{Rumor Mill} Clark Gable and Lana Turner
Clark Gable has been linked to a lot of women. Pretty much every co-star he ever had in the 1930’s was labeled as his off-screen romance too. Sometimes, in the case of Joan Crawford or Elizabeth Allan, it was true. Other times, in the case of Myrna Loy or Jean Harlow, it was not. But there’s one costar of his that seems to be a point of contention: Lana Turner.
Lana, Clark’s pretty blonde co-star in Honky Tonk, Somewhere I’ll Find You, Homecoming and Betrayed, was known for dating her co-stars. Married seven times, she also reportedly had a flirtation with Robert Taylor, had an affair with Tyrone Power, hit the nightclubs with Tony Martin and was doted on by Howard Hughes, to name a few of her male companions. But was Clark on that list?
The rumors are that they had a torrid love affair during the filming of Honky Tonk, all behind Carole Lombard’s back. The affair continued while they began filming Somewhere I’ll Find You and supposedly that Carole found out about it before she left on her ill-fated bond tour and they fought about Lana the night before she left. The rumor even goes so far as to say that Carole took that plane to rush home to catch Clark with Lana and that Clark was in bed with Lana when he found out Carole’s plane had gone down. This all seems very melodramatic and rather ridiculous. How do these rumors get started? By trashy authors out to make a buck.
There are several things wrong with this report of an affair with Lana. Lana was twenty years younger than Clark—he was older than her mother. I know that’s hardly going to stand in the way but also she was hardly his type; rather prim and not very confident, she was in awe of him more than anything else. This becomes quite apparent if you read Lana’s autobiography.While some stars’ autobiographies seem fluffy and self-indulgent, I personally thought that Lana’s, Lana: The Lady, the Legend, the Truth,
I revered Gable, who by then could almost write his own ticket at the studio.He could even choose his directors. Luckily we developed a close working relationship, though not a close friendship. He had married Carole Lombard not many months before, after a long love affair and a divorce from his previous wife. I doubt that Carole believed the rampant press speculations about “fireworks” on the set between the two “powerful sex symbols” Gable and I were supposed to be. But one day I was playing a scene with Clark, and when I turned to look toward Jack Conway, the director, what I saw instead was the beautiful face of Mrs. Gable. Why, I’m not sure, but my knees went watery and I became so flustered that I excused myself and fled to my dressing trailer. I stayed there, trying to collect myself, until a knock came on the door.
“They’re ready to shoot, Miss Turner,” a voice said. When I peeked out, there was no sign of Carole Lombard. I assume that Gable must have asked her to leave, saying that the kid was nervous. When I apologized to him, pretending that I’d forgotten something and had to run to the trailer for it, that famous smile lit up his face. He said simply,”I understand.”
MGM had made much of Clark and Lana being paired together, calling them “the team that makes steam” but were careful with their publicity, knowing that if they hinted that there was some off screen affair (which MGM liked to do to boost ticket sales sometimes, even if it wasn’t true), there would be serious backlash as Clark and Carole were such a beloved Hollywood twosome.
As for Clark being in bed with Lana when he found out Carole’s plane went down, that is a complete and utter fabriction and there were several witnesses to the fact that he was at his home in Encino when he got the call that something happened to Carole’s plane. Jean Garceau recalled it in her book and also for example, see this article.
Lana spoke of that troubling period on the set of Somewhere I’ll Find You in her book as well:
We had been working for only a few weeks when production was suddenly halted. Carole Lombard, Gable’s wife, was dead.
She was on her way home from a war-bond selling tour and her plane had crashed outside Las Vegas. Afterward I heard a dreadful rumor that she had been scheduled to take the train, but decided to fly instead–the reason, the story had it, was her uneasiness over my working with Clark.
Clark was devastated by her death. The whole studio was in a state of shock. A pall settled over everyone connected with the picture. For all we knew, the filming had been shut down for good; we hardly expected him to come back at all.
