Gail Russell was a hauntingly beautiful Hollywood starlet, known for her large, gorgeous blue eyes
But despite her grace, the talented actress struggled behind the scenes.
And the circumstances surrounding her final days remain a haunting tragedyโฆ
Hollywood star Gail Russell is best remembered for playingย John Wayneโs love interest in the 1947 Westernย The Angel and the Badman.
The young actress, with her dark hair and an aura of quiet grace, portrayed a Quaker girl who transforms John Wayneโs character, a hardened gunfighter, into a peaceful man.
Their on-screen chemistry quickly fueled rumors of a real-life romance, but to fully grasp Gail Russellโs tragic end, we must trace her roots back to her childhood. Itโs a story of how a shy high schooler rose from relative obscurity to become one of Paramount Studiosโ brightest stars of the 1940s.
Painfully shy
Gail Russell was born in Chicago in 1924 and moved to Los Angeles with her parents at the age of 14. Her father, a musician, kept a piano at home โ but it served a very different purpose in the Russell household.
Since Gail was extremely shy from a young age, she would often run and hide under the piano whenever her parents had guests.
Despite her timidity, with her striking dark blue eyes and stunning looks, it seemed Gail was destined for something special. It wasnโt acting that first stood out, though โ it was her talent for painting. The Windy City native began drawing at the age of five, and most who saw her artwork agreed she was exceptionally gifted.
โDad used to tell me that I could be anything, anything I wanted to be, but I thought he was saying that because he loved me,โ Gail once said.
As a young girl growing up during the Great Depression, she dreamed of becoming a commercial artist. But as a teenager, her mother convinced her to pursue a film career instead. In fact, her motherโs ambitions for Gail were one of the reasons the family relocated to California when she was 14.
Gail attended Santa Monica High School, where she earned the nickname โthe Hedy Lamarr of Santa Monica.โ After graduating, she quickly signed a long-term contract with Paramount Pictures, earning $50 a week.
Cinderella story
The story of how Gail Russell was discovered by Hollywood has a bit of a Cinderella flair. According to the biographyย Gail Russell: A Fallen Star, William Meiklejohn, then head of talent at Paramount Pictures, was driving home from San Diego along the Pacific Highway when he spotted two teenage boys hitchhiking. They seemed to be in good spirits, so Meiklejohn decided to give them a ride.
One of the boys soon noticed a Paramount sticker on the car, and the trio started chatting about his job as a talent scout in Hollywood. Meiklejohn boasted about working with beautiful stars like Dorothy Lamour, Paulette Goddard, and Veronica Lake. Thatโs when the boys mentioned a girl from their school โ Gail Russell โ whom they described as โthe prettiest girl youโll ever see.โ Intrigued yet skeptical, Meiklejohn listened closely.
โNo kidding, Mister. You ought to see this girl. Sheโs the most beautiful thing Iโve ever seen. She ought to be in the movies. No kidding. Not only is she beautiful, but when she starts walking, wow, what a voice! Every boy in Santa Monica Tech is turning handsprings just to get her to look at them,โ one of the boys, Charlie Cates, said.
Meiklejohn, always on the lookout for new and beautiful actresses, was persuaded by the boysโ enthusiastic recommendations and decided to seek out Gail. At just 18, the shy young woman found herself thrust into the lionโs den of Hollywood.
As she later recalled, โEverything happened so fast. I was going to high school and the next thing I knew I was being groomed for a picture. There was this terrific mountain of work and no time to catch up with myself,โ Gail said.
Crying on set
Early in her career, Gail Russell found success, particularly withย The Uninvited, directed by Lewis Allen. However, working with the young actress wasnโt always easy. Producer Charles Brackett shared stories of what went on behind the scenes.
He recalled how Gail would cry on set, often with her mother by her side, claiming she had a sore throat. In reality, she was upset because director Lewis Allen had insisted she wear a hat for a scene, something she strongly resisted.
โShe could only do about five or six lines, and then sheโd burst into tears,โ Brackett explained.
Her co-stars and crew tried to help Gail overcome her overwhelming timidity, but her nerves never fully eased. Instead, the star began self-medicating with alcohol to calm herself, a habit that would have devastating consequences. Apparently, it was the head of makeup on set who first suggested she turn to alcohol.
Gail Russell had the looks of a classic movie star, but tragically, she lacked the temperament to match. She struggled with stage fright and had a deep aversion to public speaking. In one of her rare interviews with Helen Weller, Russell opened up about her extreme shyness, shedding light on the personal challenges that plagued her career.
โI canโt remember the time I wasnโt painfully shy. I donโt mean the garden variety shyness most people have. Mine was thousands times worse. I was possessed with an agonizing kind of self-consciousness where I felt my insides tightening into a knot, where my face and hands grew clammy, where I couldnโt open my mouth, where I fel impelled to turn and run if I had to meet new people,โ the actress shared.
