©PhotofestJAYNE MANSFIELD entered the pantheon of Blonde Bombshells when her bit part in 1955 Jack Webb drama PETE KELLY’S BLUES made the world take note. Born Vera Jayne Palmer in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in 1933, she moved to Dallas after the death of her father and after attending college there, transferred to the University of Texas at Austin. Jayne got her first taste of the stage in Austin, performing in local theatre productions before setting her sights on California’s golden promise. After PETE KELLY’S BLUES, Jayne picked up parts in ILLEGAL (1955) then landed her career-making role in THE GIRL CAN’T HELP IT (1956). Her spectacular beauty and luminous screen presence shone in films such as THE BURGLAR with Dan Duryea, WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER? with Tony Randall, and KISS THEM FOR ME with Cary Grant, scoring a Golden Globe as Most Promising Newcomer. After a wildly successful run in Las Vegas with husband Mickey Hargitay, Jayne eased out of film roles in the 1960s in favor of raising a family, foreign films, and television. Her final film, the 1968 drama SINGLE ROOM FURNISHED, was a genuine departure from her sex-kitten image but came too late: Jayne Mansfield died in a tragic auto accident in 1967 at age 34.
Jayne Mansfield
2008 Texas Film Hall of Fame
©PhotofestJAYNE MANSFIELD entered the pantheon of Blonde Bombshells when her bit part in 1955 Jack Webb drama PETE KELLY’S BLUES made the world take note. Born Vera Jayne Palmer in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in 1933, she moved to Dallas after the death of her father and after attending college there, transferred to the University of Texas at Austin. Jayne got her first taste of the stage in Austin, performing in local theatre productions before setting her sights on California’s golden promise. After PETE KELLY’S BLUES, Jayne picked up parts in ILLEGAL (1955) then landed her career-making role in THE GIRL CAN’T HELP IT (1956). Her spectacular beauty and luminous screen presence shone in films such as THE BURGLAR with Dan Duryea, WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER? with Tony Randall, and KISS THEM FOR ME with Cary Grant, scoring a Golden Globe as Most Promising Newcomer. After a wildly successful run in Las Vegas with husband Mickey Hargitay, Jayne eased out of film roles in the 1960s in favor of raising a family, foreign films, and television. Her final film, the 1968 drama SINGLE ROOM FURNISHED, was a genuine departure from her sex-kitten image but came too late: Jayne Mansfield died in a tragic auto accident in 1967 at age 34.