At the studio I found a message that Mr. Mayer wished to see me. When I went to his office he told me that things were going to be very trying for Clark and for everyone else. “Now, Lana,” he said, “here’s where you come in. You’re going to be very patient with him. If his mind should wander, don’t be upset, you just be ready at all times. If he wants to come in earlier, you come in before him. If he wants to work through lunch, do it. A lot of the pressure of this picture will be riding on your shoulders. We’re trying to arrange for people to go home with him for dinner. If he should ask you, go. Agreed?”
“But I don’t know him that well,” I said.
“Never mind. Just do as I say.”
“I’ll try with all my heart,” I promised him.
One night Clark did invite me for dinner. A studio limousine delivered me to the house he had shared with Carole. His male servant served the meal. As we ate I chattered brightly, trying to ease the sorrow that lined his handsome face. But he never mentioned it. He was courtly, and cordial, and far too private for that.
After dinner Clark showed me his gun collection. He had been polishing some of the pieces–a cherished hobby, I thought, that gave him comfort now. Then the studio limousine arrived to take me home.
After that evening my esteem for him grew even greater. That was the first and only social occaison I ever shared with him, though we made two more pictures together and got along well. His willingness to finish the film at all showed his decency. And although some say they could see a difference in the way he performed before and after the tragedy, I for one was not able to detect it. He was the consummate professional. No wonder they called him the King.
That description of the dinner is just heartbreaking. I find it hard to believe she made that whole tale up. Why would she? And it sounds exactly how he would have handled the situation. Privately grieving, but still cordial.
Another point is if Lana and Clark were having some big affair, how come they never dated when both were single in the 1940’s or 1950’s? I have never come across an account of them out socializing other than on a movie set. They were both single during the making of Homecoming, but yet no rumors of an affair? Maybe because they were both single then and it wouldn’t be a salicious tale?
Was Clark completely faithful to Carole Lombard? I don’t know. But I just can’t see him having some love affair behind Carole’s back with a co-star like that. He was very much in love with Carole, as anyone around them could attest. If he was carrying on behind Carole’s back with Lana, that would be horribly embarrassing for Carole and of course word would be get back to her. Joan Crawford, whom he did have an affair with in the early 1930’s, even admitted that she was surprised that he wasn’t flirty with her while he was married to Carole. Carole might have been jealous of Lana, might have thought something was going on, but I really don’t think it fits. I haven’t found real evidence to support it.
27 Comments
KimWilson
Lana Turner sometimes gets a bad rap for her off-screen behavior, but at least she was decent in this regard. I do ind it funny, however, that she had a slight meltdown when Lombard showed up on set–any normal woman would know that running to your trailer would make you look more guilty!
Coco B
We will never know what the supposed argument was about. We will never know if Clark was having an affair. And in the end if you really think about the events that occured there can be no doubt about who Clark Gable loved until the day he died. That goes without question.
He loved Kay dearly but it was still different than the way he loved Carole.
Maybe Lana had her sights set on Clark but Carole scared her to the point that she didn’t dare. I also don’t think Clark wanted to be in a homewrecking situation. He didn’t like that sort of thing, from what impressions I have.
And lastly, Carole really was diffrent that all the other women he ever knew. She was the only one who figured out what made him tick. I doubt Lana had that wisdom then nor the patience later to keep Gable.
lovegable
I hate Lana Turner,but I want to see the film Hony tonk.
Lara
Like you, I have a really hard time believing that Clark would cheat on Carole. He was so devoted to her. Any other man–for Lana Turner? Sure. But knowing how much he adored Carole, not Clark. Thanks for this great and honest post!
Lara
admin
I agree, Lauren. Clark gets a bad rap in many ways–one of which being that everyone assumes he was this cad who slept with every woman who walked in front of him. It simply isn’t true. While Clark and Joan Crawford were together, there were numerous people that saw them together and told their story later. Joan admitted it later too. NOBODY has ever said they saw Clark and Lana together romantically. It’s such a horrible rumor because it makes it look like he was being cruel to Carole when she died and it is just not true.
