Glamour Flashback: Jayne Mansfield
By Tony Dezenzio
Jayne was always a very friendly and honest person. In fact, she was somewhat naive in her own personal way. Jayne was a loyal kind hearted person to her many fans and would always sign autographs for them, regardless how busy a person she was. When she became a star, she kept her very first fan letter which she received from a person in California. Jayne always said, “Without fans, there are no stars.”
Jayne knew how to promote herself. She had a way of getting her name in the various Hollywood columns such as those of Earl Wilson and Walter Winchell. She once told a friend, “Do you know what Walter Winchell once said about me? He said, “Jayne Mansfield is just as lovely as Marilyn Monroe in every way and effortlessly delivers one of the most devastating impressions to come along in years!”…show more content… Later the family moved to Dallas, Texas, where Herbert worked as a sales engineer. Jayne began acting in 1951 with a part as the drunkard’s wife in TEN NIGHTS IN A BARROOM, a play produced at the Austin Civic Theatre. She married Paul Mansfield when she was only sixteen and still in high school. Later while attending the University of Texas, she gave birth to a daughter, Jayne - Marie. In 1954 the Mansfields finished college; Jayne was a high B student and was reported to have an IQ of 165. After Paul returned from a stint in the military, Jayne persuaded him to take her to Hollywood. When they arrived, Jayne immediately called Paramount Pictures and told the operator she was a beauty contest winner from Dallas who had arrived in town to become a movie star! The startled operator connected her to talent agent Milt Lewis who arranged a screen test. However, Jayne was nervous and failed to impress the studio
