RARE JAYNE MANSFIELD 1966 LOVE NOTE TO SAM BRODY SIGNED + 2 CANDID PHOTOGRAPHS

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RARE JAYNE MANSFIELD 1966 LOVE NOTE TO SAM BRODY SIGNED + 2 CANDID PHOTOGRAPHS:
$305.00

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DESCRIPTION: EXTREMELY RARE GROUP LOT!! Actress JAYNE MANSFIELD vintage 1966 authentic originally signed handwritten love note to her then and last lover SAMUEL BRODY, 2 each candid never-before-seen photographs and a newspaper clipping of both. Brody was her infamous last lover with whom she had a tumultuous affair and was killed with.

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- SIZE: the note is approx. 4 3/8" X 3", the photographs are 4 1/3=4" x 3 1/2"

- TONE: B&W photographs

- CONDITION: The note is in good condition with three vertical folds, slight wrinkling and discoloring on the right portion. One photograph is in very good condition with surface scuffing and the other is in good condition with some wrinkles and surface scuffing. All are adhered to the black paper in some areas. (Please note that I am extremely condition conscious so I always point out the slightest anomalies)

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(born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933– June 29,1967) was an American actress who worked in Hollywood and on Broadway. One of the leading blonde sex symbols of thelate-1950s, Mansfieldstarred in several popular Hollywood films thatemphasized her platinum-blonde hair,hourglass figure, andcleavage-revealing costumes. 20thCentury Fox signed a six-year contact with Mansfield to replace Marilyn Monroe as theirresident blonde sex symbol.Throughout her career, she wascompared by the media to Monroeand the other top sex symbol Mamie Van Doren.Mansfield was aPlayboy Playmate of the Month and appeared in the magazine on severaloccasions.

While Mansfield's film career was short-lived, she had several box office successes and won theTheatre World Award, a Golden Globe, and a Golden Laurel.In 1955, she enjoyed a successfulBroadway run acting in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and later thefilm of the same name in 1957. Sheis remembered for both this film and a starring role in the comedy film TheGirl Can't Help It (1956), whichwas also produced by 20th Century Fox.Of her rare on-screen dramatic roles,her performance in The Wayward Bus (1957) is regarded as the best. She also sang for studio recordings including thealbum Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky& Me and the singles Suey and As The Clouds Drift By donetogether with rock legend Jimi Hendrix.Mansfield'snotable television work included The Red Skelton Show (1959–1963) and TheEd Sullivan Show (1957).

As the demand for blonde bombshellsdeclined in the 1960s, Mansfield remained a popular celebrity, continuing to attract large crowds outside the U.S. and inlucrative and successful nightclub tours.Her film career continued with lower budget melodramas and comedies, many filmed in the United Kingdom and Europe, including Heimweh nach St.Pauli and L'Amore Primitivo.In the independent film Promises! Promises! (1963),she became the first major American actress to have a nude starring role in a Hollywood motion-picture.

In her personal life she was successivelymarried to her childhood lover Paul Mansfield (1950–1958),actor-bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay (1958–1963) and film director Matt Cimber(1964–1966). She was the mother ofplaymate Jayne Marie Mansfield (born 1950),Miklós Jeffrey Palmer Hargitay (born 1958),Zoltán Anthony Hargitay (born 1960),actress Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (born 1964) and Antonio "Tony"Cimber (born 1965). Mansfield died in an automobile accident atage 34.

Jayne Mansfield

Playboy centerfold appearance

February 1955

Personal details

Waist: 21in (53cm)
Hips: 35in (89cm)

Jayne Mansfield was the only child ofHerbert William and Vera (née Jeffrey) Palmer (1903–2003).Her birth name was Vera Jayne Palmer.A natural brunette, she was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania,but spent her early childhood in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. She was of German and English ancestry. When she was three years old,her father, a lawyer who was inpractice with future New Jerseygovernor Robert B. Meyner, died of a heart attack while driving a car withhis wife and daughter. After hisdeath, her mother worked as a schoolteacher. In 1939, when Vera Palmer married Sale Engineer Harry Peers, the family moved to Dallas, Texas.

She attended the Universityof Texas at Austinand studied dramatics at the Universityof Dallas,having only attended Highland Park High Schooluntil her junior year. In Dallas, she became a student of actor Baruch Lumet, father of director Sidney Lumet and founder of theDallas Institute of the Performing Arts.On October 22, 1953, she first appeared on stage in a production ofArthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.Frequent references have been made to Mansfield'svery high IQ, which she advertisedas 163. She spoke five languages andwas a classically trained pianist and violinist.She would later complain that the public did not care about her brains. "They're more interested in 40-21-35", she said.In 1950, she married Paul Mansfield, and the couple moved to Austin, Texas.They stayed there until Paul was called to United States Army Reserve for theKorean War. After spending a year atCamp Gordon,Georgia, they moved to Los Angeles in 1954.There she studied dramatics at UCLA.Between a variety of odd jobs,including a stint as a candy vendor at a movie theatre,she attended UCLA during the summer,and then went back to Texasfor fall quarter at Southern Methodist University.