DeeLee
Of all the things I love about Clark Gable, he never “dignified” gossip with an explanation or comment of any sort. Why should he? He did what real men do: he ignored it and went on living his life his own way, knowing that’s the greatest dignity any man can give himself. He loved Carole and was devoted to her–period. Rhea and Josephine were convenient arrangements. I get no sense at all he loved either and that both of those women understood the arrangement going in to it and coming out of it.
Carole was his greatest love.
Janet
I believe that Lana and Clark did have an affair during the making of Honky Tonk and the guilt he felt after his wife died stayed with him for the rest of his life. I believe he blamed himself for her death. Lana was a maneater and Clark was fair game. The affair ended when Carole died and I don’t think she would have admitted to it even in her book because it would have caused a backlash -and Lana was nothing if not savvy about things like that.
ctgirl
Excuse me. I think fan loyalty is a wonderful thing but rose colored glasses annoy me. Clark Gable was well known as the horniest toad in Hollywood and the Armed Forces. Even though Mayer offered to suspend shooting on Somewhere I’ll Find You, Gable refused to do the bond tour and insisted Carole go in his place. While the search for Carole Lombard’s remains was going on, Gable spent his time in a local bar. He never went up the mountain himself regardless of Howard Strickling’s excellent pr stories. I think his grief was real, based on guilt for his actions during their marriage and while she was on tour in his place.
admin
No rose colored glasses here. The point of this post was that I have done extensive research and there is no evidence of the rumor that Clark slept with Lana Turner, ever. I didn’t say in here that the man was a saint. Clark was a shy man at the core of it and hated crowds and making speeches, that is why he didn’t want to go on a bond tour of his own or accompany Carole. And he did spend some of his time in a bar while they brought Carole’s body down. That proves what? The man was an alcoholic most of his life, you don’t think his wife being slammed into a mountain would drive him to drink? You are completely and utterly wrong about him not going up the mountain because he didn’t want to. They had to practically restrain him from doing so.
Chris
Funny. Esther Williams – who recently passed- knew Lana and Gable. She, in her memoirs, stated that there was an affair between Gable and Turner. Another thing to point out, Mickey Rooney stated that he had an affair with Lana, which she denied. Ava Gardner, however, backed Mickey Rooney and went as far as saying Lana aborted Mickey’s baby.
Simply put, they had an affair. Gable would not have passed her up and I definitely don’t believe she would have passed on him.
Berdi Price
I think we are all kidding ourselves if we believe Lana and Clark didnt have an affair. I just finished reading Fireball which is an excellent book about Carole and the tragic crash. She was very aware of his continuous affairs throughout their marriage. And she did rush home because she knew he and Turner were sleeping together. They had a huge fight the night before she left. Never properly said goodbye. And she had trouble reaching him on the phone, after hours. Her brothers were “seething ” at her funeral, because they knew.
Trisha
I’m in the middle of reading ‘Fireball Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3’ and it claims to be an incredibly researched recount of those event….and it talks about the affair of Lana and Gable very matter of factly. I hope for Carole’s sake it never happened. He was waiting at the airport for Carole when they told him it was delayed to go home and he learned about the “downed” plane sitting next to his best friends wife, his best friend was also on the plane. He was definitely not in bed with Lana at that moment. The whole house was prepped for gags for Carole.
mary whittaker
I find it very difficult to believe that Gable did not have an affair with Lana Turner – and any other available woman he found attractive, for that matter.
