Turner Classic Movies is not only a great TV station, but is also serves as an archivist.  Their moving year-end “Remembers” montages highlight not just the famous faces we lost, but the character actors, cinematographers, writers, and other cinematic artists who didn’t get publication-spanning obituaries at the time of their passing.  TCM has footage of all of almost all of the artists we lost in 2011 and they’ve once again woven a touching tribute.

In 2011, we lost some good ones including Pete Postlethwaite, Peter Falk, Cliff Robertson, Jane Russell, Elizabeth Taylor, Laura Ziskin, and Sidney Lumet.  As far as editing goes, I think the “TCM Remembers 2010″ video is better, but they’re both worth your time so I’ve included both after the jump.

Actress Jane Russell died earlier today of respiratory failure in her Santa Maria home at the age of 89.  As the legend goes, film mogul Howard Hughes was taken aback by Russell’s 38-inch bust and promptly cast her in The Outlaw.  The film was shot in 1941 and never missed an opportunity to spotlight Ms. Russell’s voluptuous figure, a stylistic choice that troubled the censors and kept the film from a wide release until 1946.  (At which point The Outlaw was a smash hit.)

But Russell was more than the sum of her breasts.  Her relatively brief career is noted for commanding performances in The Paleface, His Kind of Woman, Macao, and most notably Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  It is best to present Ms. Russell in motion, in Technicolor; so hit the jump for musical highlights from her career.