While attending the University of Texas, she won several beauty contests, with titles that included "MissPhotoflash", "MissMagnesium Lamp", and "MissFire Prevention Week". The onlytitle she ever turned down was "Miss Roquefort Cheese", because she believed it "just didn't soundright". While studying at Dallas, she acted in small theater productions of AnythingGoes, Death of a Salesman, The Slaves of Demon Rum, and Ten Nights in a Barroom in 1951. While at UCLA,she entered the Miss California contest,hiding her marital status, and wonin the local round before withdrawing.Early in her career, the prominenceof her breasts was considered problematic,leading her to be cut from her first professional assignment, an advertising campaign for General Electric, which depicted several young women in bathingsuits relaxing around a pool. In1954, she auditioned at bothParamount Pictures and Warner Bros.for a part in The Seven Year Itch,failing to impress. That year, she landed her first acting assignment in LuxVideo Theatre, a series on CBS. She posed nude for the February 1955 issue of Playboy, an event that helped to launch Mansfield's career and to push circulation ofthe magazine that started publishing from publisher-editor Hugh Hefner'skitchen the year before. In 1964, Playboy reran that pictorial.

Mansfield's first movie role was as the supporting role ofCandy Price in Female Jungle (1955),a low-budget drama filmed in just ten days.Mansfield'spart was filmed in a few days and she received $150 for her performance ($1,301 in 2012 dollars).Female Jungle was released in January 1955 by producer Burt Kaiser. That year Paul Wendkos offered her the dramaticrole of Gladden in The Burglar (1957),his film adaptation of David Goodis' novel.The film was done in film noir style,and Mansfieldappeared alongside Dan Duryea and Martha Vickers.The Burglar was released two years later,when Mansfield'sfame was at its peak. She wassuccessful in this straight dramatic role,though most of her subsequent film appearances would be either comedic innature or capitalize on her sex appeal.

On February 8,1955, Mansfield was signed by Warner Bros. to a six month contract after one of its talentscouts discovered her in a production at the Pasadena Playhouse. She filed for divorce from her first husband, Paul Mansfield,the same day.[19] Warnerwanted Mansfieldas their version of the widely popular and lucrative Marilyn Monroe of 20thCentury Fox. Mansfield was given a bit part in PeteKelly's Blues (1955), whichstarred and was directed by Jack Webb.She made one more movie with Warner Bros., which gave her another small,but important role as Angel O'Hara,opposite Edward G. Robinson, in Illegal (1955).The film offered another rare serious performance by Mansfield.After leaving Warner Bros., Mansfieldmade an uncredited cameo appearance in Hell on Frisco Bay (1955), starring Alan Ladd.

In 1955,she enjoyed a successful Broadway run acting in Will Success Spoil RockHunter?. This wild comedy starredMansfield asRita Marlowe, a wild blondeHollywood actress. The play alsostarred Orson Bean and Walter Matthau.Returning to Hollywood on May 3, 1956, Mansfield signed asix-year contract with 20th Century Fox.Fox wanted Mansfieldto replace Marilyn Monroe, theirresident blonde sex symbol, andpromoted her as "Marilyn Monroe King Sized".She was then given her first starring role as Jerri Jordan in the filmproduction of Frank Tashlin's The Girl Can't Help It (1956). The film,originally titled Do-Re-Mi,featured a high-profile cast of contemporary Rock n Roll and R&B artistsincluding Gene Vincent, EddieCochran, Fats Domino, The Platters and Little Richard.

Mansfield then played a dramatic role in The Wayward Busin 1957. In this film, she attempted to move away from her "dumbblonde" image and establish herself as a serious actress. This film was adapted from John Steinbeck's novel, and the cast included Dan Dailey and Joan Collins. The film enjoyed reasonable success at the boxoffice. She won a Golden Globe in1957 for New Star Of The Year – Actress,beating Carroll Baker and Natalie Wood,for her performance as a "wistful derelict" in The Wayward Bus. It was "generally conceded to have been herbest acting", according to TheNew York Times, in a fitfulcareer hampered by her flamboyant image,distinctive voice ("a soft-voiced coo punctuated with squeals"), voluptuous figure,and limited acting range. Mansfield reprised herrole of Rita Marlowe in the 1957 movie version of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, co-starring Tony Randall and Joan Blondell. The Girl Can't Help It and Will SuccessSpoil Rock Hunter? were popular successes in their day and are consideredclassics. Will Success Spoil RockHunter? is known as Mansfield's"signature film", becauseshe starred in both the play and film version.

