Jayne Mansfield

No Dumb Blonde

Jayne Mansfield, born Vera Jane Palmer on April 19th, 1933 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, was the only child of Herbert and Vera Palmer.

From birth she was known as Jane and later she added the “y” to her name.  Her early childhood was spent living in New Jersey where her father worked as an attorney, however, following his death in 1936, the family moved to Dallas, Texas.

As a young girl Jayne dreamed of being a Hollywood star. After school, she took ballroom dance classes, violin, viola and piano lessons. With an IQ of 163, Jayne took everything in her stride and later in life was fluent in five languages.  Aged 17 she married Paul Mansfield and 6 months later gave birth to a daughter, Jayne Marie. Over the years that followed Jayne studied dramatics and theatre arts at universities in Dallas, Austin and Los Angeles.  She worked hard in part time jobs to support herself – selling popcorn at a movie theatre and teaching dance – whilst still maintaining her dedication to acting.

Following some bit parts in local theatre productions, Jayne made a notable appearance in a 1953 stage production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.  It was the same year that Hugh Hefner began publishing Playboy magazine in which Jayne made several appearances.  In 1955, Jayne filed for divorce amid rows over her acting ambitions. Her husband sought custody of their daughter, citing Jayne an unfit mother due to her appearances in the magazine.

It was at this point that Jayne began work on arguably her most famous role: as Rita Marlowe in the stage play Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?  The Broadway production ran from October 13th, 1955 to September 16th, 1956 with Jayne as the female lead.  During this period, she met her second husband, Mickey Hargitay, an actor and bodybuilder.

In 1956, Jayne signed a 7-year contract with 20th Century Fox and went on to star in features such as The Girl Can’t Help It, The Wayward Bus and a movie version of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? The movie was an amusing satire on the emergence of television and the New York advertising world. Jayne’s superb comedic performance was described by critics as the “heart and soul” of the movie.

After returning home from a European publicity tour Hargitay proposed to Jayne.   The marriage lasted 6 years and produced 3 children; Mickey Jnr, Zoltan and Mariska Hargitay. The power couple starred in movies together, appearing at nightclubs and even touring their own stage-show where Hargitay spun a bikini clad Jayne above his head!  The marriage was passionate but floundered due to Jayne’s infidelities.  She filed for divorce in 1963, however, soon found that she was pregnant with their third child, which led the couple to announce they were still together to protect her career.  Following the birth, the couple split permanently, and the divorce was finalised in 1964.

In the years following the divorce, Jayne’s movie career began to fade, but she made multiple television appearances, though never committed to a TV series.  She went on to marry Matt Climber, an Italian film director, and had a son, Tony.

Jayne divorced Climber in July 1966 and began a relationship with her attorney Sam Brody.  On the night of June 29th 1967, Jayne and Brody were involved in a car crash and sadly died.  Her children Mickey Jnr, Zoltan and Mariska were also in the car but were not seriously injured.  Jayne is buried with her father in Fairview Cemetery, southwest of Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania.  There is also a cenotaph for her in Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.