On June 7, 1937, at the young age of 26, 1930’s sex symbol Jean Harlow died suddenly. There’s an often-heard version of the story blaming Harlow’s mother, whose Christian Science religion it’s said prevented daughter Jean from seeking the medical treatment which might have saved her.
Christian Science, the religion developed by spiritualist & medium Mary Baker Eddy, discourages the use of medicine, physicians, and hospitals. Its followers believe that Eddy’s 1875 book called “Science and Health,” provides the necessary information to treat all sicknesses including the uremic poisoning which took the life of lovely young Jean Harlow.
Yet Christian Science apparently played no part in what happened, for Jean Harlow was under a doctor’s care when she died at Los Angeles Good Samaritan Hospital, just before noon, June 7, 1937. It’s much more likely that catching scarlet fever at age fifteen as well as frequent bouts with influenza were responsible for Harlow’s tragic, untimely death.
In 1930, just seven years before, Jean Harlow with her famous platinum blonde locks had burst onto the Hollywood scene in the Howard Hughes film “Hell’s Angels.” The 1930 film can be seen in its entirety on YouTube and is where Harlow made famous her sultry blonde bombshell persona, that wisecracking, sassy “bad girl” next door.
There was another 1930’s blonde bombshell on the horizon, namely Mae West, but Jean Harlow had a different style. Mae West was clearly an exaggeration of sex, bombastically sashaying about the screen, hurling out sexy dialogue. Jean Harlow, by comparison, was a more subtle understatement, a sexual poetry in motion, undulating from scene to scene in slinky, revealing gowns which showed off her copious assets. Filmgoers’ eyes were invariably glued to the screen, watching breathlessly as Harlow masterfully fashioned every scene to fit her signature titillating style.
With her lush platinum hair, Jean Harlow was radiantly beautiful, her acting stellar, her comedic timing impeccable! An adoring public eagerly lapped up the bad girl image she created, and Harlow was featured in a succession of starring roles with actors like Clark Gable, William Powell, and Spencer Tracy.
Sometime during 1930, Jean Harlow met German-born director & producer Paul Bern, who became instrumental in guiding her career. They announced their engagement in June 1932 and on July 2nd that same year, they were married. Soon after, on September 5th, Paul Bern unexpectedly committed suicide. He left a note, though its authenticity is debated by some.
The suicide note said – “Dearest Dear, Unfortuately [sic] this is the only way to make good the frightful wrong I have done to you and to wipe out my abject humiliation, I Love [sic] you. Paul You understand that last night was only a comedy”
With the scandal-ridden decade of the 1920s still fresh in everyone’s mind, although the investigative authorities accepted that Harlow’s husband had killed himself, other theories quickly emerged. Paul Bern’s studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was suggested, covered up what was really a murder, wanting to avoid the ruin of leading star Jean Harlow’s successful career. Some thought that the possible assailant was none other than Paul Bern’s common-law wife, Dorothy Millette, who just happened to be found dead a few days after Bern, also from suicide. Hollywood folklore has it that Paul Bern suffered from impotence, and it was to this unfortunate malady the suicide note pointed with his phrase ‘my abject humiliation.’
A coroner’s inquest was held, and friends of the deceased claimed that he often talked of suicide. According to an SF GATE article by reporter Katie Dowd, Paul Bern’s physician, Dr. Howard P. Jones, testified that he knew the reason for his suicide but would not divulge it to the public. This naturally led some to speculate that perhaps there was an illness involved and that his suicide had been planned. After all, that might explain why Jean Harlow had spent that very night with her mother.
In her 1944 book, “The Gay Illiterate,” columnist Louella Parsons likely provided the answer. She was one of the original gossip queens of Hollywood even pre-dating darling Hedda Hopper of hideous hat fame. Parsons knew Jean Harlow well and wrote of her intense love for actor William Powell, whom she wished to marry. Husband Paul Bern might have found out about it and became even more depressed. To further complicate matters, though not commonly known at the time, Bern had never divorced his first wife, Dorothy Millette. It all might have become just too much for him to bear!
Harlow wisely kept quiet during the inquest affair. Her acting career did not fall victim to any scandal and from Bern’s death on July 5, 1932, until her own on June 7, 1937, she achieved her greatest popularity. Following Jean Harlow’s death, Louis B. Mayer toyed with the idea of recasting a different actress to finish her final film, “Saratoga.” Loyal fans felt otherwise, and a flood of letters directed to Mayer at MGM changed his mind. Ultimately, through the clever use of doubles and rewriting of scenes, the remaining footage was shot, the film released, and 1937’s “Saratoga” became the highest grossing film of 1930s sex symbol Jean Harlow’s career.