Mansfield's fourth starring role in a Hollywoodfilm was in Kiss Them for Me (1957) in which she received prominentbilling alongside Cary Grant.However, in the film itself, she is little more than comedy relief whileGrant's character shows a preference for a sleek,demure redhead portrayed by fashion model Suzy Parker.Kiss Them for Me, one of Mansfield's last starringroles, was a box officedisappointment. The movie wasdescribed as "vapid" and "ill-advised". It also marked one of the last attempts by 20thCentury Fox to publicize her. Thecontinuing publicity around her physical presence failed to sustain her career. Mansfield was thenoffered a part opposite James Stewart and Jack Lemmon in Bell,Book and Candle (1958), but hadto turn it down because of her pregnancy.Afterward, Mansfield got word that her rival Kim Novakwould replace her in the film.

In 1958,Fox gave Mansfieldthe lead role as Kate opposite Kenneth More in the western spoof The Sheriffof Fractured Jaw. Despite beingfilmed in 1958, The Sheriff ofFractured Jaw was not released in the United States until 1959. The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw required Mansfield to sing three songs; she was not a trainedsinger, so the studio dubbed Mansfield's voice withsinger/actress Connie Francis. Whenreleased in the United States,The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw became her last mainstream film success.

Despite the publicity and her publicpopularity, good film roles dried upfor Mansfieldafter 1959. She kept busy in aseries of low-budget films, mostlymade in Europe.Fox tried to cast Mansfieldopposite Paul Newman in his ill-fated first attempt at comedy, Rally 'Round the Flag,Boys! (1958), but Mansfield's WaywardBus co-star Joan Collins was selected instead.

In 1959,Fox lent her to appear in two independent gangster thrillers in England: TheChallenge, co-starring AnthonyQuayle, and Too Hot to Handle, co-starring Christopher Lee.Both films were low-budgeted, andtheir American releases were delayed; Too Hot to Handle was released inthe U.S. in 1961 as PlaygirlAfter Dark, while TheChallenge would not be seen by American audiences until 1963, under the title It Takes a Thief.

When she returned to Hollywood in mid-1960,20th Century-Fox cast her in It Happened in Athens (1962). She received first billing above the title, but only appears in a supporting role. It Happened in Athens starred a handsomenewcomer, Trax Colton, a "unknown" whom Fox was trying to moldinto a big star. This Olympic Games-basedfilm was shot in Greece, in the fall of 1960,but was not released until June 1962.It was a box-office flop, and Mansfield's 20thCentury-Fox contract was dropped.

In 1961,Mansfieldsigned on to play Lisa Lang in The George Raft Story, starring Ray Danton as the actor. She accepted the part mainly for the money andbecause the film was going to be filmed in Hollywood, rather in Europe. Soon after the release of The George Raft Story, Mansfieldreturned to European films to find work.Over the next few years, Mansfieldmainly appeared in low-budgeted foreign films,such as Panic Button, Heimwehnach St. Pauli, Einer Frisst den anderen, and, L'AmorePrimitivo.

In 1963,Tommy Noonan persuaded Mansfieldto become the first mainstream American actress to appear nude with a starringrole, in the film Promises!Promises!. Photographs of anaked Mansfield on the set were published in theJune 1963 issue of Playboy,which resulted in obscenity charges being filed against Hugh Hefner in Chicago municipal court. Promises! Promises! was banned in Cleveland, but enjoyed box office success elsewhere. As a result of the film's success, Mansfieldlanded on the Top 10 list of Box Office Attractions for that year. The autobiographical book,Jayne Mansfield's Wild, Wild World, which she co-authored with her husband at the time, Mickey Hargitay,was published right after Promises! Promises!,containing 32 pages of black-and-white photographs from the film printed onglossy paper.

In 1966,Mansfield wascast in Single Room Furnished,directed by her then husband Matt Cimber.The film required Mansfield to portray threedifferent characters and was Mansfield'sfirst starring dramatic role in several years.It was briefly released in 1966, butwas not officially released until 1968,almost a year after her death.

After the filming of Single RoomFurnished was wrapped, Mansfield was castopposite Mamie Van Doren and Ferlin Husky in The Las Vegas Hillbillys, a low-budget comedy released by Woolner Brothers. Despite her career setbacks,Mansfieldremained a highly visible personality through the early 1960s through herpublicity antics and stage performances.In early 1967, Mansfield filmed her last film role: playinga cameo role in A Guide for the Married Man,a comedy starring Walter Matthau,Robert Morse, and Inger Stevens. Mansfieldreceived seventh billing as "Girl with Harold".

Mansfield acted on stage as well as in film. In 1955,she went to New Yorkand appeared in a prominent role in the Broadway production of George Axelrod'scomedy Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? Brooks Atkinson of the NewYork Times described the "commendable abandon" of her scantilyclad rendition of Rita Marlowe in the play as "a platinum-pated moviesiren with the wavy contours of Marilyn Monroe".In October 1957, Mansfieldwent on a 16-country tour of Europe for 20thCentury Fox. She also appeared instage productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Bus Stop, which were well reviewed and co-starred Hargitay.

