The beautiful star of many ‘40s movies was born Alaine Brandes in Chicago, Illinois. “At one time, women would lie about their age, but I will tell you I was born January 22, 1922.”

The lady’s life has been fantastic—full of surprises. Back in high school, the great granddaughter of the Crown Prince in Germany was the number one student. “I was Valedictorian and had scholarships to Northwestern University; I won art contests in Illinois; there are miracles every day of my life.”

As for her acting abilities, “I could command my audience—I could play anything, even an old man, and be convincing in the part. I was at Rinehart High School in Chicago, and took a scholarship to the Goodman Theater in Chicago. This resulted in my being offered to study at the Max Rinehart school in Hollywood. I didn’t want to go—I loved everybody at the Goodman Theater, but my parents encouraged me to take it.”

It wasn’t long before Alaine Brandes began landing roles in pictures, including the Leon Errol short “The Fired Man” (‘41) and the western “Lone Rider in Ghost Town” (‘41). “I could ride a horse. I was asked if I could ride, so I said ‘Yes.’ I got to the studio and the riding costumes were different (of course). I was given a huge horse to ride. In the very opening scene, in my cowgirl outfit, I asked, ‘What kind of saddle is it?’ (Laughs) It was a little saddle. Well, I boarded the horse; there was no problem. Then the horse ran away. I couldn’t stop it! It went past the camera; everybody pulled up and stopped but me! Riders came to save me! (Laughs)”

As for the star, George Houston, “He was very handsome; a good looking guy. He was very comforting to me after the horse rode away. A fine actor; very refined. It’s easy to see he was an opera singer before his westerns were made.”

She also recalls sidekick Al St. John, “Quite a good actor. He could play the elderly so well, his timing was terrific. Another one like Al was Arthur Hunnicutt, who really knew what he was doing. You’d believe he was that character. Arthur and I worked together at Hal Roach, but not in a western.”

While still at Max Rinehart, “Paramount was scouting for talent; they spotted me and I was put under contract. Paramount changed my name to Rebel Randall, incidentally.”

Rebel claims her salary was higher than most stock players of the day. “They only paid those girls $50 a week. I wouldn’t take it, so I got $100, which was still too low. I didn’t like the work—it was frivolous, and when I had to do blackface in ‘Holiday Inn’, with Bing Crosby and Marjorie Reynolds (who were also in blackface), I quit. They wanted to give me $750 a week now. Louella Parsons had the bannerline—‘Rebel Randall asks for her release at Paramount.’ (Bing and Marjorie) were darling. Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour and all the big stars were friends of mine.”

Rebel received many titles during this time. “I was the ‘Glamour Girl of Hollywood’ and George Hurrell, the photographer, had me as the American Beauty—Western Style. The Coca-Cola Girl painting was very famous—future president John Kennedy fell in love with it.”

While freelancing, Rebel appeared in “Sin Town” with Broderick Crawford. “Broderick had a wonderful sense of humor; he was very personable. Constance Bennett was the star, but I never met her on the film; I later met her at a party.”

Soon following was John Wayne’s western “In Old California” (aka “War of the Wildcats”) with Martha Scott. “Martha was a sweet lady—a good person. You’d love to have her as a friend. She was one first class lady.”

In ‘45, Rebel played the lead opposite Tex Ritter and Dave O’Brien in “Dead or Alive”. “Tex Ritter had a big shine on me. He said so. He thought I was pretty nice. He was nice, but I had no attraction for him at all. He was a great western star. (Dave O’Brien) was the funniest guy—he had that series of Pete Smith shorts at Metro. I laugh when I think about him and picture him in my mind. He was the best comedian; very humorous; he would make everybody laugh—a great talent; such a humorist. But of course he could play it straight.”

