She was unbelievably beautiful (And talented) in the cult classic 'The Uninvited' in 1944, But suffered from Shyness and a big alcohol probel (hey , who doesnt?) and died from heart failure at the age of 36 in 1961 after some tragic failures in her life. I don't know if a thread has been started about her but if it hasn't it now has and should be.
A VERY messed up young lady. Very sad.
Originally Posted by soundqcar
Sadly that has been the faith of many young starlets who have seeked the luck in Hollywood only to find that a beautiful "dame" is "A dime a dozen" in that cold world.
Renowned Death Hag
GAIL RUSSELL had gorgeous coloring; Light blue eyes and dark brown hair. She'd had an affair with married JOHN WAYNE while they made ANGEL AND THE BADMAN and it continued through WAKE OF THE RED WITCH . His wife threatened divorce.
RUSSELL married handsome All American Boy GUY MADISON the following year, but they separated in 3 years, divorced in 5. Shame those two didn't have a child because it would have been beautiful.
Increasingly unreliable due to her alcoholism and insecurities,
GAIL RUSSELL worked less and less. She died at age 36 from alcoholism and heart failure. She'd been dead in her small apartment for several days when found. The last time that anyone had spoken to her was through a window. A neighbor had tried to look in on her, but she would only speak to him through her window.
In some weird way Guy Madison was involved in many tragic womens life. He must've been something special
I thought the same thing, so I looked him up on wiki last week. According to wiki, that something special was gayIn some weird way Guy Madison was involved in many tragic womens life. He must've been something special
http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/guymadison2.html
I don't swing that way but Guy is really hot-lookin'
Sue
Wow, I'm gay so I understand that (He looks really really hot in those pictures) , But that so many WOMEN would fall for him is a mystery
Renowned Death Hag
MADISON with BOB MITCHUM & BILL WILLIAMS
[SIZE=3]Yeah, Guy, he uh, he probably didn't have any trouble getting laid.[/SIZE]
If it's beaver you want don't go around advertising your package, or something like that
kinda looks like james dean
Renowned Death Hag
there is a great book on hollywood agent Henry Wilson who specialized in bringing in gay men to hollywood ala Guy Maddison, Rory Calhoun, and Rock Hudson.
its a great read.
Guy Madison and Rory Calhoun gay? now, that would be news for me, i had never heard about that.
Back to Gail, ive also read that she was arrested in 1956 because she was found driving drunk.
The apartment where Gail's corpse was found was full of empty bottles of vodka by the time of her death. Sad.
Renowned Death Hag
Renowned Death Hag
</IMG> A very beautiful woman indeed. How tragic how her life ended.
I looked at wiki but did not see that. Probably removed. That site is wrong half the time.I thought the same thing, so I looked him up on wiki last week. According to wiki, that something special was gay
http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/guymadison2.html
I don't swing that way but Guy is really hot-lookin'
Sue
It's very sad, but I don't remember Gail Russell from anything. I had her mixed up with Gail Storm from "My Little Margie".
But, Guy Madison was a HUNK!
I remember his shy role from "Since You Went Away". He was (as Lucy would say,) " REAL DREAMY!"
WOW! I got off line last night and was channel surfing and found "Since You Went Away" on TCM. It's one of my favorite movies!
I missed the Guy Madison part though.
Renowned Death Hag
Well, Wikipedia is only as good as the information that people submit (to it). It is not the absolute word.
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Renowned Death Hag
I taped it last night for that reason alone. (I) haven't watched it in its entirety in eons.WOW! I got off line last night and was channel surfing and found "Since You Went Away" on TCM. It's one of my favorite movies!
I missed the Guy Madison part though.
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Renowned Death Hag
During the filming of Angel and the Badman , Duke's young co-star developed a full-blown crash on her leading man. Duke tried to help her as he had helped other novices, by being gentle, patient, and kind. He loaned her the down payment on a car while she waited to collect her first check. When he realized she'd fallen in love with him, he asked his secretary, Mary St. John to "set Gail straight. Make sure she understands how I feel, but do it gently," he said. "The poor kid's having a tough time." Within a few months she had recovered from her school girl crush and married someone else. She and Duke remained friends and they co-starred in Wake of the Red Witch in 1949. She was a raven-haired beauty whose fragile appearance mirrored an even more fragile psyche. She started every day's shooting weak with terror, throwing up in her dressing room before appearing on the set. Like many other performers over-whelmed by stage fright, Russell began to find courage in a bottle.
