The Smartest Dumb Blonde

This is an early photo of Vera Jane Palmer. Her story is a sad one, replete with talent, brains, and wit. Unfortunately, those worthy traits had to take a back seat to her physical beauty.

The Smartest Dumb Blonde

 

Little Vera Jane Palmer had aspirations.  She wanted to be a movie star.  Born April 19, 1933 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, she didn’t seem to have the background to be a famous actress.

But that’s just what she set her sights on.

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Young Vera Jane wanted to be a star like Shirley Temple.  With a single-minded determination, she went to work.  At age 12, she took ballroom dance lessons.  Later, in high school she studied violin, piano, and viola.  A naturally smart girl, she studied French, Spanish, and German.  Her grades were consistently in the high Bs in every subject.

She graduated from Highland Park High School in 1950 and was eager to head off to college.

But she had a little problem.

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She married Paul at 17 and had her first child a few months later.  Not to be deterred from her goal, she and her husband enrolled in Southern Methodist University and studied acting.  In 1951, the little family moved to Los Angeles, California, and she attended a summer semester at UCLA.

Still eager for fame, she entered the Miss California contest, but Paul found out and insisted that she resign.

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The couple’s next move was to Austin, Texas where they enrolled in the University of Texas to study dramatics.  To pay her way, Vera sold books door-to-door and worked as a receptionist at a dance studio.

I found it quite curious that, after objecting to Vera taking part in the Miss California contest, her husband doesn’t seem to have had a problem with her other job, posing nude for artists.  I’m pretty sure the artists didn’t mind because, when her dimensions later became public knowledge, she claimed an impressive 40-21-35 at a height of five feet, six inches.

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Besides all her jobs and her studies, Vera Jane joined the Curtain Club, a popular theatrical society on campus.

When Paul served in the army, the couple moved again, this time to a US Army training facility, Camp Gordon, Georgia, for a year.  Then in 1953 it was a move back to Dallas and Vera met an acting teacher, Sidney Lumet, founder of the Dallas Institute of Performing Arts.  He gave her private lessons and referred to her as one of “his kids”.  Lumet helped “his kid” get her first screen test, for Paramount Studios, in 1954.

Vera continued working as a popcorn vendor at the Stanley Warner Theatre, teaching dance, selling candy, modeling, and working as a photographer.

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Because of her physical attributes, Vera missed out on several roles but still took her acting seriously.  At least one casting director, Milton Lewis, told her that she was wasting her “obvious talents”.

To advance her career and get some exposure, Vera took on a few roles in low-budget films and some supporting roles in others.  She finally got a break when she was cast in Louis W. Kellman’s The Burglar in 1957.  Critics gave her good marks for the straight dramatic role.

She appeared on the way to being respected as a serious actress.  That continued when she was chosen for another dramatic role in 1957’s The Wayward Bus, an adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel of the same name.  With this film, she attempted to move away from her “blonde bombshell” image and establish herself as a serious actress.

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In that era of Marilyn Monroe studios were always looking for “the next Marilyn” and Vera seemed like the perfect candidate to fill those shoes.  In her earlier attempts to gain attention she had dyed her natural brunette hair platinum blonde, and later, even her eyebrows went platinum blonde.  She adopted Monroe’s vocal mannerisms instead of keeping her natural husky voice and Texan speech.

It worked.

Film historians say she helped establish the stereotype typified by a combination of curvaceous physique, very light-colored hair, and a perceived lack of intelligence.

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The problem was, Vera was known by some to be Hollywood’s “smartest dumb blonde.”  She would later complain that the public did not care about her brains, saying: “They’re more interested in 40–21–35.”

Brains?  Hollywood’s SMARTEST dumb blonde?  Those who are familiar with Vera’s movies may be surprised to find out that her IQ is reported to have been as high as 163, which is well up in the genius range.  Besides the French, Spanish, and German she learned in high school, she studied Italian in 1963.  That’s four languages in addition to English.

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Sometime after 1940 Vera added a “y” to her middle name.  When she married Paul she took his last name and became known professionally as Jayne Mansfied.

Yes, THE Jayne Mansfield.

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Although Jayne achieved success and notoriety, she found herself typecast as the buxom, dumb blonde, sex symbol, something that must have been a little frustrating to someone as naturally intelligent as her.  She had gotten the fame and money but found herself trapped by it.  To keep the money coming in while she tried to gain respect as a serious actress, Mansfield took on roles that actually enhanced the negative stereotype.

In 1963, Tommy Noonan persuaded Mansfield to star in Promises! Promises!.  She thus became the first mainstream American actress to appear nude in a starring role.  The film got Mansfield plenty of attention, and enjoyed some box-office success, putting her on the Top 10 list of box-office attractions for that year.

Mansfield also continued to use reporters’ prurient interests to gain publicity.  Her attempts included frequent wardrobe “malfunctions”, “accidental” seam splits, and low-cut blouses without undergarments that made her one of the world’s most photographed Hollywood celebrities.

Then it got worse.

James Bacon wrote in the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner in 1973, “Here was a girl with real comedy talent, spectacular figure and looks and yet ridiculed herself out of business by outlandish publicity.”

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Despite her bizarre behavior and pneumatic physique, I think Jayne Mansfield might have eventually achieved the “serious actress” fame she hungered for.

Her body was not the same after giving birth to five children, so her “sex symbol” status was tenuous.  Its days were numbered.  If she had given up the salacious publicity stunts and concentrated on taking on positive roles, I think Jayne could have turned her career in the direction she really wanted.

Except…

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On June 28, 1967, Jayne Mansfield, her lawyer, and their driver left Biloxi, Mississippi, headed toward New Orleans, Louisiana.  At about 2:25 a.m. on the 29th, a truck spraying mosquito poison caused visibility to be reduced on U.S. Highway 90.  A tractor trailer following the fogger slowed for safety and the 1966 Buick Electra carrying Mansfield entered the fog at an accelerated rate and drove under the back of the trailer at high speed.

All three adults in the front seat were killed instantly.  Three of Mansfield’s children, sleeping in the back seat, received only minor injuries.

Jayne Mansfield was dead at 34.

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In death, Mansfield may have achieved some of the respect she had wanted so much in life.

One of the three children in the backseat during that horrible crash was daughter Mariska, by Jayne’s second husband, Mickey Hargitay.  Mariska Hargitay is the highly respected actress best known for her role as Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Unfortunately, another way Mansfield is remembered is due to the manner of her demise.  After her death, the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Association) recommended requiring an underride guard (a strong bar made of steel tubing) on all tractor-trailers.

That recommendation became law and now, in the U.S., the underride guard is known by truckers as “the Mansfield bar”.

 

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(above) Jayne being held up by her second husband, second husband, Mickey Hargitay.  One of their daughters is Mariska Hargitay, the highly respected actress best known for her role as Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

(below) Jayne Mansfiel (left) with her hair its natural brunette, merged with a photo of her daughter, Mariska Hargitay.  Mariska was sleeping in the backseat of the car the night her mother was killed.

 

(below) A poor quality video that shows Jayne’s talent as a concert pianist.

2 Comments on "The Smartest Dumb Blonde"

  1. David Matthews | October 31, 2018 at 2:13 pm |

    Interesting and sad quest for wanting to be taken as legitimate. But at least her daughter was able to achieve the success she strove for.

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