Paul, Jayne, and Jayne Marie moved to Los Angeles in 1954. [26], In 1964, she performed in stage productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at Carousel Theater, and Bus Stop at Yonkers Playhouse. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1933 and began her career as a nightclub performer before transitioning to film and television. Three of her children slept in the backseat. She was allegedly intimately involved with numerous men, including Robert and John F. Kennedy, her attorney Samuel S. Brody, and Las Vegas entertainer Nelson Sardelli. All Rights Reserved. The best-selling book included a controversial photo of the aftermath of the fatal car crash. [73][209][210] As a highlight, Hargitay tossed her around his waist and spun her in wide circles as her shows made more headlines. On June 29, 1967, she died in an automobile crash in New Orleans at the age of 34. (Photo Credit: Bettmann/ Getty Images). [280][281][282] During this marriage she had three children, Mikls Jeffrey Palmer Hargitay (born December 21, 1958), Zoltn Anthony Hargitay (born August 1, 1960), and Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (born January 23, 1964). In fact, she actively pursued John F. Kennedy because of his relationship with Monroe. The San Francisco Examiner. Surprisingly, Jayne Mansfields death had a huge impact outside of her family and fans. From the beginning, she wasnt afraid to make the most of her assets, particularly her curvaceous figure, flowing platinum blonde hair and dazzling smile. [211][212] On screen, he was Mansfield's male lead in her Italian ventures The Loves of Hercules and L'Amore Primitivo, and a major supporting character in Promises! [348], The Pink Palace was sold. [311] At one point, Monroe, Mansfield, and Mamie were known as The Three M's. Mansfield strips and sings "Promise Her Anything" from the film Promises! Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com. Ronald Harrison likely didnt see the tractor-trailer until it was too late. Similarly, her head had struck the cars dashboard with tremendous force. In 1955, Mansfield played a small role in Pete Kellys Blues, Hell on Frisco Bay, and Illegal. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. It was released two years later, when Mansfield's fame was at its peak. It was "generally conceded to have been her best acting", according to The New York Times, in a fitful career hampered by her flamboyant image, distinctive voice ("a soft-voiced coo punctuated with squeals"), voluptuous figure and limited acting range. They married clandestinely in January of 1950, a few months before Mansfield graduated from Highland Park High School. [34][35][36] Lumet gave Mansfield private lessons and called Mansfield and Rip Torn his "kids". Promises!. Both co-starred Mickey Hargitay and were well-reviewed. She came to be known as the "Working Man's Monroe". A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Mansfield was known for her well-publicized personal life and publicity stunts. In January 1955, Mansfield appeared at a Silver Springs, Florida, press junket promoting the film Underwater!, starring Jane Russell. [116] Mickey Hargitay was the only ex-husband present at the funeral. [201], After Mansfield returned from her 40-day European tour, Hargitay proposed to her on November 6, 1957, with a $5,000 10-carat diamond ring ($48,000 in 2021 dollars). We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. This rumor in particular was solidified in the world of recent popular culture through the 2017 documentary Mansfield 66/67. But Jayne's injuries were so severe that rumours quickly began to circulate that the Hollywood actress had been decapitated. She was a dazzlingly sexy, seductive, blonde actress that quickly rose to fame shortly after she arrived in Hollywood at the age of 21. . The accident that killed her spurred a change in federal law. When the accident that killed Mansfield occurred, the hood of the small1966 Buick Electra she was riding in was just the right size to slip underneath the slow-moving semi truck, slicing the top of the car nearly completely off and instantly killing all the passengers in the front seat. A look back: Hollywood blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield who partied with Sophia Loren and competed with Marilyn Monroe would have turned 90-years-old on Wednesday. Mansfields death certificate notes her cause of death being a crushed skull with avulsion (forcible separation or detachment) of cranium and brain. One often thinks of decapitation of the head being separated from the body through slicing the neck. Promises! [40] "It must have been the right decision," she said, "because I got more column space from pink than Kim Novak ever did from lavender. [264], Newspapers in the 1950s routinely published Mansfield's body measurements, which once led evangelist Billy Graham to exclaim, "This country knows more about Jayne Mansfield's statistics than the Second Commandment. On this day in 1967, screen icon Jayne Mansfield was killed in a horror car crash that has since become one of the darkest urban legend's in Hollywood history. Mansfield starred in films like 1960s Too Hot to Handle and 1956s The Girl Cant Help It. Jayne Mansfield was only 34-years-old when she died. The Jayne Mansfield death photos released after the accident added fuel to the rumors. [318][319][320], Mansfield's funeral took place on July 3 in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania. In the United States, censors objected to a scene in Too Hot to Handle in which Mansfield, wearing silver netting with sequins painted over her nipples, appears nearly nude. As he also recalls, Mansfield died in a sedan that slammed into the back of an 18-wheeler that was shrouded in ''fog'' from a mosquito-spray truck. Jayne Mansfields death was so gruesome that it prompted the federal government to ensure no more accidents of this manner happened. All she does is imitate me, Monroe complained, but her imitations are an insult to her as well as to myself., Monroe added, I know its supposed to be flattering to be imitated, but she does it so grossly, so vulgarly I wish I had some legal means to sue her.. When Marilyn Monroes death was reported in 1962, Jayne Mansfield grew quiet and ominously said, maybe Ill be next. Tragically, this prediction came to pass all too soon. Her club performances regularly featured songs like Call Me, A Little Brains, A Little Talent ("This Queen has her aces in all the right places"), Plain Jane, Quando-Quando, Bsame Mucho, and the song made famous by Marilyn Monroe Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend. Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. [28] She then moved to Austin, Texas, with her husband, and studied dramatics at the University of Texas at Austin. In her spare time, Maddy loves playing volleyball, running, walking, and biking, although when she wants to be lazy she loves to read a good thriller. [30][32][33] Mansfield then spent a year at Camp Gordon, Georgia (a US Army training facility), when Paul Mansfield served in the United States Army Reserve in the Korean War. Jayne Mansfield sits in the passenger seat of a limousine, circa 1965. Nor did she shy away from camp. "[295], Mansfield adopted pink as her color in 1954, and was associated with it for the rest of her career. After her breakout role in The Girl Cant Help It (1956), 20th Century Fox began marketing Mansfield as Marilyn Monroe King-Size. Jayne Mansfield insisted that she was not trying to copy Marilyn Monroe, but Monroe didnt believe these claims. [101] In 1988, her story and archival footage was a part of the TV documentary Hollywood Sex Symbols. Mansfield attended Southern Methodist University and the University of Texas in Austin, focusing on drama and appearing in local plays, including a production of .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Arthur Miller'sDeath of a Salesman. It is unclear why they were under the influence of these substances at the time of the accident. Playboy featured Mansfield each February from 1955 to 1958, and again in 1960. [258] Judy Holliday and Goldie Hawn are also identified to have established the stereotype of the "dumb blonde",[259] typified by their combination of overt sexuality, and apparent inability to understand everyday life. When the Buick carrying Jayne Mansfield slid under the back of a semi-truck, the top of the car was torn off, but it didnt have to happen this way. Mariska Hargitay suffered trauma at an early age when her mother, Hollywood starlet Jayne Mansfield died in 1967 when she was only three-years-old. (Photo Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/ Getty Images). The aftermath of the car accident that caused Jayne Mansfields death. [323] Mansfield was interred in Fairview Cemetery, southeast of Pen Argyl, beside her father Herbert Palmer. The 1966 Buick Electra was completely destroyed upon impact. [78], In 1966, Mansfield was cast in Single Room Furnished, directed by husband Matt Cimber. [100] A&E again featured her life in another TV serial, Dangerous Curves, in 1999. The car crash that killed Jayne Mansfield also decapitated her. Beginning her showbiz career as a nightclub entertainer, Jayne found success in the 1950s and early 1960s after signing a contract with 20th Century Fox as a potential successor to Marilyn Monroe. However, in the film itself she is little more than comic relief; Grant's character relates to a redhead played by fashion model Suzy Parker. Momma and Dallas see the Ed Sullivan show! Between 1966 and 1967 Janye and Brody survived no less than seven car crashes before the eighth killed them both. Jayne failed to impress but learned she would have to go blonde. At the time of their marriage, Jayne was 17 and three months pregnant; Paul was 20. Police declared the actress dead on the scene. So were Mansfield's other two children from her marriage to ex-husband and former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay. For this final chapter, the topic of debate waswhether or not the rumors surrounding her decapitation were true. As a result of the film's success, Mansfield landed on the Top 10 list of box-office attractions for that year. Now, more than 50 years after the accident, she opened up about losing her mother in an interview with People. The tragic death of yet another young Hollywood starlet brought with ita swarm ofnational media attention. The book also contained 32 pages of black-and-white photographs from the film printed on glossy paper. Though their characters did share one scene, Mansfield and Van Doren filmed their parts at different times to be edited together later. The road ahead was obscured by a white haze laid down by a distant mosquito fogger which prevented the car's driver from discerning the presence of a slow-moving tractor-trailer ahead of him. [265] In this decade, the female body ideal shifted to appreciate the slim waif-like features popularized by supermodel Twiggy, actress Audrey Hepburn, and others, demarcating the demise of the busty blonde bombshells. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. Mansfield received the Oscar of the Two World award in Italy. Mansfield took her professional name from her first husband, public relations professional Paul Mansfield. Mansfield died in a horrific car accident on June 29, 1967, at the age of 34. Her parents were well-to-do, with her father a successful attorney in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, where she spent a . Your email address will not be published. [116], In San Francisco for the city's 1966 Film Festival, Mansfield and Brody visited the Church of Satan to meet Anton LaVey, the church's founder. ", A post shared by Mariska Hargitay (@therealmariskahargitay) on May 5, 2014 at 7:10am PDT, But, as the actress said to Closer Weekly in August, those kinds of comparisons weren't always easy to hear. That same year, Mansfield appeared in a pinup book called Jayne Mansfield for President: the White House or Bust, which was promoted on billboards; David Attie, a commercial and fine art photographer, took the photographs. After the tragic accident that took Jayne Mansfield's life, her body was taken to a local funeral home in Louisiana. Left to right are Jayne Marie Mansfield, 15, Zoltan Hargitay, 5, Mickey Hargitay Jr., 6, unidentified hospital attendant, Jayne holding baby Anthony, and her third husband Matt Cimber with Mariska Hargitay, 1. [62] Tashlin cast Mansfield in the film version of the Broadway show Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, released in 1957,[25] reprising her role of Rita Marlowe alongside costars Tony Randall and Joan Blondell. After she divorced Matt Cimber, Jayne Mansfield became romantically involved with her divorce lawyer, Sam Brody. This Playboy Model's Fatal Car Crash Was So Brutal It Changed Federal Law Forever. The car crash that killed Jayne Mansfield also decapitated her. Mansfield became involved with Matt Cimber (a.k.a. Of course, Marilyn Monroe was Hollywoods original blonde bombshell, but Jayne Mansfield posed a threat to Monroe after signing a six-year contract with 20th Century Fox in 1956. Another rumor was nipping at the heels of the decapitation theory circulating in Hollywood. The precise nature of the injuries inflicted in this accident would not usually bear thinking about, but rumors about the death of one of the passengers was turned into the stuff of contemporary lore when it became "common knowledge" that Jayne Mansfield had been decapitated. [90] Her talk show career includes a large number of appearances which she appreciated for the publicity. The impact sheared off the top of Mansfields car, instantly killing the three adults in the front seat. Lewis informed her that she was wasting her "obvious talents" and had her come back a week later to perform the piano scene from The Seven Year Itch. [45] In February 1955, Mansfield was the Playboy Playmate of the Month,[46] and appeared in the magazine several times. Some have chosen to attribute Mansfield's early demise (she was only 34) to a curse somehow connected to the International Church of Satan, an institution founded in 1966 by Anton LaVey. Being an unwed mother would have endangered her career, so she and Hargitay announced that they were still married. But it too lingers on, thanks in part to a 2017 documentary called Mansfield 66/67. 20th Century Fox/Wikimedia CommonsA 1957 promotional photograph for Mansfields film Kiss Them for Me. The best-known photo showed Loren's gaze falling on the actress's cleavage (she was seated between Loren and her dinner companion, Clifton Webb) when Mansfield leaned over the table, allowing her breasts to spill over her low neckline exposing one nipple. [170][171][172] That meeting remained a much-publicized and oft-quoted event both of her life and of the history of the Church of Satan. She famously appeared nude in the 1963 comedy Promises! In 1958, an orchestra was recorded for the 31st Academy Awards ceremony with Jack Benny on first violin, Mansfield on violin, Dick Powell on trumpet, Robert Mitchum on woodwind, Fred Astaire on drums and Jerry Lewis as conductor; however, the performance was canceled. Kenneth Anger's 1975 Hollywood Babylon contains a controversial photo of the wrecked Electra which shows Mansfield's dead dog lying beside the car as well as another item that has aroused considerable dicussion, something that appears to be a clutch of human hair. She was also a natural-born performer. American actress Jayne Mansfield , circa 1955. Arguably, no celebrity death was more tragic or gruesome than that of screen starlet Jayne Mansfield. Work on Mansfield's film, Single Room Furnished directed by Cimber (1966), was suspended. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), Current one is: June 29. After the Buick Electra crashed into the truck, it slid under the back of the trailer, shearing off the top of the car. [31], Early in her career, some advertisers considered her prominent breasts undesirable, which led to her losing her first professional assignment a commercial for General Electric that depicted young women in bathing suits relaxing around a pool. The film enjoyed moderate box-office success, and Mansfield won a Golden Globe in 1957 for New Star of the Year, beating Carroll Baker and Natalie Wood for her performance as a "wistful derelict". [56] It was Kellman's first major venture, and he claimed to have "discovered" Mansfield. [31] Hollywood historian Andrew Nelson said that she was seen as Hollywood's gaudiest, boldest, D-cupped, B-grade actress from 1955 until the early 1960s. Her parents are Mickey Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield. I was always in the shadow. He suffered from severe head trauma, underwent three surgeries at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, California, including a six-hour brain surgery, and contracted meningitis. So have constant comparisons to her similarly gorgeous and whip-smart (her IQ was apparently 163) mom, which have followed Hargitay throughout her career. The autopsy revealed that the blonde bombshell had died from craniocerebral injuries due to severe head trauma she sustained in the crash. He recovered, and Mansfield's attorney Sam Brody sued the theme park on the family's behalf for $1.6million ($13million in 2021 dollars)[5]. After Jayne Mansfields death, trailers require a steel bar to prevent cars from rolling underneath the semi-truck. In February 1955, Mansfield was named Playboys Playmate of the Month. [5] The death car was saved by a private collector in Florida, where it became a roadside attraction in the 1970s.
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