I’m a huge fan of this actor but honestly as a man, he seems to have been a selfish, egotistical, cheap and ruthlessly ambitious jerk. He shamelessly used his first wife for financial support, career guidance and acting lessons and then dumped her when she was no longer needed. It would not have killed him to at least have provided some minimal financial assistance when she was old, alone and broke. He basically accepted a role as gigolo for his second wife in exchange for bigger money than he had access to at the time and a sort of “finishing school” to get him more polished and in the society lime light on the way to stardom – it is hard to look at photos of them together without cringing as they are so mismatched and the only plausible scenario of their union is so unseemly. Yuck; let’s remember people that he was climbing into bed with this woman for YEARS in exchange for the lifestyle she was offering… He conducted numerous affairs throughout these “marriages” with any number of available women – costars, chorus girls, married, you name it…AND he fathered a child with Loretta Young whom he neither acknowledged nor provided any financial support for — now I know this girl’s mother desperately wanted to avoid scandal, but still….come on, Clark – you could have made SOME even clandestine effort…you owed her that much as a human being.
OK. so perhaps we can accept serial infidelities during these first 2 “marriages” as he pretty obviously did not “love” either one of these women, but the pattern was there – he took whoever he wanted whenever available without any regard to ‘fidelity.’ Carole Lombard was the only wife who was close to his equal…in age, looks, talent and success…so they certainly had the most equal of his partnerships in the beginning. She, however, clearly felt she had to transform herself to hang onto him – all of a sudden she was taking up camping/hunting…whatever HE wanted she was trying to be…she was desperately trying to have a child too with him (another way to cement their relationship). This was a savvy, confidant and highly successful woman and she seems to have spent the last few years of her life primarily trying to keep Clark Gable home – why? Well she probably truly loved him – and also valued the celebrity of being his wife – and hey, he was the ‘King of Hollywood,’ so who wouldn’t want him then….BUT also because she knew he was a serial adulterer and could not trust him. Had she lived, I believe she ultimately would have tired of this exhausting experience of trying to keep him and gotten fed up with all the affairs and divorced him. Carole Lombard was a smart cookie – she knew the Hollywood system, she had friends/informants on the sets – if she believed that he was having an affair with Lana Turner well then I believe it too — Carole was showing up on movie sets to watch what was going on…be it Lana or a nameless extra – and that is because there WAS a lot going on…not because she was some insecure delusional ninny.
I think Gable probably “loved” Carole (as much as he understood the meaning of that word), but was such a selfish and egotistical guy that he did not feel the need to deny himself any additional women who came his way rationalizing that they did not mean anything. He undoubtedly was devastated when she was killed and appropriately must have felt incredibly guilty for the fights that had been having over this subject and role that situation had in her haste to return which put her on that plane. I do find it surprising that Lana did not fess up to the affair in her memoirs…perhaps she even had the capacity to feel some shame given the tragic outcome (or perhaps Gable swore her to secrecy and she opted to honor it)…but she also did not explicitly deny it either and given the strength of this rumor which has been reported as fact in numerous publications one would think that, were it false, she would specifically have stated “I did not have sexual relations with the man” – and she did not.
Trudy Seeley
I hear a lot of people extolling the virtues of Clark Gable. While it may be true that he lived Carole he was married to older women before her. Women he used to help advance his career and tossed aside. He is a car whether it was with Carole or not. Notwithstanding, he was also a fine actor.
DMGAdmin
There’s more to those stories than simply he used them and tossed them aside. His first marriage wasn’t even consummated; they only married because she was his acting coach and they were poor and had to be married to stay in the same hotel room. His second wife was a case of them using each other. She groomed him and smoothed his rough edges. She gained as much as he did from the marriage, enjoying her fame as being Mrs. Clark Gable. Theirs was never a great romance on either side, she blackmailed him into marrying him after he became a star. He’s not a saint by any means but there’s more to these stories. Lots of info on both marriages here on the website.
David Stovall
Watch Lana Turner in Honky Tonk. Very skillful in playing the Boston prim & proper beauty falling for the bad boy, which required a lot of back & forth and she did it beautifully.
