This blog post is part of the current weekly theme on Harlow Heaven’s social media; Jean Harlow in the 1920s.

1922 would be Harlean’s last year in Kansas City, at least for a little while. On September 29th, Jean Carpenter obtained a divorce from her husband and sole custody of Harlean. Complete with a little jingle in her pocket from alimony, Jean and Harlean moved to Los Angeles as 1923 came in. In the typical grandiose fashion Jean Carpenter lived in, she rented a single room out of a mansion on Sunset Boulevard.

A special interview with Jean Carpenter’s cousin Hortense, documented in Bombshell by David Stenn, reveals the reason behind the move. “She went to Hollywood to be a star, and she could have been; she was pretty enough. But she was too old.” Conversely, Harlean was only twelve.

It would be a few more years before this dream transferred to young Harlean, but in the meantime, she was enrolled in the Hollywood School for Girls. Her grandfather, Skip Harlow, paid for it. Her classmates included Irene Mayer, daughter of Louis B.; Cecilia DeMille, daughter of Cecil B.; and surprisingly, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Joel McCrea.

“Little Miss Harlean Carpenter was unforgettable,” Irene Mayer opened her commentary on her classmate with this in Bombshell, and it says quite a lot. Mayer also dubbed Harlean “Baby Jeritza” after the Austrian soprano, Maria Jeritza, who was a blonde of similar beauty and disposition. Harlean was unspoiled and demure, making friends with most of her classmates and leaving a good impression.

Another classmate, Virginia Parsons, described how the polar opposite Jean Carpenter would appear: “Mrs. Carpenter was large and blonde, and very theatrical in her speech and appearance. She would arrive unannounced and make a big fuss over her daughter: ‘Oh, my baby, my darling…’ I don’t recall any other parent coming to the school, and I think it embarrassed Harlean.”

The strange connection between Harlean and her doting mother was very evident to those around them. It had always been there, but was exacerbated by the divorce. Separated from her father, Harlean was manipulated by her mother and became a victim of her narcissistic whims. Constantly under Jean’s watchful eye, Harlean would see her biological father only a handful of times over the rest of her life.

However, time and money were almost up for Jean Carpenter. She was surviving on alimony and an allowance from her father after her dream of stardom proved unsuccessful. Fed up, Skip Harlow demanded his daughter come home with Harlean immediately or he would disinherit her.

Jean Carpenter was not used to living poorly, and the idea of disinheritance must have scared her. Jean and Harlean returned to Kansas City soon thereafter in the spring of 1925.

“She dropped out without notice,” said Irene Mayer, “We knew perfectly well we hadn’t seen the last of her.”

Harlean’s return to the midwest after 1925 will be detailed in my next posting. For now, here’s how the Hollywood School for Girls turned out.

Once a private school held in high regard, the small wooden building which housed the Hollywood School for Girls looks the same but a little rundown. It’s not surprising, due to the huge metropolitan area directly surrounding it on Hollywood and La Brea Avenues.

As of this writing it still stands, and it’s a miracle. So many historic places have crumbled under the weight of Los Angeles; this is one little exception.

One can imagine an eleven year old Harlean sitting on those very steps. I don’t know what the future holds for this little building, but I’m grateful it’s lasted as long as it has. It’s a piece of Hollywood history, and a piece of Harlean’s.

Citations and Sources

Stenn, D. (1993). Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow(1st ed.). Doubleday.

Rooney, D., & Vieira, M. A. (2011). Harlow In Hollywood: The Blonde Bombshell in the Glamour Capital, 1928-1937. Angel City Press.

(1923, August 26). Los Angeles Times, p. 68. Retrieved March 16, 2019, from newspapers.com.

(1923, November 18). Los Angeles Times, p. 24. Retrieved March 16, 2019, from newspapers.com.