Dissatisfied with her film roles, Mansfield and Hargitay headlined at the Dunes in Las Vegas in an actcalled The House of Love, forwhich the actress earned $35,000 aweek ($303,652 in 2012 dollars). It proved to be such a hit that she extended herstay, and 20th Century Fox Recordssubsequently recorded the show for an album called Jayne Mansfield Busts UpLas Vegas, in 1962. With her film career floundering, she still commanded a salary of $8,000–25,000per week for her nightclub act ($61,000–192,000 in 2012 dollars).She traveled all over the world with it.In 1967, the year she died, Mansfield'stime was split between nightclub performances and the production of her lastfilm, A Guide for the Married Man, a high-budget production directed by Gene Kelly.

Jayne Mansfield sang in English and Germanfor a number of her films including The Las Vegas Hillbillys, Too Hot to Handle,Homesick for St. Pauli and Promises!Promises!, though in the film TheSheriff of Fractured Jaw her character lip synced to Connie Francis singingIn The valley Of Love, StrollingDown The Lane With Billy, and IfThe San Francisco Hills Could Only Talk.She also had classical training in piano and violin.She played violin with a six person back-up at The Ed Sullivan Show.

In 1964,Mansfieldreleased a novelty album called Jayne Mansfield: Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky & Me,in which she recited Shakespeare's sonnets and poems by Marlowe, Browning,Wordsworth, and others against abackground of Tchaikovsky's music.The album cover depicted a bouffant-coiffed Mansfield with lips pursed and breasts barelycovered by a fur stole, posingbetween busts of Tchaikovsky and Shakespeare.The New York Times described the album a reading of "30-odd poemsin a husky, urban, baby voice".The paper's reviewer went on to remark that "Miss Mansfield is a lady withapparent charms, but reading poetryis not one of them." JimiHendrix played bass and lead guitar for Mansfieldin 1965 in two songs, "As TheClouds Drift By" and "Suey",released together on two sides of the 45 rpm singles.According to Hendrix historian Steven Roby (Black Gold: The Lost Archives OfJimi Hendrix, Billboard Books), this collaboration happened because they sharedthe same manager.

Mansfield appeared in numerous televisionprograms, including The EdSullivan Show and The Jack Benny Program (for which she played theviolin), The Steve Allen Show, Down You Go,The Match Game (one rare episode exists with her as a team captain) and TheJackie Gleason Show (in the mid-1960s when the show was the second highestrated in the U.S.). Mansfield's televisionroles included those in Burke's Law and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. On returning from New Yorkto Hollywood in1957, she made several televisionappearances, including several spotsas a featured guest star on game shows such as Down You Go, The Match Game,and What's My Line?.

Though her acting roles were becomingmarginalized, in 1964 Mansfield turned down therole of Ginger Grant on the up-and-coming television sitcom Gilligan'sIsland, claiming that the role, which eventually was given to Tina Louise, epitomized the stereotype of which she wished torid herself. In 1962, Mansfieldappeared with Brian Keith on ABC's Follow the Sun dramatic series in anacclaimed episode entitled "The Dumbest Blonde" in which hercharacter "Scottie" is a beautiful blonde who feels insecure in thehigh society of her older boyfriend,played by Keith. The plot was basedon the film of Born Yesterday.She also toured with Bob Hope for the USO in 1957.

In February 1955, Mansfield was the Playmate of the Month in Playboy, in which she subsequently appeared over 30 times.
Although Mansfield was reluctant to appear in the play, she received the Theatre World Award of 1956 for her performance in the Broadway production of George Axelrod's comedy Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?.
Mansfield won a Golden Globe in 1957 for New Star Of The Year – Actress.
Mansfield won a Golden Laurel in 1959 for Top Female Musical Performance for her role in The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw, a western spoof directed by Raoul Walsh. although the songs were performed by Connie Francis.
In 1963, Mansfield was voted one of the Top 10 Box Office Attractions by an organization of American theater owners for her performance in Promises! Promises!, a film banned in areas around the U.S.
Mansfield has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6328 Hollywood Boulevard.

Mansfield was married three times,divorced twice, and had fivechildren. Reportedly she also hadaffairs and sexual encounters with numerous individuals,including Claude Terrail (the owner of the Paris restaurant La Tour d'Argent), Robert F.Kennedy, John F Kennedy, the Brazilian billionaire Jorge Guinle, and Anton LaVey.She had a brief affair with Jan Cremer,a young Dutch writer who dedicated his 1965 autobiographical novel, I,Jan Cremer, to her. She also had a well-publicized relationship in1963 with the singer Nelson Sardelli,whom she said she planned to marry once her divorce from Hargitay was finalized. At the time of her death,Mansfield wasaccompanied by Sam Brody, hermarried divorce lawyer and lover at the time.

