Discussion - Obscure Hollywood
• Jean Harlow, Film Star, Dies in Hollywood At 26 After an Illness of Only a Few Days  
• Actress Jean Harlow, 26, dies suddenly | June 7, 1937 | HISTORY   

This month, we’re talking about Word Weavers — people who coined terms, popularized words, and even created entirely new languages. These activists, writers, artists, and scholars used language to shape ideas and give voice to experiences that once had no name. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Wamanica. This month we're talking about word weavers, people
who coined terms, popularized words.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
And even created entirely new languages.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
These activist writers, artists, and scholars used language to shape
ideas and give voice to experiences that once had no name.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
In the nineteen.

Speaker 1 (00:25):
Thirties, filmmakers experimented with a thrilling reality movies could have sound,
and in this pre Hayes Code era of American movie making,
censorship wasn't taken seriously. The result an era brimming with
a slate of racy, raunchy movies. Salacious stories were in
and for actresses, so is explicit sexual expression. One actress

(00:49):
in particular made waves in Hollywood for having an almost
indescribable quality and appearance that transfixed the masses.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
This, ladies and gentlemen, is what.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
We call a bombshell, and today's Romniquin is known as
the original bombshell. Please welcome jean Harlowe. Jeanne was born
Harlene Harlow Carpenter on March third, nineteen eleven, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Her father was a well to do dentist.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
Her mother, Mamma Jean, came from considerable wealth and took
care of Harlene as her life's work. Referred to as
the baby by her doting mother, Harlene spent her early
childhood and sprawling country mansions fit with nurses, nannies, maids, chauffeurs,
and lots of pets, ducks.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
Lambs, ponies, and puppies to name a few.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
When her parents divorced in nineteen twenty two, Harlene transitioned
to the full custody of her mother, and the pair
moved to Hollywood, California. There, she enrolled at the Hollywood
School for Girls while her mother aimed for stardom. While
Mama Jean's acting career never took off, Harlene made a
striking impression in town. Her schoolmates remember her as sophisticated

(02:00):
and confident, with a clear sense of purpose. Men were
fixated on her looks and sexualized her from a young age.
After two years in Hollywood, Harlene and Mamma Jean returned
to Kansas City. When they left, Harlene's peers knew they
hadn't heard the last of her, and they were right.
Harlene's ticket back to Hollywood came by way of her

(02:23):
first husband. She met Charles Chuck Freemont Magrew at prep
school in Lake Forest, Illinois. Harlene didn't love school, but
she did fall in love with Chuck. The two married
in September nineteen twenty seven. Chuck became a realtor in California,
and the couple relocated to Beverly Hills, followed by Mama

(02:43):
Jean soon after. One day, Harlene was driving her friend
Rosalie to an appointment at Box Studios. Enamored by her beauty,
Fox executives asked if Harlene had ever considered.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
Acting, but she told them she hadn't.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
They were shocked and immediately wrote her letters of introduction
to the Central Casting Bureau. Harlene applied for work at
Central Casting under the name Jean Harlowe after her mother,
and began working as an extra in silent films and talkies.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
She didn't receive.

Speaker 1 (03:13):
Screen credits, but her marvelous, nonchalant beauty guarded attention. Nonetheless,
numerous job offers emerged, but Jeane refused them. Finally, at
her mother's urging, Jean accepted a contract with hal Roach.
This led to her nineteen twenty nine breakout role in
the silent comedy short Double Whoopee. In one scene, Jeane,

(03:34):
a hotel guest, emerges from a car and her dress
gets caught in the door. Unaware, she struts right on
through the hotel lobby and nothing but lingerie. This moment
set forth Jeane's career and set back some of her
personal relationships. Her grandfather threatened to write her out of
his will. Her husband, Chuck, was displeased with Jeane's newfound

(03:54):
career and grew resentful of her. Jean went on to
live with her mother and the couple divorced. The show
went on. By the nineteen thirties, the film industry harnessed
the power of the sound stage. This era gave way
to Howard Hughes's nineteen thirty picture Hell's Angels. The film
was originally silent and started a Norwegian actress as a
temptress torn between two brothers. With added sound and a

(04:18):
new adaptation, Howard wanted a new lead actress. They decided
that Gene, at only nineteen years old, was the perfect fit.
In Hell's Angels, Jane delivers the now iconic line would
you be sack?

Speaker 2 (04:31):
If I put on something more comfortable, I'll try to survive.

Speaker 1 (04:35):
From then on, Jane was dubbed the Platinum Blonde and
was marketed in showbiz on account of her looks almost entirely,
but Jeane wanted to be more than just a pretty face.
Committed to strengthening her acting chops, she stayed on sets
past or call time to observe those around her and
to learn everything she could about being an actress. These
efforts culminated in the nineteen thirty three Screwball comedy Bombshell.

(04:59):
In the year leading up to Bombshell, Jean faced hardship.
She remarried Paul Byrne, but a few months after their
nuptial as Paul died by suicide. Her mother and her
stepfather were overbearing. They mooched off her fame while meddling
in her business. Jean shared that reality with Lola, the
character she portrays in the film. Jane's embodiment of this

(05:20):
character was genuine, and the satirical look at stardom was poignant.
Throughout the film, Jean don's exquisite gowns and carries an
air of seductive glamour. This performance took gene from star
status to legend status on and off stage, Jean Harlow
would be known as the Blonde Bombshell worldwide, popularizing the

(05:42):
term that still widely used today. In less than a decade,
Jean Harlowe became a household name. But it was at
this peak that her career would be cut short. During
production for Saratoga, her final movie, Jane became ill. She
died of kidney failure on June seventh, nineteen teen thirty seven,
at twenty six years old. Today, her vast filmography serves

(06:06):
as a relic of old Hollywood. Jeane captured the glimmer
of the Golden Age and characterized the unique ability to
leave others awestruck. All month, We're talking about word weavers.
For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at
Wamanica Podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister
and co creator.

Speaker 2 (06:25):
Talk to you tomorrow.