"Taking joy in life is a woman's best cosmetic."-Rosalind Russell

We apologize for the delay, but here is the last post for Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Think PINK post #3:

Rosalind Russell

Born June 4, 1907

Died November 28, 1976

Catherine Rosalind Russell was born in the summer of 1907 to parents James and Clara. She was the middle child out of 7 children in a Catholic family with Irish heritage. Growing up, Russell and her siblings all attended Catholic school. Later on, she enrolled in Marymount College for a time. She had a secret desire to be an actress, although her parents wanted her to become a teacher. When she did begin to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, she was away from home, and told her parents that she was studying education.

Even though she was working to be an actress on Broadway, her first form of recognition was as a model.  She was a natural comedian, and soon earned several bit parts in plays on the big stage. In the late 1920s,

Russell was offered a job with a stock company at Saranac Lake. She finally came clean to her parents and told them about the job offer. They were not supportive and tried to persuade her not to take it, but she eventually accepted the offer despite her parents objections. She remained in that company for about 7 months, before joining up with a new stock company in Hartford. When her run was over there, she relocated to Boston and joined a theater group run by Edward E. Clive. From Boston, she later returned to New York and continued to act on the stage. Many people do not realize that Russell also had a beautiful singing voice. She decided to take vocal lessons and was soon singing in the opera. She did well there, but eventually decided it was not the place for her. She had a lower vocal range, and her inability to hit some of the higher notes meant that she was not usually given lead roles. Having spent several years developing her craft and gaining experience on the east coast, Russell decided to officially relocate to Hollywood to see what the silver screen had to offer.

Russell arrived in Los Angeles in 1930 and within no time, she had her first film contract with Universal Pictures. She later recalled that during her time with Universal, she felt that she was passed over and ignored most of the time. She said that no one there treated her with any respect, and whenever she was working with people, they humiliated her. No matter how much she wanted to be an actress, Russell was not willing to remain tied to a studio that constantly attacked her self esteem. She terminated her contract, and managed to extricate herself from Universal without too much difficulty, and on her own terms, which was practically

unheard of at the time. Russell directly moved to Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Given that her first experience with a film studio was so terrible, she was nervous about her screen test with MGM. She did her best, and the studio liked her. Later on, she swore that the only reason they decided to hire her was because of her close up picture that was taken by Harold S. Bucquet.

Russell's film debut was in the motion picture Evelyn Prentice (1934), which gave her quite a bit of notoriety even though she did not have the lead role. It quickly became clear that she excelled in comedies such as Forsaking All Others (1934), Man Proof (1938), Four's a Crowd (1938), her famous role in His Girl Friday (1940), and many more. However, she also showed audiences that she could act in dramatic roles like Reckless (1935), or Craig's Wife (1936), and also in thrillers like Fast and Loose (1939). Despite the fact that Russell had shown that she could play in any genre, she was still subject to typecasting. She was soon pigeonholed as the sophisticated and dignified lady. Russell approached directors with pleas to help her change her image, which eventually resulted in her role in The Women (1939), as the frivolous and deplorable gossip Sylvia Fowler. The film was a hit and helped audiences look at her in a new light.

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Russell spent most of the 1940s devoting her time to comedies. One of her most famous comedic roles was as Hildy Johnson in His Girl Friday (1940) alongside Cary Grant. She also excelled in the motion picture My Sister Eileen (1942), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. While she was dominating the silver screen in Hollywood, Russell was also adjusting to changes in her personal life during the early 1940s. She married Frederick Brisson in 1941. Brisson was the son of famous Danish actor Carl Brisson. The two were introduced by fellow actor Cary Grant during the filming of His Girl Friday (1940), and were married a year later, with Grant serving as best man at the wedding. Brisson was the love of Russell's life, and the two remained married until her death.

In the early 1950s, Russell returned to the east coast for a lead role in the Broadway musical Wonderful Town (1953). The play was based on My Sister Eileen (1942), and was an immediate success. She would play the lead role a third time on television in 1958. It was later that same year that she would take up the role in one of the most memorable films of her career, playing the title role in Auntie Mame (1958). She remained active in her career throughout the 1960s. Towards the end of the decade, in 1966, Auntie Mame was casting for a Broadway production. Naturally, Russell was offered the part, but she declined due to ill health.

Russell was diagnosed with breast cancer sometime in the mid to late 60s. She greatly struggled with the disease, and eventually lost the battle. Rosalind Russell died from complications due to breast cancer on November 28, 1976 at the age of 69. In the 38 year span of Russell's career, she starred in over 50 major motion pictures, 2 films made for television, and many plays. She was nominated 4 different times for an Academy Award for Best Actress, won 5 Golden Globe Awards, and won 2 Laurel Awards for Top Female Comedy Performances. Rosalind Russell was a true actress and genuine comedian, and a strong and beautiful woman who suffered from the effects of breast cancer.

"Acting is standing up naked and turning around very slowly."

-Rosalind Russell

"A man is insensible to the relish of prosperity until he has tasted adversity."

-Rosalind Russell

"An impeccably dressed lady is always viewed with suspicion in real life and when you strut onto the screen with beautiful clothes and charming manners, the most naive of theatergoers senses immediately that you are in a position to do the hero no good."

-Rosalind Russell

"Flops are a part of life's menu and I've never been a girl to miss out on any of the courses."

-Rosalind Russell

Thank you all so much for joining in this month for what we hope will be an annual segment of Think PINK for Breast Cancer Awareness. These beautiful and talented women that we have posted about struggled with breast cancer and eventually died from complications many years ago. But there are still beautiful and strong women who struggle with the same disease today.

Always hope and work for a cure, and always Think PINK!

Join us both Wednesday and Thursday, the 30th and 31st of October for some vintage costumes and the history of trick-or-treating.

Happy Halloween!