On May 6,1950, Vera Jayne Palmer married PaulMansfield. At the time of marriageJayne was 17 and Paul 21. The couplehad a public wedding on May 10, 1950when Jayne was three months pregnant.Her early acting aspirations were temporarily put on hold with the birth of herfirst child, Jayne Marie Mansfield, on November 8 that year.Her husband, Paul Mansfield, hoped the birth of their child would discourageher interest in acting. When it didnot, he agreed to move to Los Angeles in late 1954to help further her career. Shejuggled motherhood and classes at the Universityof Texas,then spent a year at Camp Gordon, Georgia, while Paul Mansfield served in the United StatesArmed Forces. They were divorced onJanuary 8, 1958. Two weeks before her mother's death in 1967, Jayne Marie,then 16, accused her mother'sboyfriend at that time, Sam Brody, of beating her.The girl's statement to officers of the Los Angeles Police Department thefollowing morning implicated her mother in encouraging the abuse, and days later,a juvenile court judge awarded temporary custody of Jayne Marie to agreat-uncle, W.W. Pigue.

Mansfield met her second husband Mickey Hargitay, an actor and bodybuilder who had won the Mr. Universe competition in 1955,for the first time at The Mae West Show at New York City's Latin Quarter nightclub, telling the waiter asking for her order, "I'll have a steak and that tall man on theleft." In November 1957, shortly before her marriage to Hargitay, Mansfield bought a40-room Mediterranean-style mansion formerly owned by Rudy Vallee at 10100Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Mansfield had the house painted pink, with cupids surrounded by pink fluorescent lights, pink furs in the bathrooms,a pink heart-shaped bathtub, and afountain spurting pink champagne,and then dubbed it the Pink Palace.Hargitay, a plumber and carpenterbefore getting into bodybuilding,built a pink heart-shaped swimming pool.Mansfield decorated the Pink Palaceby writing to furniture and building suppliers requesting free samples. She received over $150,000($1,241,232in 2012 dollars) worth of free merchandise while paying only $76,000 ($628,891in 2012 dollars) for the mansion itself,a large sum nonetheless when the average house cost was under $7,500 ($620,616in 2012 dollars) at the time.

Mansfield and Hargitay married on January13, 1958 at the Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The unique glass chapel made public and pressviewing of the wedding much easier. Mansfield wore atransparent wedding gown, adding tothe occasion's publicity aspect.Mansfield and her husband toured widely for stage shows,where her leopard-spot bikini became a topic of discussion and newspapercoverage. During this marriage shehad two children, Miklós JeffreyPalmer Hargitay (born December 21,1958) and Zoltán Anthony Hargitay (born August 1,1960). The couple divorced in Juarez, Mexico in May1963. After the divorce, Mansfielddiscovered she was pregnant. Sincebeing an unwed mother would have killed her career,Mansfield and Hargitay announced they were still married.Mariska Magdolna Hargitay was born January 23,1964, after the actual divorce butbefore Californiaruled it valid. Mansfield's third child also became an actress, best known for her role as Olivia Benson in Law& Order: Special Victims Unit.After her birth, Mansfieldsued for the Juarez divorce to be declaredlegal and won. The divorce wasrecognized in the United States on August 26,1964. She had previously filed fordivorce on May 4, 1962, but told reporters,"I'm sure we will make it up."Their acrimonious divorce had the actress accusing Hargitay of kidnapping oneof her children to force a more favorable financial settlement.

Mansfield married Matt Cimber (a.k.a.Matteo Ottaviano, né Thomas VitaleOttaviano) an Italian-born film director on September 24,1964. The couple separated on July11, 1965,and filed for divorce on July 20,1966. Cimber was a director withwhom the actress had become involved when he directed her in a widely praisedstage production of Bus Stop in Yonkers, New York, which costarred Hargitay.Cimber took over managing her career during their marriage. With him she had one son,Antonio Raphael Ottaviano (a.k.a.Tony Cimber, born October 18, 1965).Work on Mansfield's film, SingleRoom Furnished (in 1966), wassuspended as her marriage to Cimber began to collapse in the wake ofMansfield's alcohol abuse, openinfidelities, and her claim toCimber that she had only ever been happy with her former lover, Nelson Sardelli.

Mansfield appeared in about 2,500newspaper photographs between September 1956 and May 1957,and had about 122,000 lines ofnewspaper copy written about her during this time.Because of the successful media blitz,Mansfield was ahousehold name. Throughout hercareer, Mansfield was compared by the media to thereigning sex symbol of the period,Marilyn Monroe. Of this comparison, she said,"I don't know why you people [the press] like to compare me to Marilyn orthat girl, what's her name, Kim Novak.Cleavage, of course, helped me a lot to get where I am. I don't know how they got there." Even with her film roles drying up she waswidely considered to be Monroe's primary rival in a crowded field of contendersthat included Mamie Van Doren (whom Mansfield considered her professionalnemesis), Diana Dors, Cleo Moore,Barbara Nichols, Beverly Michaels, Greta Thyssen,Joi Lansing, and Sheree North.

