Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn't Help It

 

I have never seen a Jayne Mansfield film (and unlikely to at this point, since none of the 9,000,000 streaming services I pay for every month have one that I can watch without paying even more money). But after reading "Hollywood Babylon", I was intrigued about Jayne's tragically short life. I saw this book by Eve Golden was brand new and decided to give it a go. It was pretty good, she had a lovely, snarky, sarcastic sense of humor that I love (for instance, one of the pictures showed Jayne and then boyfriend Mickey Hargitay showing up a at Hollywood party in skimpy matching bathing suits, and her caption read: "Jayne and boyfriend Mickey Hargitay make a quiet and tasteful appearance at the press agents' Ballyhoo Ball"). 

Golden really tried to cut through the rumors that have surrounded Jayne's life for decades, most of those rumors started by Jayne herself. She never turned down a chance to appear in public, going to any grocery store opening or ribbon cutting ceremony she could. Rarely a day went by without some mention of Jayne in the newspapers. She was, of course, often compared to Marilyn Monroe, but unlike Monroe, she was extremely professional. Everyone who worked with her agreed she was punctual, knew her lines, worked very hard, and was generally a joy to be around. She had three husbands and five kids when she died at the age of 33 in a tragic car accident in Louisiana. Her boyfriend, Sam Brody, and a young man who had been hired to drive them to Jayne's next appearance (Sam had recently broken his foot and couldn't drive) named Ronnie Harrison were killed instantly when their car smashed into the back of a truck on a dangerous stretch of highway. Three of Jayne's kids were in the backseat (Mickey Jr., Zoltan, and Mariska). All three were injured, and two of Jayne's Chihuahuas were also killed. Rumors that Jayne was decapitated were false, but her death was extremely gruesome (don't look up the pictures online. Seriously, just don't). It was a tragic end to a fun-loving, kind woman who didn't always make the smartest decisions.