Grand gal”, actor Spencer Tracy recorded in his diary.
Jean tragically passed away on June 7th, 1937 of cerebral edema. In the days before dialysis machines, there was very little doctors could do but shave her head and operate in an attempt to alleviate the fluid build-up on her brain. After communicating to William Powell that she couldn’t see properly or count the number of fingers he was holding up, Jean was rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles and rapidly sank into a coma. William Powell shortly afterwards, Jean was tended to in her bedroom by her mother and medical staff until June 6th when her condition worsened. Get me back to my dressing room.” Escorted to her Beverly Hills home by her After shooting only one brief scene, she leaned on her co-star Clark Gable and muttered: Desperately ill with kidney failure (a delayed side-effect of the scarlet fever she caught in her teens), Harlow was retaining fluids and in tremendous discomfort. This is the last known photograph taken of Jean. May 29th, 1937: Jean Harlow arrives at the MGM set of the romantic comedy Saratoga.