In April 1957,her bosom was the feature of a notorious publicity stunt intended to deflectattention from Sophia Loren during a dinner party in the Italian star's honor. Photographs of the encounter were published aroundthe world. The most famous imageshowed Loren's gaze falling upon the cleavage of the American actress who, sitting between Loren and her dinner companion, Clifton Webb,had leaned over the table, allowingher breasts to spill over her low neckline and exposing one nipple. The image was one of several taken in the sameminutes as the image visible right.A similar incident, resulting in thefull exposure of both breasts,occurred during a film festival in West Berlin,when Mansfield was wearing a low-cut dress and her second husband, Mickey Hargitay,picked her up so she could bite a bunch of grapes hanging overhead at a party;the movement caused her breasts to erupt out of the dress.The photograph of that episode was a UPI sensation,appearing in newspapers and magazines with the word "censored" hidingthe actress's exposed bosom.

The world's media were quick to condemn Mansfield's stunts, and one editorial columnist wrote, "We are amused when Miss Mansfield strains topull in her stomach to fill out her bikini better.But we get angry when career-seeking women,shady ladies, and certain starletsand actresses ... use everyopportunity to display their anatomy unasked."By the late 1950s, Mansfield began to generate a great deal ofnegative publicity because of her repeated successful attempts to expose herbreasts in carefully staged public "accidents".

Mansfield's most celebrated physical attributes wouldfluctuate in size as a result of her pregnancies and breast feeding fivechildren. Her smallest measurementwas 40D (102cm) (which she was throughout the 1950s), and largest at 46DD (117cm), when measured by the press in 1967. According to Playboy,her measurement was 40D-21-36 (102-53-91cm) and her height was 5'6"(1.68m).According to her autopsy report, shewas 5'8" (1.73m). Her bosom was so much a part of her public personathat talk-show host Jack Paar once welcomed the actress to The Tonight Showby saying, "Here they are, Jayne Mansfield",a line that was written for Paar by Dick Cavett,later becoming the title of her biography by Raymond Strait. Almost half a century after her death, a biographer of Nikolaus Pevsner (a German-bornwriter on British architecture),noted the improbable coincidence that Pevsner and Mansfield had once stayed atthe same hotel in Bolton, Lancashire.There, she had "electrified thedining room with her imposing bosom".

While in Biloxi, Mississippi, for an engagement at the Gus Stevens Supper Club, Mansfieldstayed at the Cabana Courtyard Apartments near the supper club. After an evening engagement on June 28, 1967,Mansfield, her lover Sam Brody, and their driver,Ronnie Harrison, along with theactress's children Miklós, Zoltán, and Mariska,set out in Stevens' 1966 Buick Electra 225 for New Orleans, where Mansfield was to appear in an early morningtelevision interview. Before leavingBiloxi, the party made a stop at the home of Rupert andEdna O'Neal, a family that livednearby. After a late dinner with theO'Neals, during which the lastphotographs of Mansfield were taken, the party set out for New Orleans.On June 29, at approximately2:25a.m., on U.S. Highway 90 east of the Rigolets Bridge, the car crashed into the rear of a tractor-trailerthat had slowed because of a truck spraying mosquito fogger. The automobile struck the rear of the trailer andwent under it. Riding in the frontseat, the three adults were killedinstantly. The children in the rearsurvived with minor injuries.

Rumors that Mansfield was decapitated are untrue, though she did suffer severe head trauma. This urban legend was spawned by the appearance inpolice photographs of a crashed automobile with its top virtually sheared off, and what resembles a blonde-haired head tangled inthe car's smashed windshield. Thiswas likely either a wig Mansfieldwas wearing or was her actual hair and scalp.The death certificate stated the immediate cause of Mansfield's death was a "crushed skullwith avulsion of cranium and brain".Following her death, the NHTSA beganrequiring an underride guard, astrong bar made of steel tubing, tobe installed on all tractor-trailers.This bar is also known as a Mansfieldbar, and on occasions as a DOT bar.

Mansfield's funeral was held on July 3,in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania.The ceremony was conducted by a Methodist minister,though Mansfield, who long tried toconvert to Catholicism, had becomeinterested in Judaism at the end of her life through her relationship with SamBrody. She is interred in Fairview Cemetery,southeast of Pen Argyl. Hergravestone was shaped as a heart and reads "We Live to Love You More EachDay". A memorial cenotaph, showing an incorrect birth year, was erected in the HollywoodForever Cemetery, Hollywood, California. The cenotaph was placed by The Jayne Mansfield FanClub and has the incorrect birth year because Mansfield herself tended toprovide incorrect information about her age.

Shortly after Mansfield's funeral,Mickey Hargitay sued his former wife's estate for more than $275,000 ($1.92millionin 2012 dollars) to support the children,whom he and his third and last wife,Ellen Siano, would raise. Mansfield'syoungest child, Tony, was raised by his father,Matt Cimber, whose divorce from theactress was pending when she was killed.In 1968, wrongful-death lawsuitswere filed on behalf of Jayne Marie Mansfield and Matt Cimber, the former for $4.8million ($39.7million in 2012dollars) and the latter for $2.7million ($22.3million in 2012dollars). The Pink Palacewas sold and its subsequent owners have included Ringo Starr, Cass Elliot,and Engelbert Humperdinck. In 2002, Humperdinck sold it to developers, and the house was demolished in November of that year. Much of her estate is managed by CMG Worldwide, an intellectual property management company.

