Rosalind Russell

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Birthday:

4 June 1907, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA

Birth Name:

Catherine Rosalind Russell

Height:

173 cm

The middle of seven children, she was named after the S.S. Rosalind at the suggestion of her father, a successful lawyer. After receiving a Catholic school education, she went to the American Academy of Dramatic Art in New York, having convinced her mother that she intended to teach acting. In 1934, with some stock company work and a little Broadway experience, she was tested and signed by Universal. Simultaneously MGM tested her and made her a better offer. When she plead ignorance of Hollywood (while wearing her worst-fitting clothes), Universal released her and she signed with MGM for seven years.For some time she was used in secondary roles and as a replacement threat to limit Myrna Loy's salary demands. Knowing she was right for comedy, she tested five times for the role of Sylvia Fowler in The Women (1939). George Cukor told her to "play her as a freak." She did and got the part. Her "boss lady" roles began with the part of reporter Hildy Johnson in His Girl Friday (1940), through whose male lead, Cary Grant, she met her future husband, Grant's houseguest at the time.In her forties, she returned to the stage, touring "Bell, Book and Candle" in 1951 and winning a Tony for "Wonderful Town" in 1953. Columbia, worried the public would think she had the female lead in Picnic (1955), billed her "co-starring Rosalind Russell as Rosemary." She refused to accept an Oscar nomination as supporting actress for the part, an Oscar she would no doubt have won had she relented. "Auntie Mame" kept her on Broadway for two years followed by the movie version.Oscar nominations: My Sister Eileen (1942), Sister Kenny (1946), Mourning Becomes Electra (1947), and Auntie Mame (1958). In 1972, she received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for contributions to charity. Show less «

Acting is standing up naked and turning around very slowly.

Success is a public affair. Failure is a private funeral.

At MGM, there was a first wave of top stars, and a second wave to replace them in case they got difficult. I was second in line of defence, ...Show more »

At MGM, there was a first wave of top stars, and a second wave to replace them in case they got difficult. I was second in line of defence, behind Myrna Loy. Show less «

Flops are part of a life's menu and I've never been a girl to miss out on any of the courses.

In all those types of films I wore a tan suit, a grey suit, a beige suit and then a negligee for the seventh reel near the end when I would ...Show more »

In all those types of films I wore a tan suit, a grey suit, a beige suit and then a negligee for the seventh reel near the end when I would admit to my best friend on the telephone that what I really wanted was to become a little housewife. Show less «

Taste. You cannot buy such a rare and wonderful thing. You can't send away for it in a catalogue. And I'm afraid it's becoming obsolete.

Taking joy in life is a woman's best cosmetic.

Being given good material is like being assigned to bake a cake and having the batter made for you.

I just get out there and belt a song around. No one would dare give me anything with a range of more than seven notes - and four would be be...Show more »

I just get out there and belt a song around. No one would dare give me anything with a range of more than seven notes - and four would be better. Show less «

[on her role in Picnic (1955)] [William Inge] has sisters who were schoolteachers. That helped him in writing Rosemary so perceptively.

It's fine to have talent, but talent is the last of it. In an acting career, as in an acting performance, you've got to have vitality. The s...Show more »

It's fine to have talent, but talent is the last of it. In an acting career, as in an acting performance, you've got to have vitality. The secret of successful acting is identical with a woman's beauty secret: joy in living. Show less «

People can teach you a lot if you'll let them. I know.

[on Joan Crawford] She was very much the star. I think that's a very important thing to remember about her, that she was in command of what ...Show more »

[on Joan Crawford] She was very much the star. I think that's a very important thing to remember about her, that she was in command of what she did. Now, if she was not that confident herself, she certainly gave a damned good performance of somebody that was! She lived the life of a star. When you walked into her house, it looked as though a star lived there. Show less «

[on Frank Sinatra] Ohhhh, he is quite a guy! Frank is a remarkable human being. Very colorful. He is several people, all interesting. He is ...Show more »

[on Frank Sinatra] Ohhhh, he is quite a guy! Frank is a remarkable human being. Very colorful. He is several people, all interesting. He is a man with concern for people - not only his friends, but people he doesn't know. I guess there is just reams that could be written about the things he has done for people which no one knows other than the recipients. He likes it that way. Show less «

Moments. A couple of moments that people remember, that they can take with them, is what makes a good movie.