The pretty 27-year-old starlet found love at last, and married. Then she was shown a non-marriage clause in her movie contract that forbade such a thing, and had to make a horrible choice between her husband and a career. The 24-hour blessed union was annulled, and not long after, her man died of sunstroke—while fishing.
Gladys Georgiana Greene was born Oct. 17, 1900, in Plattsburg, New York. Her father was a professional photographer and commercial artist, and his work kept the famly moving frequently. In 1916, 15-year-old Gladys quit school to try modeling. By the early 1920s, she became a much sought after top model for artists in New York City. This career led her to an audition with Fox Studios, and in 1923 she was given a new name, Jean Arthur, and a role in The Temple of Venus. After only a few days, she was replaced in the movie. Jean later stated, 'That is where and why I developed the most beautiful inferiority complex you've ever seen.' Despite her feelings, she continued with her career, and made her screen debut in a small part in Cameo Kirby (1923), which starred John Gilbert. She spent the rest of the decade appearing in cheap westerns and slapstick comedy shorts where she often received a pie in her face.
In 1928, Jean eloped with photographer Julian Anker. Her studio, Paramount, convinced her she must have an annullment or her contract would be voided. She chose her career. The next year, Jean made her first talking picture, The Canary Murder Case, which was quickly followed by The Greene Murder Case. Her speaking voice, which later served her well in comedies, was hailed as scratchy, squeaky, and foglike. Then, for two years she made 14 dreary films in a row. In 1931, she announced she was quitting films. Despondent, she returned to Manhattan, and in 1932 made her Broadway debut in Foreign Affairs. Two other plays followed, The Man Who Reclaimed His Head and The Curtain Rises. Arthur later stated, 'Those two and a half years on Boadway were the happiest years of my life. I loved the stage.' That same year she married actor Frank Ross Jr., a singer and future producer she had starred with in the film Young Eagles (1930). She divorced him 17 years later.
In 1934, brunette Jean returned to Hollywood a blonde and made a comedy called Get That Venus (1933) for a little-known studio called Regent. The movie was so cheaply made it was practically never shown. Next she went to RKO Studios for an appearance in The Past of Mary Holmes (1933). Then at Columbia she finally obtained a good role in Whirlpool (1934), and landed a contract. She hit it big in The Whole Town's Talking (1935), with Edward G. Robinson. Other good films followed, including two with Gary Cooper—Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936) and The Plainsman (1937). She played with Cary Grant in Only Angels Have Wings (1937), and with Jimmy Stewart in You Can't Take It With You (1938) and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939). She received her only Academy Award nomination for The More The Merrier (1943).
Insecure Jean often threw up after completing a scene. Director Frank Capra declared she was 'my favorite comedienne,' and also said, 'Never have I seen a performer plagued with such a chronic case of stage jitters ... . When the cameras stopped rolling she'd run to her dressing room, lock herself in—and cry.' One of her many crying spells reportedly lasted three days. Jean earned a reputation for being temperamental and aloof. In 1938 Jean told an interviewer although she loved acting, she hated being a star. She said 'It's a strenuous job to have to live up to the way you look on the screen every day of your life.'
In 1946, Arthur planned a return to Broadway in Born Yesterday. She had such an attack of stage fright before the show debuted that she was replaced with Judy Holliday, who became a big star and went on to appear in the movie version which earned her an Academy Award. In 1948 Jean returned to the screen in A Foreign Affair (1948) co-starring Marlene Dietrich, and then returned to Broadway to star with Boris Karloff in a successful 1950 version of Peter Pan. Her last film was the classic western Shane (1953), co-starring Alan Ladd and Van Heflin.
In 1963 The Jean Arthur Show, a situation comedy with Jean as an attorney, debuted on TV and was thankfully cancelled after 12 episodes. She hated the technicians telling her where to stand and where to look, and how to turn. One day in a temper she threatened to punch them out if they didn't stop.
In 1966, Arthur was asked why she abandoned Hollywood. She replied 'I hated the place—not the work but the lack of privacy, those terrible, prying fan magazine writers and all the surrounding exploitation.' From 1968-1970, Jean taught drama at Vassar College and the North Carolina School of the Arts. One of her students described her as 'odd,' and felt her lectures were rambling and whimsical.
Arthur despised the press, and usually refused to give interviews. However, in 1972 Jean agreed to an extended 11 a.m. session for The New York Times which began after she poured herself a stiff glass of vodka. The interview had Jean shaving eight years off her age, blaming her annulment on her parents and her young age (she was 27), and stating 'I guess I became an actress because I didn't want to be myself.' In the 1980s, a Los Angeles television host begged her for a live interview. Jean responded, 'Quite frankly, I'd rather have my throat slit.'
Arthur lived a reclusive life in beautiful Carmel, Calif., strolling the beaches and occasionally making an entrance at the local shops. She suffered a stroke in 1989, and was left an invalid. She died of a heart attack June 19, 1991. There were no funeral services and, as she wished, her ashes were spread at sea near Point Lobos.
Sources: They Had Faces Then by John Springer and Jack D. Hamilton, The Great Movie Stars by David Shipman, The Movie Stars Story Edited by Robyn Karney, The Hollywood Book Of Death by James Robert Parish, Websites.
Steve Starr is the author of Picture Perfect—Art Deco Photo Frames 1926-1946, published by Rizzoli International. A designer and an artist, he is the owner of Steve Starr Studios, specializing in original Art Deco photo frames, furnishings, and jewelry, and celebrating its 37th anniversary in 2004. Visit the glamorous studio at 2779 N. Lincoln Ave. where adorning the walls is Steve Starr's personal collection of over 950 gorgeous frames filled with photos of Hollywood's most elegant stars.
Photo of Steve Starr July 25, 2002, by Albert Aguilar. E-mail SSSChicago@ameritech.net .