In 1980,The Jayne Mansfield Story aired on CBS starring Loni Anderson in thetitle role and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mickey Hargitay.It was nominated for three Emmy Awards.In 1991, British band Siouxsie andthe Banshees scored a U.S. top 20 hit-single with"Kiss Them For Me", a songwhich is an ode to Mansfield. Lyrics include the actress' catchword"divoon", referring to herheart-shaped swimming pool and her love of champagne and parties, and to the grisly automobile accident.

Filmappearances

Release year

US Release year

Movie Title

Alternative title

Production country

Role

Selected Co-actors

Director

Producer

Notes

1955

Female Jungle

The Hangover

United States

Candy Price

Burt Kaiser, Kathleen Crowley

Bruno VeSota

Burt Kaiser, Kathleen Crowley

1955

Pete Kelly's Blues

—

United States

Cigarette Girl

Jack Webb, Janet Leigh, Edmond O'Brien, Peggy Lee

Jack Webb

Warner Bros.

Uncredited

1955

Underwater!

—

United States

Girl in Bikini by Pool

Jane Russell, Richard Egan, Lori Nelson

John Sturges

RKO Radio Pictures

Uncredited

1955

Illegal

—

United States

Angel O'Hara

Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe

Lewis Allen

Warner Bros.

1955

Hell on Frisco Bay

—

United States

Mario's dance partner in nightclub

Alan Ladd, Fay Wray

Frank Tuttle

Jaguar Productions

Uncredited

1956

The Girl Can't Help It

—

United States

Jerri Jordan

Tom Ewell, Edmond O'Brien, Julie London, Ray Anthony

Frank Tashlin

20th Century Fox

1957

The Burglar

—

United States

Gladden

Dan Duryea, Martha Vickers, Peter Capell, Mickey Shaughnessy

Paul Wendkos

Columbia Pictures

Filmed in 1955

1957

The Wayward Bus

—

United States

Camille Oakes

Joan Collins, Dan Dailey

Victor Vicas

20th Century Fox

1957

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?

Oh! For a Man! (UK)

United States

Rita Marlowe

Tony Randall, Betsy Drake, Joan Blondell, John Williams, Henry Jones

Frank Tashlin

20th Century Fox

1957

Kiss Them for Me

—

United States

Alice Kratzner

Cary Grant, Leif Erickson, Suzy Parker

Stanley Donen

Sol C. Siegel

1958

1959

The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw

—

United States

Kate

Kenneth More, Henry Hull, Bruce Cabot

Raoul Walsh

20th Century Fox

1960

1963

The Challenge

It Takes a Thief (U.S.)

United Kingdom

Billy

Anthony Quayle, Carl Möhner, Peter Reynolds

John Gilling

Alexandra

1960

1961

Too Hot to Handle

Playgirl After Dark (U.S.)

United Kingdom

Midnight Franklin

Leo Genn, Karlheinz Böhm, Christopher Lee

Terence Young

Wigmore Productions

1960

Never released

The Loves of Hercules

Gli Amori di Ercole (Italy),
Les Amours d'Hercule (France),
Hercules vs. the Hydra (TV title)

Italy

Queen Dianira/ Hippolyta

Mickey Hargitay, Massimo Serato

Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia

Contact Organisation

1961

The George Raft Story

Spin of a Coin (UK)

United States

Lisa Lang

Ray Danton, Julie London, Barrie Chase

Joseph M. Newman

Allied Artists Pictures

1962

It Happened in Athens

—

United States (filmed in Greece)

Eleni Costa

Trax Colton, Nico Minardos, Bob Mathias

Andrew Marton

20th Century Fox

Filmed in the fall of 1960

1963

Never released

Heimweh nach St. Pauli

Homesick for St. Pauli (U.S.)

Germany

Evelyne

Freddy Quinn, Josef Albrecht, Ullrich Haupt

Werner Jacobs

Rapid Film

1963

Promises! Promises!

Promise Her Anything (some releases)

United States

Sandy Brooks

Marie McDonald, Tommy Noonan, Mickey Hargitay

King Donovan

Tommy Noonan-Donald F. Taylor

1964

1966

L'Amore Primitivo

Primitive Love (U.S.)

Italy

Dr. Jane

Franco Franchi, Ciccio Ingrassia, Mickey Hargitay

Luigi Scattini

G.L.M.

1964

Panic Button

Let's Go Bust (U.S.)

United States (filmed in Italy)

Angela

Maurice Chevalier, Eleanor Parker, Mike Connors

George Sherman, Giuliano Carnimeo

Gordon Films

Filmed in 1962

1964

1966

Einer Frisst den anderen

Dog Eat Dog! (U.S.)

