Gail Russell: Life, Films, and Tragic Death

Who Was Gail Russell?

Gail Russell was a hauntingly beautiful yet emotionally fragile Hollywood actress with large blue eyes and a beguiling smile. During her short career, she starred with some of the most popular leading men in films, including John Wayne, Ray Milland, Joel McCrae, and Alan Ladd.

In spite of her success, she was tortured by her low self-esteem, extreme shyness, and stage fright. She eventually turned to alcohol to calm her nerves before performing and lost both her career and her life to the devastating effects of alcoholism.

Introvert With Crippling Shyness

Gail Russell was born in Chicago in 1924 and named Elizabeth by her parents, George and Gladys Russell. She often visited her uncle's farm in Michigan, but even there, she remained alone with her charcoal and sketchpads.

She was an introvert with a limited social life, unprepared for the big city. She once told a reporter that her shyness was so severe that she hid beneath her parent’s piano when they entertained. Nevertheless, the press and the public adored her.

Gail's interest in art was more than a hobby. She focused on drawing because it was an art she could perform alone in a quiet atmosphere. She started sketching at age five and never stopped. Her dream was to become a professional commercial artist.

Discovered by Paramount in 1942

The Russell family moved to Los Angeles when Gail was 14. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Russell told the story of when her parents asked her to wear an evening gown and try to look glamorous, a task she found challenging considering she had never worn makeup.

Russell was a student at Santa Monica High School on vacation with her mother in 1942 when she visited Paramount Studios with two friends. It was here that she was "discovered" by Paramount talent scout William Meiklejohn. She was offered a contract, but her parents thought she was still too young.

She was offered a standard seven-year contract and $50 a week. Her parents agreed to the contract, but on the condition that Russell should be allowed to finish high school first. She officially signed with Paramount as soon as she graduated.

Lifelong Stage Fright

Although the studio hired an acting coach, Russell’s stage fright was a problem from the start and was often discussed by her costars and the crews on the set as it interfered with filming. Nevertheless, she started her career with an explosion of films.

Russell made her first film appearance at 19 in the 1943 film Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour. In 1944, she played Barbara in Lady in the Dark, starring Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland. Although Russell’s role was hardly noteworthy, the film was nominated for three Oscars, which boosted Russell's career.

Critics compared Russell's great beauty to Hollywood favorite Hedy Lamarr, and Paramount acted quickly, casting Russell in two more films in 1944. Russell quickly discovered she was expected to appear in two to three films each year, which would be a challenging task for anyone, especially someone whose fear of appearing in public consumed her every thought.

John Wayne Rumors

Gail Russell's raven hair and enigmatic beauty were particularly suited to the ghost story plot of The Uninvited, her second film of 1944. Russell was again cast with Ray Milland, this time as his love interest. During filming, Russell’s stage fright was so great that one of her co-stars suggested she use alcohol to calm her nerves.

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More than one biographer repeats the rumor that the suggestion came from actor John Wayne, but Wayne adamantly denied it. In fact, he insisted that the suspicious amount of time he spent in Russell's dressing room was an attempt to calm her nerves.

Russell completed The Uninvited, but lost 20 pounds and later suffered a nervous breakdown. No one seemed to understand that her shyness and widely publicized struggles with alcohol were cries for help—and the beginning of the end for Gail Russell.

Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944)

In her next film, Russell starred in the well-received 1944 comedy Our Hearts Were Young and Gay, also starring Diana Lynn. The film is based on a book of the same name, written by actress Cornelia Otis Skinner and journalist Emily Kimbrough.

The book describes their jaunt through Europe in the 1920s when they were fresh out of college. Russell played Skinner and Lynn played Kimbrough, roles that seemed to be written for both of these talented young women.

The following year, Russell starred as a schoolteacher opposite Alan Ladd in Salty O'Rourke, another Oscar-nominated film. She then appeared with Joel McCrea in 1945's supernatural tale, The Unseen. Although both Russell and McCrea were established actors by this time, the film failed to attract the same attention as The Uninvited.

Nervous Breakdown in 1945

Also in 1945, Russell joined many famous actors of her time in Duffy's Tavern. After suffering from a nervous breakdown, she was forced to repeat her three-films-a-year routine.

In 1946, Russell and Lynn revived their roles in Our Hearts Were Growing Up, the sequel to Our Hearts Were Young and Gay. This film was also well-received by audiences and reviewers. Before the year was over, Russell completed yet another movie, The Bachelor’s Daughters, with Adolphe Menjou.

Throughout this grueling schedule, Russell continued to treat her stage fright with liberal doses of alcohol.

Angel and the Badman (1947)

In 1947, Russell performed one of her most famous roles as the innocent Quaker love interest of John Wayne in Angel and the Badman. It was during filming that Wayne first noticed that Russell's struggle with alcohol outweighed her problems with shyness.

As mentioned before, Wayne offered to help his costar with her fears and panic, and spent what many biographers referred to as a suspicious amount of time with Russell, which did not go unnoticed by Hollywood gossips.

Once again, Russell was required to make three films in 1947. In addition to Angel and the Badman, she played Virginia Moore in Calcutta and appeared as herself in Variety Girl.

Angel and the Badman Receives Strong Reviews

The film was critically well-received. The New York Times review stated, "John Wayne makes a grim and laconic, converted renegade, who is torn by love, a new faith and the desire for revenge on an arch enemy. Gail Russell, a stranger to Westerns, is convincing as the lady who makes him see the light."

Angel and the Badman was an important film for Russell in attracting even more fans. Her soft, innocent looks, combined with the naivete of her character, appealed to audiences.

Wake of the Red Witch and Controversy

Gail Russell made three films in 1948, playing Gilly Johnson in Moonrise, Jean Courtland in Night Has a Thousand Eyes, and then to top off the year, a repeat performance as John Wayne's love interest.

This time it was as Angelique Desaix in Wake of the Red Witch. John Wayne received 10% of the gross from the movie, which entitled him to help choose the cast—and he chose Gail. Her appearance was controversial in ways she could never have predicted.

Wake of the Red Witch (1948)

At the time of the filming of Angel and the Badman, John Wayne was married to Esperanza "Chata" Baur. Baur was convinced that her husband was having an affair with Russell. According to Ronald L. Davis in his John Wayne biography Duke, although Wayne openly admitted to affairs in the past, both Wayne and Russell firmly denied anything more than friends.

Nevertheless, when Baur learned that her husband had chosen Russell to costar in Wake of the Red Witch, she exploded in a jealous rage. Wayne returned home late from the cast party, and according to the actor, Baur was waiting at the door with her mother. Chata aimed a gun at her husband and pulled the trigger, but the bullet barely missed Wayne’s head.

Russell Caught in Middle of Wayne Marriage

Russell was called upon to testify at their subsequent divorce trial, which turned into a humiliating and painful drama. She insisted throughout the trial that she was friends with Wayne and nothing more.

Meanwhile, Russell spent 1949 fulfilling the terms of her contract. She played Princess Tara in Song of India, Susan Jeffers in El Paso, and Cissy Lathrop in The Great Dan Patch.

Rocky Marriage to Guy Madison

Russell married her long-time boyfriend, television actor Guy Madison. According to biographers, their marriage was "on the rocks" from the start, and as always for Russell, embarrassing and public. The couple was often seen drunk and fighting in restaurants and bars.