The Denouement od Jayne Mansfield

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Jayne Mansfield
1933 - 1967
"If you're going to do something wrong, do it big, because the punishment is the same either way."

Publicity whores don’t get better than Jayne. She was the top. She would hold a press conference for any piddling thought. She was born Vera Jane Palmer in Bryn Mawr, Pa, in 1933. She went on to become a Ma girl. Marilyn, Mamie (Van Whoran) and Mansfield. They were practically cut from the same cloth. They all created something very individual.

 

Jayne lived at 10100 Sunset Boulevard, in Beverly Hills. A house built for Rudy Vallee. Jayne and her then husband Mickey Hargitay had it painted pink, because Jayne was obsessed with pink. It had a heart shaped swimming pool, with "I love you Jaynie" in mosaic on the floor of it. The old front gates still boast her initials. Since 1976, Englebert Humperdinck has lived there. He claims to see Jayne’s ghost in the house.

Sadly, early in November 2002, the famous house on Sunset was demolished. Engelbert finally sold, and some jerk tore it down.  Luckily, before it was completely gone, on a rainy weekend a group determined to go on a creepy crawl in Beverly Hills.  Here are the results.  

Two years ago, an opportunity to see the inside of the house occurred and it was documented in photographs. 

Here is Jayne's Christmas Card circa 1963 - while she was pregnant with Mariska

At the end of her life, Jayne had already divorced Mickey Hargitay, with whom she had three children, Mickey Jr, Zoltan and Mariska. Her career had hit the skids, and she was performing in night-clubs, and getting to and from gigs by car.

On the evening of June 28^th, 1967, Jayne had a show in Biloxi Mississippi, in a club called the Gus Stevens Supper Club - this was the advertisement for Jaynes show. She was performing twice a night, at 9 and 11pm. Here is a recap of Jayne's last show. 

After her gig, Jayne packed her suitcase.  A pink Samsonite. 

 
She and her companion and attorney Sam Brody, and the three little Hargitays left in the 1966 Buick Electra, owned by Gus Stevens and driven by Ronnie Harrison. The group was headed to New Orleans, for Jayne's television show the next day, to plug the act! It must have been very late when they got on their way.  The interview would take place in the WDSU-TV studios.  When in New Orleans, Jayne had reservations at the Roosevelt Hotel, now the Fairmont.

On their route, they passed a waterway, the Rigolets, then proceeded to travel down a "winding, narrow stretch of the two-lane route known as the Old Spanish Trail, US90." about 2:25am they passed over this bridge, then through this curve in the road. What’s that? An insecticide truck? Blam. There they go. The collision killed Brody, Ronnie and Jaynie. 

The car plowed underneath the truck which was spraying chemicals, making conditions very foggy. The impact sheared the top of the car off. The car was described once as, "crumpled like a piece of tinfoil after a cookout." The kids made it out because they were asleep in the back. The top of Jayne’s head was ripped off. This was not decapitation. The death certificate reads "crushed skull with avulsion of cranium and brain." The dictionary definition of avulsion is the forcible tearing away of a body part by trauma or surgery. She was wearing a wig, the hair picture usually seen was not her head. People have claimed to have seen Jayne’s decapitated head in a photograph, but not a single one has been able to produce the goods. Here are the dead Jayne photographs. Click at own risk ...
At least one dog died. Supposedly there were four Chihuahuas in the car. It all sounds like a nightmare. This crash scene picture of her deceased pet and her wig are not for the squeamish, but if you want to see it, click here.
 This pic of the accident scene  is black and white.
  The children were taken to Charity Hospital in New Orleans, and later transferred to the Ochsner Foundation hospital, at the request of their father, Mickey. Mickey Jr. had cuts, bruises and a broken arm. Zoltan and Marie had cuts and bruises. The driver of the bug truck hopped out and flagged down a passing motorist who took the children to aNew Orleans hospital, but left the others for the body bags. Jayne was 34 years old. Brody was 40.

On the death certificate. "Closed fractures of right humerus" is a very common injury in car accidents, it occurs when a person puts their hand out to stop them from flying forward in the car. Ronnie's death certificate would likely say he had a broken right ankle. Most drivers in car accidents have them from the impact of slamming the brakes and the car stopping on impact.

These car shots This is the car, were  shortly after the accident, and here's another shot. Gruesome, and yet fascinating.  They were supposedly taken by tourists, a day or so after the accident.

There was a memorial service for Jayne held in Beverly Hills, and her body was shipped back to Penn Argyl (pronounced Ar-Jull) Pennsylvania, to be buried. Her casket was covered in pink roses, as Mickey Hargitay sobbed.
This is a scan of an original newspaper clipping of when Jayne's casket was shipped back to PA for the funeral. 
 
Jayne’s fan club had a cenotaph (memorial tablet) erected in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, in Hollywood California. I’m sure Jayne would have approved.

Read on if necessary ....