John Wayne love affair
During the filming ofย Angel and the Badman, Gail Russell reportedly developed feelings for her co-star, the legendary John Wayne. According to sources likeย jwayne.fan.com, her feelings were not answered, but Wayne went out of his way to support Gail.
Wayne asked his secretary, Mary St. John, to gently explain his feelings to Gail. โSet Gail straight. Make sure she understands how I feel, but do it gently,โ he told St. John. โThe poor kidโs having a tough time.โ
Unlike many in the industry, Wayne showed Gail a rare level of respect and kindness, something she seldom experienced from other leading men or producers
The two became close friends on set, with Wayne acting as a protective figure. He recognized a vulnerability in Gail that others might have exploited, becoming almost a father figure to her.
Gailโs feelings soon faded and thereโs no evidence of a romantic relationship between them. However, John Wayneโs second wife, Esperanza โChataโ Bauer, thought otherwise. Their marriage, famously described as โlike shaking two volatile chemicals in a jar,โ didnโt need much to ignite.
The Mexican actress was convinced her husband was having an affair with Gail during the shooting ofย Angel and the Badman. Chataโs suspicion escalated when Wayne came home late after a wrap party celebrating the end of the movie.
The actor was nearly shot by Chata on their doorstep.
โMy wife refused to let me in. I could hear her and her mother talking about me loudly. I rang the bell but they wouldnโt open the door. Then I broke a glass panel, reached in, and opened it myself. Chata and her mother came charging out. Chata had a forty-five in her hand. She and her mother were fighting over it,โ Wayne testified in court, according toย Daily Express.
Getting arrested
By the early 1950s, Gail Russellโs struggle with alcohol was no longer a secret. While those who worked with her were aware of her issues, it soon became public knowledge. In November 1953, she was arrested and convicted of drunk driving. She was sentenced to two yearsโ probation on the condition that she refrain from alcohol, avoid places where it was served, and seek medical treatment. Additionally, she was fined $150.
That same year, during John Wayneโs divorce proceedings, his then-wife Chata claimed that Wayne and Russell had spent the night together. Adding to the turmoil, Gail herself was in the middle of divorcing her husband, actor Guy Madison.
Her life was spiraling downhill, and after falling into a coma due to a severe bout of hepatitis, she was hospitalized multiple times, moving in and out of sanatoriums.
Unfortunately, it didnโt take long after her release from the hospital for Gail to find herself back behind the wheel under the influence. This time, she was involved in a serious accident, crashing into a couple and their baby. Once again, she was fined and faced a lawsuit from the family.
Paramount Pictures dumped her, and Gailโs career faced a sharp decline, leaving her to take on a string of unremarkable roles. Despite her long-standing issues, her old friend John Wayne tried to lend a helping hand by securing her a part inย Seven Men From Nowย (1956), alongside Lee Marvin and Randolph Scott.
However, the years of mental health struggles and alcohol abuse had taken their toll โ Gail looked far older than her age. Despite taking on sporadic roles, it became clear that major studios no longer wanted much to do with her.
She continued to face legal trouble for driving under the influence but couldnโt let go of her passion for acting.
โI guess there are still a lot of doubts about meโ, the actress said in April 1960. โAnd this is one of the reasons why I want to get back to the business to prove to people I can do a picture. Iโm stronger now. The future looks pretty good.โ
Cause of death
By the end of her life, Gail had retreated from the public eye and lived in a small house under the name Moseley, distancing herself from her Hollywood past.
She continued to struggle with alcoholism, which had plagued her for years.
In August 1961, she was found dead in her Brentwood, Los Angeles home. Two neighbors, concerned after not hearing from her for several days, discovered her body on the floor. An empty vodka bottle lay beside her, and the house was littered with more empty bottles. She was just 36 years old.
The autopsy revealed that Gail died from liver damage caused by acute and chronic alcoholism. She was also suffering from malnutrition at the time of her death.
One of the neighbors who found Gail, Virginia Darnell, told AP that the actress had only lived in the house for a few months and had no visitors during that time. Inside, several of Gailโs paintings were discovered โlandscapes, animalsโ showing that she had returned to her first passion, painting.
It was something she had dreamed of as a young girl, and perhaps, in a different life, thatโs what she was meant to do. But fate had other plans, and now we all know how her story tragically ended.
Thank you for the memories on the silver screen, Gail Russell!
Itโs heartbreaking that you didnโt always get the help you needed, but times were different, and perhaps you couldnโt face your own struggles.
Still, we remember a stunningly beautiful and talented actress who earned her place in Hollywoodโs history. Rest in peace, Gail.