John Wayne's wife at the time was, Esperanza "Chata" Bauer, a former Mexican actress. She convinced herself that Duke and Russell were having an affair. The night the film Angel and the Badman wrapped there was the usual party for cast and crew, and Duke came home very late. Chata was in a drunken rage by the time he arrived, and she attempted to shoot him as he walked through the front door. As the bullet whizzed past his head he suddenly saw Chata as she really was, not as he'd hoped she'd be. Instead of marrying the heroine of his romantic fantasies, he realized he'd married the woman whom Ray Milland had labeled, "a Mexican whore."
The next day Chata begged him to forgive her. She swore she would change, stop drinking, and start acting like a real wife. She spent the following week weeping and moping around the house. Duke was helpless in the face of all those tears, so he agreed to a reconciliation. Chata kept her promise as long as she could. Then her old habits reasserted themselves and she began to drink heavily with her mother, who lived with them. Duke banished Chata's mother to Mexico, sobered his wife up, and asked for a divorce. Chata turned on the tears again. Now the marriage had a pattern, one Duke couldn't seem to break. Chata would go on a binge, she and Duke would fight, they'd make up, and Chata would celebrate their reconciliation by having a few drinks and then a few more, and the whole cycle would begin again.
Like so many of his pictures Wake of the Red Witch had off-screen implications even more dramatic than the film story. When Chata found out that his co-star was once again to be Gail Russell, one can imagine that the stormy seas on the home front matched or exceeded those threatening the ship Red Witch on the screen. Looking at Miss Russell's delicate beauty, it is easy to believe that in the story she becomes fatally ill and welcomes death as a release from a tormented marriage. It is not as easy to accept that, in real life, she was even then caught in the throes of personal uncertainties and demons that would lead to her death from alcoholism in 1961.
pull the string!
Renowned Death Hag
All (3) of WAYNE'S wives were dark hispanics; obviously his type.
ESPERANZA tried to name RUSSELL as correspondant in the divorce proceedings. I wonder why WAYNE didn't take his wife to the 'Wrap Party'.
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Renowned Death Hag
Gail drove through a restaurant and plowed over a waiter in 1957. Here is a pic from that night. You can see the little cut she got on her nose.
Last edited by MagnusDippytack; 06-23-2008 at 10:30 PM.
"Everybody is born, and everybody dies. Being born wasn't so bad , was it?"
Peter the Hermit
LOL I would think he would be showing off his package for the women like Beckham does.
Ik know they say he was gay but there is no proof of it I don;t do well with marriages either but I am not gay so I guess it doesn;'t prove much LOL maybe he just liked weak women?
uh Rory was not gay...my brother shared a cell with him in prison. LOL
They kept in touch for years and years right up til he died.
All (3) of WAYNE'S wives were dark hispanics; obviously his type.
ESPERANZA tried to name RUSSELL as correspondant in the divorce proceedings. I wonder why WAYNE didn't take his wife to the 'Wrap Party'.
He culdn;t take her many places he didnt want people to know she was a drunk and a violent one. She would go off on these jealous rages if a fan talked to him ence he left her ass at home.
This was on IMDB: Who Knows? But the fella sounded fairly Reputable.
Setting The Record Straight Wed UPDATED Wed Jan 25 2006 ,I was well-acquainted with Guy Madison while I lived in Palm Springs, and considered him to be a genial friend, good neighbor, and all-round warmhearted fellow. So, contrary to what some posts have suggested, I can say with some degree of authority that Guy Madison was straight, not gay. It was true that his agent, Henry Willson, had Rock Hudson and Tab Hunter under contract, but Willson had lots of clients not all of whom were gay, and certainly not Guy himself.
An unassuming man who referred to himself as "a celebrity not an actor", Guy nevertheless was very proud of his Golden Globe Award. His close friends called him Bob. Sadly, he was rather sickly towards the end and subsequently died from a lifetime of smoking.
In my career I've known many celebrities and yet I'm especially glad to have known such a cordial and happy person.
Last edited by Nicki; 06-24-2008 at 12:01 AM.
Renowned Death Hag
Here's an update for this thread, a blog page that details the tragic fall of Gail Russell, with a lot of large photos taken at the time of her 1953 arrest.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thed...l-russell.html
As someone on the IMDB boards suggested, while being a reluctant movie actress may have initiated and aggravated her drinking problem at an early age, who's to say that she might not eventually have become an alcoholic anyway? Everything one chooses to do with his or her life brings on unforeseen pressures--- Gail was a talented art student, and how many artists have been addicts of one kind or other, especially alcoholics? She had this terrible shyness problem; one can imagine the poor kid having a shot or two or three, before opening an exhibition at some gallery.
