Gail Russell (September 21, 1924 – August 26, 1961) was an American film and television actress.
Career
She was born
Elizabeth L. Russell to George and Gladys (Barnet) Russell in
Chicago,
Illinois, and then moved to the
Los Angeles, California area when she was a teenager. Russell's extraordinary beauty brought her to the attention of
Paramount Pictures in 1942. Although she was almost clinically 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). Russell appeared in several more films in the early and mid 1940s, the most notable being The Uninvited (1944) with Ray Milland, and Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944), in which she co-starred with Diana Lynn. Russell later appeared in the more popular films, Calcutta (1947) with Alan Ladd, and two films with John Wayne, Angel and the Badman (1947) and Wake of the Red Witch (1948).
Later career and personal life
She continued working after 1947, and married actor
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. She started drinking on the set of
The Uninvited to ease her paralyzing stage fright and lack of self-confidence. Alcohol made a shambles of her career and personal life. She was divorced by Madison in 1954, and after a five-year absence, returned to work in a co-starring role with
Randolph Scott in the western
Seven Men from Now (1956), produced by her friend Wayne, and had a substantial role in
The Tattered Dress (1957).
On July 5, 1957, she was photographed by a Los Angeles Times photographer after she drove her convertible into the front of Jan's coffee shop at 8424 Beverly Blvd. Russell was driving under the influence.
She appeared in two more films after that, but was not able to control her addiction, and on August 26, 1961, Russell was found dead in her apartment in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California at the age of 36. She died from liver damage attributed to alcohol. She was found to have been suffering from malnutrition at the time of her death. She was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, California.
Filmography
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Film
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! Year
! Film
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1943
|
Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour
| Virginia Lowry
| Alternative title:
Henry Gets Glamour
|-
| rowspan=3|1944
|
Lady in the Dark
| Barbara (at 17)
|-
|
The Uninvited
| Stella Meredith
|-
|
Our Hearts Were Young and Gay
| Cornelia Otis Skinner
|-
| rowspan=2|1945
|
Salty O'Rourke
| Barbara Brooks
|-
|
The Unseen
| Elizabeth Howard
|-
| rowspan=2|1946
|
Our Hearts Were Growing Up
| Cornelia Otis Skinner
|-
|
The Bachelor's Daughters
| Eileen
| Alternative title:
Bachelor Girls
|-
| rowspan=2|1947
|
Angel and the Badman
| Penelope Worth
| Alternative title:
Angel and the Outlaw
|-
|
Calcutta
| Virginia Moore
|-
| rowspan=3|1948
|
Moonrise
| Gilly Johnson
|-
|
Night Has a Thousand Eyes
| Jean Courtland
|-
|
Wake of the Red Witch
| Angelique Desaix
|-
| rowspan=3|1949
|
Song of India
| Princess Tara
|-
|
El Paso
| Susan Jeffers
|-
|
The Great Dan Patch
| Cissy Lathrop
| Alternative title:
Ride a Reckless Mile
|-
| rowspan=2|1950
|
Captain China
| Kim Mitchell
|-
|
The Lawless
| Sunny Garcia
| Alternative title:
The Dividing Line
|-
| 1951
|
Air Cadet
| Janet Page
| Alternative title:
Jet Men of the Air
|-
| 1956
|
Seven Men from Now
| Annie Greer
|-
| 1957
|
The Tattered Dress
| Carol Morrow
|-
| 1958
|
No Place to Land
| Lynn Dillon
| Alternative title:
Man Mad
|-
| 1961
|
The Silent Call
| Flore Brancato
|-
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Television
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1956
|
Studio 57
|
| 1 episode
|-
| rowspan=2|1960
|
The Rebel
| Cassandra
| 1 episode
|-
|
Manhunt
| Mrs. Clarke
| 1 episode
|}
References
External links
Category:Actors from Chicago, Illinois
Category:Alcohol-related deaths in California
Category:American film actors
Category:American television actors
Category:Burials at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
Category:People from Chicago, Illinois
Category:1924 births
Category:1961 deaths
