Young Harriet's mother and step-father enforced strict Catholic rules on her, and reportedly the home was an abusive environment.

Harriet dreamed of leaving home for a career in show business, and she intently studied Hollywood movie stars like Lana Turner and Rita Hayworth.

Eventually she ran away from home with a female friend and two boys to nearby Toledo, Ohio, and from there, the four teenagers went to Florida.

The two boys she was with had enlisted in the army and were "sowing some oats" before heading to basic training for World War II.

They broke out the glass and managed to get cigarettes, candy, and cash into their pockets and escaped on foot into a nearby orange grove, but were caught by police.

Once in custody, it was established that the group was responsible for several cars being stolen in addition to the theft, and Harriet was sentenced to one year incarceration at Florida State Prison.

[6] Harlow successfully lobbied New York Governor George Pataki to pardon Bruce posthumously for the obscenity conviction resulting from his performance and arrest at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village in 1964.