And if she was drawn to doomed relationships, she would still have had them, just not so high-profile.
Or just apropro of nothing--- plenty of people without artistic aspirations, facing other pressures, have suffered (and their families suffered with them) these issues too. Point is, alcoholism and Gail might have found each other sooner or later. It's just a shame as she had such promise of so many gifts, almost in spite of herself, and died so young.
Hers was not a happy life, but she certainly had a delicate onscreen beauty.
I wish I could look this perfect for just one day so that I can see how it feels to be admired (and probably lusted over) by dozens and dozens of people who see you.
Hands down, this guy is the most physically handsome man I have ever seen. I want to come back as Guy Madison!
And save Gail Russell from herself and have beautiful kids with her, too!!
Dang.............He is pretty.
I..would..love..to..see..the..drawings..she..did..those..last..two..weeks
she..locked..herself..in..her..apartment..before..her..death...RIP..Gail.
Renowned Death Hag
Wow, 36?? That is so young
I read about her in the Hollywood Book of Death. So sad she died young.
Renowned Death Hag
check out new GAIL RUSSELL update/article on findadeath.com, its great!
pull the string!
Renowned Death Hag
Very beautiful lady.. who sadly lived a far too short and far too troubled life. those pics in the article looks a lifetime apart, in the ones of her at 31-32 she looks at least ten years older... and she is just so stunning in the youth pics
Í saw Angel and the Bad Mann some time ago and was intrigued about this great looking woman....and was so saddend to read of her untimely demise..
A few pics to enjoy
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Love is the answer - and you know that for sure.
She was GORGEOUS. Her eyes...oh, my God, she had the most beautiful eyes!
Renowned Death Hag
great article from the LA Times blog
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thed...in-el-seg.html
Delusion. Life's Best Coping Mechanism
Check out Floyd's new Band:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHYA5iAAJg8
Thanks! That was a great read. I wasn't familiar with this case before.
I just watched the Uninvited on AMC and the announcer was telling about her life and early death, so obviously, I came here to get info, lol. Such a beautiful woman, with such a tragic end. The part that surprised me is how much older she looked in some of the court photos. Great links everyone! Very good reads.
This is a great thread. Gail Russell's life was so sad. Too bad being married to that magnificent Guy Madison didn't make her happy! I would have loved to give it a try!!!
Also, thanks for the links- that LA Times blog is always a great read. Take some time and read through the archives. Fun!
Guy Madison paid for Miss Russell's burial. Mr. Madison's grandson, Army Specialist Spencer T. Karol was killed October 6, 2003 in Operation Iraqi Freedom..He was the son of Guy's eldest daughter, Bridget.
Renowned Death Hag
I loved her in The Uninvited, but her problems were already beginning then. She was once quoted as saying, when asked what she was afraid of, her answer "Life, I guess ". Very sad ending for this fragile beauty.
Today you could be standing next to someone who is trying their best not to fall apart. So whatever you do today, do it with kindness.
Senior Death Hag
Gail really was beautiful. Some stars from that era were good looking for that era but few have that timeless quality - I think she did. From what I understand, Gail didn't have an affair with John Wayne. They became friends and he helped her out financially later in her life, but I tend to believe nothing happened. I read an interview with Gail after the whole Wayne divorce thing and she said she was very hurt and embarrassed by all of it because Wayne's wife tried to portray her as a home wrecking hussy.
It's sad she died so young. It's hard to fathom how someone can drink so much that their organs are destroyed and end up failing by the time they're in their 30s.
"You live alone, creating your life as you go." - Edie Sedgwick
Senior Death Hag
WOW! I got off line last night and was channel surfing and found "Since You Went Away" on TCM. It's one of my favorite movies!
I missed the Guy Madison part though.
There's a scene in SYWA where Jennifer Jones and Robert Walker go to a bowling alley, Madison is sitting in in the alley in uniform, apparently playing someone in uniform / (a Marine ?) on Leave and nowhere special to go. It's not a long scene, but it was enough to get the notice of a lot of bobby-soxers who noticed the hunk. I think Guy himself in real life was on Leave and filmed the SYWA scene. SYWA is really a good movie, some people may find it like a soap-opera but it did a good job of portraying what civilians went through during WWII.
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