UNLIMITED

The Rake

THE HEAVENLY BODY

Few stars of the day were more synonymous with their endowments than Jane Russell. So much so, in fact, that Howard Hughes was said to have designed a ‘cantilever bra’ just for her; the ‘Jane Russell peaks’ in Alaska are named for you know who; and Bob Hope once introduced her — in the more sexist past — as “the two and only Jane Russell”. He was also to note that, “Culture is the ability to describe Jane Russell without moving your hands”.

As with any such reductive notions, it grossly undersold Russell

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Rake

The Rake6 min read
Magic Man
Not long ago, Georgia Fanshawe, a scion of the Guinness dynasty, was recalling her first trip to the Caribbean. “It was 1974, and we were on our way to Mustique,” she said. “We stayed overnight in Barbados at Oliver Messel’s house, Maddox. We had din
The Rake2 min read
An Explosive Story
We all know the proverb about mankind’s cordial pact with his canine companions. But what was the catalyst in history that led to the less pithy quote from which the saying derives — King Frederick II’s 1796 deathbed declaration that, “The only, abso
The Rake9 min read
Speed Demons
Have you heard of Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat? Maybe not, but there was a time when he was lionised for achieving the highest speed officially recorded in an automobile. True, 39.24mph (or 63.15kph, as the French have it) isn’t that impressive

Related Books & Audiobooks