Germany

Darlene/ Mrs. Smithopolis

Cameron Mitchell, Dodie Heath, Ivor Salter

Richard E. Cunha, Gustav Gavrin

Dubrava Film

1966

The Fat Spy

—

United States

Junior Wellington

Phyllis Diller, Jack E. Leonard

Joseph Cates

Woolner Brothers

1966

The Las Vegas Hillbillys

Country Music

United States

Tawny

Phyllis Diller, Jack E. Leonard, Brian Donlevy

Arthur Pierson

Woolner Brothers

1967

A Guide for the Married Man

—

United States

Technical Adviser (Girl with Harold)

Walter Matthau, Inger Stevens

Gene Kelly

20th Century Fox

Cameo appearance.

1968

Single Room Furnished

—

United States

Johnnie/ Mae/ Eileen

Dorothy Keller, Fabian Dean, Billy M. Greene

Matt Cimber

Empire Film Studios

Posthumous release. Filmed in mid-1966.

Documentaryappearances

Reflets de Cannes (1956)
Cinépanorama (1964)

Cinema

Lykke og krone (1962) Directors: Colbjörn Helander, Stein Sælen; Stars: François Chalais, Henri-Georges Clouzot and Eddie Constantine
Spree (1967) Directors: Walon Green, Mitchell Leisen; Writer: Sydney Field; Stars: Constance Moore, Mickey Hargitay and Vic Damone
Mondo Hollywood (1967) Director: Robert Carl Cohen; Writer: Robert Carl Cohen; Stars: Margaretta Ramsey, Dale Davisand Theodore Charach
The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield (1968) Directors: Charles W. Broun Jr., Joel Holt, Arthur Knight; Writer: Charles Ross; Stars: Jayne Mansfield, Robert Jason and Fernand Aubrey

TelevisionworkAsan actress

Sunday Spectacular: The Bachelor, NBC (July 1956)
Shower of Stars, Desilu Productions, Season 3, Episode 4 ("Star Time", January 1957)
Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium, Associated Television, Season 3, Episode 1 (September 1957)
The Red Skelton Hour, CBS, Season 9, Episode 2 ("Clem's General Store", October 1959)
After Hours, ABC Weekend Television, Season 2, Episode 13 (December 1959)
Kraft Mystery Theater, Season 1, Episode 12 ("The House of Rue Riviera", August 1961)
Follow the Sun, 20th Century Fox Television, Season 1, Episode 21 ("The Dumbest Blonde", February 1962)
Monte Carlo, 20th Century Fox Television (August 1961)
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Season 1, Episode 12 ("Hangover", December 1962)
The Red Skelton Hour, CBS, Season 11, Episode 1 ("Will Success Spoil Clem Kadiddlehopper"?, September 1961)
The Red Skelton Hour, CBS, Season 12, Episode 21 ("Advice to the Loveworn", February 1963)
Amos Burke, Secret Agent, Four Star Television, Season 1, Episode 26 ("Who Killed Molly"?, March 1964)

Asherself

The Bob Hope Show, Hope Enterprise, Season 17, Episode 4 (A Bob Hope Comedy Special, December 1966)
What's My Line?, CBS, 4 Episodes; dated: 1956, 1957, 1964, 1966
The Ed Sullivan Show (also named Toast of the Town), CBS, Season 10, Episode 35 (May 1957)
The Ed Sullivan Show, CBS, Season 10, Episode 46 (August 1957)
The Jack Benny Program, J&M Productions, Season 7, Episode 8 ("Talent Show", December 1956)
The Jack Benny Program, J&M Productions, Season 14, Episode 9 ("Jack Takes Boat to Hawaii", November 1963)
The Tonight Show, NBC, ("The Jack Paar Tonight Show", January 1962)
The Tonight Show, NBC, (April 1962)

DiscographyAlbums

Jayne Mansfield Busts up Las Vegas (20th Century Fox, 1962)
Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky & Me (MGM, 1964)
I Wanna Be Loved By You (Golden Options, 2000)
Dyed Blondes (Recall Records, 2002)
Too Hot to Handle (Blue Moon, France, 2003)

Singles

That Makes It (The Las Vegas Hillbillys)
Too Hot to Handle (Too Hot to Handle)
Little Things Mean a Lot
As The Clouds Drift By (with Jimi Hendrix, A-side)
Suey (with Jimi Hendrix, B-side)
You Were Made for Me
Wo Ist Der Mann (Homesick for St. Pauli)
Snicksnack-Snucklchen (Homesick for St. Pauli)
I'm in love (also known as the Lullaby of Love; Promises! Promises!)
Promise her anything (Promises! Promises!)
It's a Living

Theaterperformances

Death of a Salesman (1953)
Bus Stop (1965)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1966)
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1955–1956)
Rabbit Habit (1965)

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