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Title
Jean Harlow at husband's funeral
Alternative Title
Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection
Date Created and/or Issued
1932
Contributing Institution
Los Angeles Public Library
Collection
Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Rights Information
Images available for reproduction and use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/OrderingUse.html for additional information.
Description
Title supplied by cataloger.; Photograph was edited for publication purposes.
Jean Harlow, was born Harlean Harlow Carpenter on March 3, 1911. She was a film actress and top sex symbol of the 1930s. Her big break came in 1930 when she landed a role in Howard Hughes' WWI epic, "Hell's Angels." In 1932 Hughes sold her contract to MGM for $60,000 and from there her career shot to unprecedented heights. By the mid-1930s Harlow was one of the biggest stars in America. In the early part of 1937 Harlow fell ill with influenza. In early June of 1937, while filming the movie "Saratoga" with Clark Gable, she collapsed on the set and was rushed to the hospital where she was diagnosed with kidney disease. Just days later, on June 7, Jean Harlow died; she was only 26 years old. She is buried in a private room in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale. Harlow is credited with 30 feature films and eleven short subjects. She was the first film actress on the cover of LIFE Magazine (May 1937). Her Hollywood Walk of Fame star is located at 6910 Hollywood Boulevard.; Marino Bello was an Italian con man with gangster connections. He was married for a brief time to actress Jean Harlow's mother. By many accounts he used Harlow and her mother as a meal ticket. Paul Bern was born on December 3, 1889. He was a German-born American film director, screenwriter and producer. He was instrumental in launching Jean Harlow's acting career, taking her seriously as an actress. She and Bern were married in July, 1932. Two months after the marriage, Bern was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head in their Beverly Hills home. The death was ruled a suicide, but several alternate theories were circulated. Some believe Bern's former common-law wife killed him, as she suffered from mental problems, had followed him to Los Angeles, and committed suicide two days after his death.
Photograph caption dated September 9, 1932 reads "Photo shows Jean Harlow weeping today at the funeral of her husband, Paul Bern. Miss Harlow was a figure of tragedy in black, her platinum blonde hair falling from beneath her black hat and veil. In her grief, she leans upon her stepfather, Marino Bello." Harlow is being helped out of a car by Bello and another man. A chauffeur is in the background.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;21 x 26 cm.
Photographic prints
Identifier
00106077
Herald Examiner Collection
HE box 2372; HE-002-627 4x5
CARL0005349986
http://173.196.26.125/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/32197
Subject
Harlow, Jean,--1911-1937
Bern, Paul,--1889-1932--Death and burial
Bello, Marino
Stepfathers--California--Los Angeles
Chauffeurs--California--Los Angeles
Automobiles--California--Los Angeles
Funeral rites and ceremonies--California--Los Angeles
Grief--California--Los Angeles
Crying--California--Los Angeles
Motion picture actors and actresses--United States
Men--California--Los Angeles
Women--California--Los Angeles
Los Angeles Evening Herald and Express photographs
Herald-Examiner Collection photographs

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