Gail's mother had nothing to do with forcing her daughter into the movies. Gail agreed to sign a movie contract with Paramount because her family was having financial problems. Her brother was drafted into the Army because of the war in 1942,and his income from work was ended, which his family depended on. Her starting salary of $50 dollars a week was minimal, but her family needed it to make ends meet. As for Gail's affair with John Wayne,that is nonsense. That was a lie perpetrated by his jealous wife,Esperanza Baur,who used it to win a generous alimony payment after her divorce from Wayne in 1953.
The poor woman never wanted to be an actress. She wanted to be an artist, and she was good. Her mother guilted her into acting "to help the family." It made her self-destruction inevitable.
The more I look at Gail Russell's photographs, the more I think she was possible one of the most attractive actresses ever to grace the screen. She certainly would blow most of the fake faced silicone models off the air today. One has to wonder if she would have otherwise suffered from a mental illness that would explain her social anxiety or could it be that she was aware of her attractiveness, and it stressed her out socially the same way a very unattractive person would avoid social situations. Either way, a real tragedy that she was not left alone to become her own person and possibly some young man's entire world.
Heart breaking. 😢
It is not strange that some mothers force their kids to enter the show business industry against their children's will to fulfill their own dreams. 😢
Gail's mother had nothing to do with forcing her daughter into the movies. Gail agreed to sign a movie contract with Paramount because her family was having financial problems. Her brother was drafted into the Army because of the war in 1942,and his income from work was ended, which his family depended on. Her starting salary of $50 dollars a week was minimal, but her family needed it to make ends meet. As for Gail's affair with John Wayne,that is nonsense. That was a lie perpetrated by his jealous wife,Esperanza Baur,who used it to win a generous alimony payment after her divorce from Wayne in 1953.
Well i never heard of her so thanks for telling us about her.
The poor woman never wanted to be an actress. She wanted to be an artist, and she was good. Her mother guilted her into acting "to help the family." It made her self-destruction inevitable.
The more I look at Gail Russell's photographs, the more I think she was possible one of the most attractive actresses ever to grace the screen. She certainly would blow most of the fake faced silicone models off the air today. One has to wonder if she would have otherwise suffered from a mental illness that would explain her social anxiety or could it be that she was aware of her attractiveness, and it stressed her out socially the same way a very unattractive person would avoid social situations. Either way, a real tragedy that she was not left alone to become her own person and possibly some young man's entire world.
Stage moms are still around.
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