How brief her place in the sun, but what a place! She was really a very good actress. Today marks 53 years since her death. God bless you Gail Russell.
We men are so accustomed to actresses "flaunting it" seductively, and appealing to our male animal instincts, that an actress like Gail Russell is a shock to us, (a very pleasant shock). Gail's beauty is very real, with a down-to-earth, girl-next-door quality that makeup cannot fake. There is a gentle innocent sweetness in those big vulnerable eyes that makes a man just want to cuddle her protectively, take care of her and make sure she is happy and OK. I'm not satisfied with that description of Gail's appeal, but it is the best I can do. There is definitely something very special and unique about Gail Russell on screen that I have never seen in any other actress.
Thanks for letting people know where to get this.I found it quite informative. It solves the tragedy of what happened to Gail Russell. All she wanted to be was an artist not an actress. Perhaps now , she is painting up in the Heavens and happy!
I love Gail--such a talented actress with that sweet wistful expression on screen. I just wish she had found peace in her real life. She should have gotten more help--the pressures of the industry and her own lack of self worth did her in. i KNOW she is at peace now. God Bless You Gail--you are loved and remembered!!!
James Lydon was at a Film Festival in my town recently. He was in Gail Russell's first movie, "Henry Aldrich gets Glamour" This is what he told me about her: "Gail Russell was scared to death in her first picture. We had to walk her around the studio before her first shot. We had to stop her crying and being scared. She never got over her fear of film work and turned to alcohol to ease her nerves.It killed her at 36 yrs of age. "So beautiful but so tragic" Did her mother want it that bad?
I just just watched the show Mysteries and Scandals on Gail Russell. no wonder the poor kid was all mixed up. Her mother wanted a Hollywood career more than Gail Russell did. Sacrificed her own daughter to get it. Said she had no control over her own life. Trying to please the Studio, Media, and her mother was too much for her. Good show on her with rare pictures of her growing up. Plus interviews with people who worked with her. Majority who say , she never should have been in movies!
To better understand Miss Russell, you have to know the signs of the final stages of alcoholism: ANGER: Toward a mother who pushed her into a profession, she was not emotionally suited for. GUILT: Powerlessness over alcohol,pain she has caused herself and others. BITTERNESS: Toward the world,and everthing, and one in it, {Hollywood?} ABUSE:Miss Russell , out of her teens, was by her studio. Gail Russell was a lovely woman, and a good actress. Her life was one that was hard to cope with.
I don't know if Gail Russell's mother is the villain , that some claim she was. But according to Yvonne Decarlo , another Paramount actress, Gail Russell confided to her how she wished her mother Gladys, had never dragged her to Paramount for her screen test. She despised acting and everything it entailed, especially being put on display before executives and film crews. Yvonne Decarlo also claimed that another actress Helen Walker showed her how to cope by the tranquilizing benefits of vodka.
" She had deep neurotic tendencies and needed emotional stability, but never seem to get it. Both had syndrome of self-doubt,self-torture,the neurotic fears; fears of being alive. Self-destructive temperament. They were at a loss. Emotionally they were both in disrepair. They were nervous about their performances. Had a difficult time, during their career." Many people outside the movie business don't understand that. They say, "Why do stars have problems? They've got money,fame and stardom!" But people don't understand the anxieties and the pressures, the competition that goes along with stardom. Eli Wallach on Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift Could have been talking about Gail Russell
"You see, she was a very sad character- her parents treated her abominalby.They had a son and they doted on this boy,and Gail was sort of an afterthought.At any rate the poor girl finally drank herself to death. Lewis Allen interview from the book "Science Fiction and Fantasy film flashbacks" He directed several of her films. Confirms what other posters on here have said. Very good book, talks about Gail Russell quite a bit Easier to understand her misfortune.
This is a sad story if there ever was one. Today, she more than likely could have been helped. But at that time, she was a victim of circumstance, and just fell through the cracks.
A very good tribute to Miss Russell,with lots of rarely seen pictures. Someone needs to write a biography of her to answer alot of questions that people have. Maybe you're that someone. How about It ?
I join you--Gail was truly a divine spirit who just did not believe in her self. Like Marilyn there was nobody there for her in the end--or rather she did not let them in. Her pain obviously was immense. You just want to take care of her! To protect her! So sad, but we remember her exquisite beauty and haunting screen presence. She is at peace now.
She may have suffered from Panic Disorder,shaking,nausea,and confusion. Those who knew her said she was like this' Also Social anxiety disorder,fear of meeting people,which leads to isolation.She said herself that she had this. Finally as a little girl , Childhood anxiety disorder. Self Doubt, Not wanting to be Alive She voiced this all her life, Maternal Overcontrol causes this. She needed to undergo Behavorial Therapy.
I've watched several of her movies here on You Tube.What strikes me is she seems so downcast at times. But she was a better actress than she thought. A pretty girl like that , must have been hurt or abused sometime in her life. It also looks like some type of conflict was going on in the Russell family. Why force your daughter into a career , she was not suited for?
I believe that Gail thought in some twisted way, that if she destroyed her beauty, Her mother would love her. Something she wanted her whole life.Maybe that's why she ruined the career that her mother wanted so badly.
