Gail RussellGail Russell (September 21, 1924 - August 27, 1961) was an American actress. Gail's extraordinary beauty brought her to the attention of Paramount Studios in 1942. Although she was shy and had no acting experience, Paramount had great expectations for her and employed an acting coach to work with her. At the age of 19 she appeared in her first film, Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour (1943). Gail appeared in several more films in the early and mid 1940s, the most notable being Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944), in which she co-starred with Diana Lynn. Gail later appeared in the more popular films, Calcutta (1947) with Alan Ladd, and Angel and the Badman (1947) with John Wayne. She continued working after 1947, and married Guy Madison in 1949, but by 1950 it was well known that she had become a victim of alcoholism, and Paramount did not renew her contract. Over the next 10 years she tried to regain control of her life. She divorced Madison in 1954, and returned to work in a minor role in the western Seven Men From Now (1956), and had a bigger role in The Tattered Dress (1957). She appeared in two more films after that, but was not able to control her addiction, and on August 26, 1961, Gail was found dead in her apartment in Los Angeles, California at the age of 36. Her death was attributed to alcohol. This page about Gail Russell includes information from a Wikipedia article. Additional articles about Gail Russell News stories about Gail Russell External links for Gail Russell Videos for Gail Russell Wikis about Gail Russell Discussion Groups about Gail Russell Blogs about Gail Russell Images of Gail Russell |
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Her death was
attributed to alcohol. She continued working after 1947, and married Guy Madison in 1949, but by 1950 it was well known that she had become a victim of alcoholism, and Paramount did not renew her contract. Her ancestry is traced in William Addams Reitwiesner's monograph, The Lesbian Ancestors of Prince Rainier of Monaco, Dr. Gail later appeared in the more popular films, Calcutta (1947) with Alan Ladd, and Angel and the Badman (1947) with John Wayne. Her great-grandmother, Elsie Moore, was the sister of Glenn Close's grandfather. Gail appeared in several more films in the early and mid 1940s, the most notable being Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944), in which she co-starred with Diana Lynn. Through her grandmother, Brooke Shields is a descendant of Henri IV, King of France, the Emperor Charles V, Lucrezia Borgia, and Honore I, Prince of Monaco. At the age of 19 she appeared in her first film, Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour (1943). Her paternal grandparents are Francis Xavier Shields, (a tennis aristocrat), and Italian princess Donna Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cessi, who is sister of Don Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince di Civitella-Cessi, the husband of the Spanish Infanta Beatrix of Bourbon-Battenberg (aunt of King Juan Carlos I of Spain). Although she was shy and had no acting experience, Paramount had great expectations for her and employed an acting coach to work with her. Her parents are the late Francis Alexander Shields who married Brooke´s mother, Maria Theresia Schmonin, in 1964. Gail's extraordinary beauty brought her to the attention of Paramount Studios in 1942. She won the People's Choice Award in the category of Favorite Young Performer in four consecutive years from 1981 to 1984 and more than a decade later she won again in the category of Favorite Female Performer in a New Television Series in 1997. Gail Russell (September 21, 1924 - August 27, 1961) was an American actress. Since 2001 she has been married to Christopher Thomas Henchy: they are parents of one daughter born in 2003. She was married from 1997 to 1999 to professional tennis player, Andre Agassi. Shields played in a number of television productions, the most successful being the series Suddenly Susan. After two decades of movies, her best-known films are still arguably The Blue Lagoon (1980) (more nude scenes, but Shields later testified before a Congressional inquiry that older body doubles were used in some of them), and Endless Love (1981), both made near the beginning of her career. Since she was only 12 when the film was released, and possibly 11 when it was filmed it raised questions of child pornography. Shields' career started among much ballyhoo over her appearance in Pretty Baby in which she had numerous nude scenes. She attended Princeton University. Christa Brooke Camille Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress, born in New York City, New York, USA. Holy Terror) (1976). Alice, Sweet Alice) (a.k.a. Communion (a.k.a. Pretty Baby (1978). Tilt (1978). King of the Gypsies (1978). Just You and Me, Kid (1979). Wanda Nevada (1979). The Blue Lagoon (1980). Endless Love (1981). Sahara (1983). The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). Speed Zone! (a.k.a. Cannonball Fever) (1989). Brenda Starr (1989). Backstreet Strays) (1990). Backstreet Dreams (a.k.a. Born Wild) (1992). Running Wild (a.k.a. Hideous Mutant Freekz) (1993). Freaked (a.k.a. The Seventh Floor (1994). Freeway (1996). The Misadventures of Margaret (1998). The Weekend (1999). Black and White (1999). The Bachelor (1999). After Sex (2000). Rent-a-Husband (2003). |