Rebel appeared in many short subjects, with a variety of comedians, including the Three Stooges. “Curly was the funniest; everything about him was funny. Shemp was good, too. The Stooges would discuss everything before a take—I don’t think they had a script. They were very serious—then become clowns on the set! ‘Cuckoo Cavaliers’ was my favorite. I wore a bathing suit and they followed me around. (Laughs)” In many shorts with her, Rebel recalls, “Christine McIntyre was a very sweet girl. Very talented. She could sing, do comedy, anything. She’s that beautiful blonde who was in so many Columbia shorts. Part of their ensemble, so to speak.”

While in pictures, Rebel began a career on radio, and later entered television. “TV GUIDE said I was the most beautiful girl on TV. I had a show for Libby Foods which was ‘Auction-aire’.” As for radio, there was “America Calling”. “GIs could call all over the world. I also formed Rebel Randall Productions.”

Rebel claims she was once engaged to future President John Kennedy, until an unfortunate event occurred. “Disc-jockey Peter Potter tricked me into marriage! Potter was only just a friend. We went out to dinner, and I was unaware I had pneumonia. He took me to his apartment and called his doctor, who informed him I was going to pass the crisis that night, I would survive or die. The next morning, Peter’s maid came in, saw me and, to avoid scandal, we were married. JFK came by, was told I was married, and he collapsed. Of course, I soon ended this marriage, which never was a marriage. Headlines in 1944 proclaimed ‘D Day is Divorce Day for Actress.’ John Kennedy and I kept in touch, even corresponded. He later had an unhappy marriage with Jackie. Once, he was going to stay in Palm Springs and we were going to see one another. He was offered Frank Sinatra’s house, but Sinatra was involved in the Mafia and drug cartels, so he chose to stay at Bing Crosby’s place. So, Sinatra gave the orders to murder JFK. Just because he didn’t stay at his house.”

A second marriage for Rebel didn’t take either. “His name was Glenn Burgess.” In ‘67, Rebel married Walter J. Hurd, “but he died in ‘85. He was murdered. He was to be Finance Chairman of the Republican Party.”

This, unfortunately, wasn’t Rebel’s only experience with homicide, and her assertions are pretty extreme. “My sister was also murdered—for her body parts. The Tenet Hospital kills many people, to sell their organs. My sister’s stomach was in pristine condition. She went in for tests, to see that all was all right—and they killed her. Dianne Fienstein’s husband is on the Board of Directors of the Tenet Hospital Group, incidentally. They’ve killed lots of people, including Bing Crosby on that golf course in Spain. A man came up to him and when he turned around the guy jabbed him with a needle that formed an air bubble, which killed Bing. This was because JFK had stayed at Bing’s house and not Sinatra’s house. They also killed Nasser with the air bubbles. I have been told to never go to a doctor or hospital, for I would get the same treatment. They are part of the Mafia, of course!”

In ‘73, Rebel helped to found Woman’s United International, which deals with trying to take down drug czars. She claimed she reported to President Bush on her activities, and claimed she dealt with the Pope, whom she said had papers of proof against the drug cartels. “So far, 14 of our ladies have been murdered. It is so bad—the drugs in this country, virtually every town is infected. We, however, have our victories. Governor Pete Wilson used to order guards to let Sinatra’s trucks through the Mexico line, they’d come in and take the drugs to Sinatra’s compound. Fortunately, we now have Arnold Swartzenegger as governor, he is on our side.”

Rebel Randall died July 22, 2010, in Riverside, CA.

(Note: The statements, opinions and beliefs expressed in this interview conducted in early 2004 are those of Rebel Randall’s alone and not the opinions or beliefs of WESTERN CLIPPINGS, columnist Michael Fitzgerald or any of WC’s agents, publishers or employees. WESTERN CLIPPINGS has not independently verified the truth, or lack thereof, of any of the foregoing statements made by Ms. Randall.—ed.)

Rebel’s Western Filmography

Movies: Lone Rider in Ghost Town (‘41 PRC)—George Houston; Sin Town (‘42 Universal)—Broderick Crawford; In Old Oklahoma (‘43 Republic)—John Wayne; Dead or Alive (‘44 PRC)—Tex Ritter/Dave O’Brien.

top of page