She would turn heads as she walked down the Columbus sidewalk. Awestruck passersby noticed a similarity to a certain Hollywood actress and pin-up girl. In 1943 and 1944 our town was home to the beautiful actress, Jane Russell. No bevy of bodyguards and no entourage, Russell lived here, worked regular jobs and rode public transportation.

At the time of her visit Russell had made only one movie, The Outlaw, but it made her famous. It was aWestern about Billy the Kid, but in actuality the star was her bountiful curves. Although rated PG today, it simply stupefied every male who saw it in 1943 and turned Russell into America’s number one pin-up girl. Conversely, it also made her the bane of many a Columbus ladies’ social meeting.

She arrived here in early June 1943 as just another newlywed Army bride. Her husband, former UCLA quarterback Bob Waterfield, had left the gridiron to attend Officer Candidate School at Ft. Benning. Devoted wife Russell soon left her Howard Hughes payroll to be near him.

Upon arrival at Ft. Benning she commuted daily by bus to apartment hunt in crowded, war-time Columbus. After three hot, muggy days, she found that elusive rental at 445 Broad Street, the home of 46-year-old widow, EthelW. Rutledge.

445 Broad Street
For the Minnesota-born, Californiaraised Russell, this was probably her first look at Southern architecture in all its subdued grandeur. The 1890 Folk Victorian house was a true gem of the era, bristling with hefty millwork, tall ceilings, and Victorian trim. She shared the fourroom house with Mrs. Rutledge and rented the Rutledge boys’ former room. One can only imagine how thrilled the boys must have been to receive a letter from Mom telling them who was renting their old room!

Russell knew she was in the midst of Southern hospitality. She could play a tune on the parlor piano, cook some breakfast in the kitchen and pitch in with the chores. When her cousin Patricia joined her from California, that small room got a bit crowded, but all that mattered was being near her officer-candidate husband. She was glad to forsake an acting career for evening phone calls and weekend visits with her beloved.

While sitting on the porch one afternoon Jane noticed 5-year-old Sandra Waldrop crying, so she picked her up and rocked her to sleep as she and Sandra’s two older sisters sat on the porch steps and talked. When the girls returned home, they excitedly burst through the door and told their parents they had met Jane Russell. Bad idea. Sure, anyone would be excited, but think twice if your mother is a church leader supporting the ban on that notorious Jane Russell movie!

Catching a glimpse of lower Broad Street’s most famous resident became popular as the days went on. One neighbor, 14-year-old John Jeffries, would find excuses to walk by, hoping to see her and say hello. To this day he still regrets only finding an empty porch! Many a car full of Columbus’ most curious would drive slowly by with eyes wide and mouth agape.

Sadly, Russell’s stay there would be brief as a result of committing the classic renter infraction of adopting a stray cat. It did what cats instinctively do — soiled Mrs. Rutledge’s fine paisley rug. Russell would be evicted by week’s end. Ethel Rutledge was a meticulous housekeeper with uncompromising standards. Perhaps her tough standards had something to do with her son, Jack, later becoming the county sheriff and having a correctional facility named for him.

The former Rutledge house appears today as it did in 1943, protected by the Columbus Historic District and the preservation efforts of present owners, Martha and Othell Hand.

1404 Virginia Street
Finding her first rental had been difficult, but by eviction time in late June, finding an apartment was no longer a problem. Weeks of exposure and a newspaper article had erased her anonymity and brought her friends from all ranks of society, one of which was Columbus industrialist James W. Woodruff. He secured an apartment for the couple and a grateful Russell was spared another sidewalk-pounding apartment search. The home at 1404 Virginia Street was a furnished, two-bedroom duplex in Weracoba Heights. Built in1940 as an inexpensive rental unit for an expanding wartime population, it lacked the Victorian charm of her former house, but served the couple well. They enjoyed the privacy and the back window’s view overlooking the quarter-mile wide Kinnett Dairy field where Red Lobster stands today.

A bus ride took Russell to her job downtown. At first she did make-up at a beauty salon, but was fired for attracting too many non-paying customers wanting autographs. Later she sold War Bonds from the big barrel on the Broadway median. Whenever the OCS schedule would permit she would take a bus or borrow a car to visit Waterfield after the day’s training ended.

The duplex became the ideal weekend hangout for her husband’s OCS buddies, some of whom had been Van Nuys High School and UCLA classmates. Football discussions dominated the house and hand-drawn plays covered the dining room table. The OCS gang included Lt. Buck Compton, portrayed in HBO’s Band of Brothers and lead prosecutor of Robert Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan. Another was Lt. John Singlaub, later to lead covert operations in three wars and retire a highly decorated major general. Bob himself would become an NFL Hall of Fame member.

Russell liked to spend time at the stables on post, and that is where she met Charlie Taylor and his wife Doris. The Taylors and Russell became fast friends, and although many moves separated them, they stayed in touch for the rest of the Taylors’ lives. Russell is godmother to their first daughter, Tracey, and she and Russell remain close today.

On OCS graduation day, September 3, Russell pinned lieutenant bars on her husband. He remained assigned to Ft. Benning and played football as quarterback for his regiment, the 176th Infantry. Waterfield led them to win the Infantry School Conference Championship of 1943, but a knee injury at season’s end changed everything for the couple. He  received a medical discharge, and they left Columbus around September 1944.

Their Virginia Street duplex was the humblest of dwellings, yet perfect for a world class couple on a blue-collar budget. It still stands in unaltered, pristine condition, currently owned by Charlie Mordic of Mordic Construction and Mordic Properties. To this day Russell remembers the apartment with much affection and maintains her friendships with those she met there.

Despite her pin-up girl reputation, Russell actually held traditional values and was a critic of immorality in movies. Her compassion for children, seen on her Broad Street porch in 1943, is manifest in the organization she founded 12 years later, World Adoption International Fund (WAIF). Her two Columbus homes remain as silent reminders of our most glamorous resident.

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