Jayne Mansfield was born Vera Jayne Palmer on April 19, 1933 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Her parents were well to do, with Mr. Palmer a successful attorney in Phillipburg, New Jersey, where Jayne was beginning her girlhood. Tragedy struck when Jayne was three when her father suddenly died of a heart attack. Three years later, her mother remarried and the family moved south to Dallas, Texas. Up until the move, Jayne had no aspirations of being a star, but with maturity and the fact that she devoured the fan magazines of the day convinced her to try acting. Jayne's plans had to be put on hold when she became pregnant by Paul Mansfield who she married in May of 1950. Her daughter was born in November. After graduation and the birth of her daughter, Jayne enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin to try her hand at thespian work. After some productions there and elsewhere, Jayne decided to go to Hollywood. Her first film was a bit role as a cigarette girl in Pete Kelly's Blues. Although the roles in the beginning weren't much, she was successful in gaining those roles because of her ample physical attributes which placed her in two other films that year, Hell on Frisco Bay and Illegal. Her breakout role came the next year with a featured part in The Burglar. By the time she portrayed Rita Marlowe in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and Playgirl After Dark, Jayne was now known as the poor man's Marilyn Monroe. She didn't get the plum roles that Marilyn got in her productions. Instead Jayne got roles that was more of a showcase for her body more than anything else. Jayne did have a real talent for acting, but the movie executives insisted she stay in her dumb blonde stereotype roles. For the balance of her career, Jayne never received any standout performances although she was more than capable of doing them. On June 29, 1967, Jayne was killed when the car in which she was riding crashed into the back of a semi on the road near Slidell, Louisiana. Her lawyer Sam Brody also perished in the accident. The beautiful woman who starred in only 25 films, the woman who fought so hard for respectability, the woman who, in her own right, was a very good actress was dead at the age of 34. Her final film, Single Room Furnished was released the following year.
A Guide for the Married Man (1967): $10,000
Promises! Promises! (1963): $150,000 + % of profits
The Loves of Hercules (1960): $75,000
The Burglar (1957): $5,000
The Girl Can't Help It (1956): $2,500.00 per week
Mother of Jayne Marie Mansfield, who appeared in Playboy 1976, following in her mother's footsteps. Playboy Playmate of the Month February 1955. Producer Louis W. Kellman always said that he "discovered" Jayne Mansfield. He gave the then little known actress her first starring role (Gladden, Dan Duryea's sexy-but-shy gun moll kid sister) in The Burglar after seeing the normally jaded and unflappable film crew's "overheated" reaction to her on the set of Pete Kelly's Blues in which she had a small part. Interred at Fairview Cemetery, Plainfield (Outside of Pen Argyl), Pennsylvania, USA. Had five children: Jayne Marie Mansfield (b. 8 November 1950), Miklos Hargitay, Jr. a.k.a. Mickey Hargitay Jr. (b. 21 December 1958), Zoltan Hargitay (b. 1 August 1960), Mariska Hargitay (b. 24 January 1964), & Antonio Raphael Ottaviano Cimber a.k.a. Tony Cimber (b. 18 October 1965). Turned down the role of Ginger Grant in Gilligan's Island. Spoke five languages. Was a classically trained pianist and violinist. Made Mr. Blackwell's Worst-Dressed List in 1961 with Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren and Shirley MacLaine. She also made the List in 1964. The car she died in was sold at auction in 1999 for $8000. Initally divorced Mickey Hargitay on 1 May 1963; she divorced him again in Juarez, Mexico. On 26 August 1964, the California Superior Court recognized the Mexican divorce pronouncement. Was arrested for indecent exposure during her nightclub act in Burlington, Vermont in 1963. Claimed to have an IQ of 163, though she didn't have exceptional grades in school. Son Zoltan Hargitay was critically injured by a "tame" lion while visiting the Jungleland Zoo in Thousand Oaks, California, but made a full recovery. (December 1966). Her goal, as quoted in the book "Jayne Mansfield and the American Fifties": "To feel satisfied with myself; to know that I have arrived. To be liked. To be a big personality. The real stars are not actors or actresses. They're personalities. The quality of making everyone stop in their tracks is what I work at." Contrary to popular belief, she was not exactly decapitated in the car crash that killed her. Her death certificate, issued in New Orleans, Louisiana, lists "crushed skull with avulsion of cranium and brain" as the immediate cause of death; her other injuries included "closed fracture of right humerus" and "multiple lacerations of hands and lower extremities". The 1965 or 1966 Buick that Jayne was killed in is now locked in a garage, in the same shape it was in after the crash. The owner, who is a big fan, used to display it at various shows over the years, and it was sometimes billed as "Jayne Mansfield's death car." He dosen't show it any more. Reportedly, the car still has the blood stains on the seats. Measurements: 39 1/2-23-36 1/2 (smallest ever measured), 46D-18-36 (largest ever measured), 44D-18-36 (self-described), 46D-23-37 (after having children), 40D-21-35 1/2 (standard for the majority of her career), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine). During the late 1950s, the front bumpers of some American cars came with extensions that resembled a pair of large breasts as they would be shaped by the conical brassieres of the period. Soon after their introduction, these extensions were nicknamed "Jayne Mansfields." Her death is the subject of the Siouxsie and the Banshees song "Kiss Them for Me", the title of which is taken from her 1957 film. The German punk-rock-band "The Bates" dedicated the song "The Lips Of Jayne Mansfield" (Album "Shake!") to her. Was of German and English descent. Her character in the film The George Raft Story is based on 1940s bombshell Betty Grable. She had a serious drinking problem most of her adult life. The Japanese Band The 5, 6, 7, 8's play a song called "I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield". Los Angeles heavy metal band L.A. Guns had a top-40 hit in the early 1990s with a song called "The Ballad Of Jayne", which was based on her. Was the first mainstream American actress to appear nude in a mainstream American film (Promises! Promises!). Is portrayed by Loni Anderson in The Jayne Mansfield Story. Her autobiography, published in 1963, was titled "Jayne Mansfield's Wild, Wild World." It written by Jayne with a few chapters by her then husband Mickey Hargitay. Included in the biography are an astrologer's predictions for Jayne's career path and Mickey's fitness tips. Was with 20th Century-Fox from 1956-1962. Though her film career seemed to have fallen from grace in the mid and late 1960s, her nightclub act was huge, earning her $8,000-$17,000 weekly. Was born with brunette hair. She was cut (as was Ruth Gordon) from the final print of The Loved One. Her estate was valued at approximately $2,000,000 at the time of her death, a significant sum by 1967 standards. Jayne was named the 2nd (out of 100) top Playboy Playmates of all time according to Playboy Magazine.