Angies
Can anyone answer my ? Why did Clark call Carol “Ma” appreciate it!
DMGAdmin
I’m not sure where it came from. I’ve heard that they used to joke they’d be like an old fashioned “Ma and Pa down on the farm” in their ranch and it evolved from there.
Chris
I love Clark Gable. EVERY WOMAN DOES. He exudes sexuality, manliness, charm and seemed quite a gentleman. Carole Lombard was more beautiful than anyone in Hollywood. That said DO YOU REALLY THINK LANA TURNER WOULD EVER EVER EVER ADMIT TO HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH CLARK GABLE????
NO.
Clark Gable was like a Tiger Woods —a sex addict. C’mon when women are throwing themselves at you your entire adult life it was hard for him to say no.
Wendy
I don’t think Clark Gable was handsome at all. He had an odd shaped head, wide set bug eyes, and big floppy ears. I do not understand why women threw themselves at him. I do believe he was having an affair with Lana Turner and the guilt of knowing that Carole dies rushing to get back to him, because she knew what he was doing on the low, affected him so profoundly. Guilt and shame are the key words. Lana turner also felt shame. Hard to imaging a woman who had so many abortions feels shame, but I guess she cared more about her career than having respect for others.
iarla
Anne Baxter said Gable and Turner were having an affair on the set of “Homecoming,” and Turner was still seeing ‘the love of her life’, Tyrone Power, at the time of filming. There are stills of the three stars together on set. Baxter was a sharp, intelligent woman who was not about to lie. Turner played down her sexual nature, especially in her memoir. Her best friend, Del Armstrong – who did her make up for decades – has spoken about her sexual needs, and with affection, as he adored her. She was ahead of her time. I’m not sure when the affair started, but knowing the libidos of these two, I’d guess during Honky Tonk. Lombard was not stupid, and she was aware of stuff from that date.
Greta
If Carole was as upset about Lana Turner as she obviously was, Clark was doing Lana. NOTHING stayed quiet in that town. You could sneeze and five minutes later everyone would know. Lana Turner was absolutely Clark’s type. Twenty years younger wouldn’t have mattered to him where an affair was concerned. He has one with Grace Kelly. Lana would never cop to it because she didn’t want to be blamed for Carole taking the plane. Which would have happened. Honestly, this isn’t so difficult to figure out.
tara
the only thing I would say is, if they were having an affair and I don’t believe they were, Carol, being who she was, would have been stupid to even worry about it, because she could have done better. It is no way I would have chased behind him knowing that I could pull men in the same manner he could pull women. From what I read, carol kinda went after him when she initally played hard to get. comes in Merle who now she had to contend with before he finally chose her, something I think throw carol off with her believing she has crown jewel finding out she wasn’t. That is why she worked so hard to please him cause she knew what she was up against. Even going as far as throwing Gary Copper in his face by saying he was a better lay than him. I do believe they loved each other very much but I really don’t think they would have made it, if she hadn’t died, because she just couldn’t handle clark’s popularitiy as a sex symbol. Also as far as loretta goes in regards to the cover up, it was our fault that they couldn’t come clean, allowing him to be responsible. people were already suspious believing that clark was Judy’s father, so any interaction he would had would have only heightened it, which is why they played it the way they did, remember loretta didn’t tell judy the truth well until her 30s. However, when you have a public that is about image this is what you get, that is why I blame us for this even more than them.
Meg
I don’t think they had a full blown affair but definitely a romp durning the filming of their first picture togther, probably at the studio, someplace. There are photos of them on the set showing them sitting a little to close for comfort. Carole might of seen these. What’s more, she knew Clark’s MO and Lana’s propensity to go after her leading men. It wasn’t a recipe for making her feel at ease. Carole was tolerant of his dalliances except she drew the line at leading ladies. That humiliated her. They were her peers and talk got around fast. Lana was very young, geared for stardom. Carole was in her thirties, and was no longer on top because of her last flops, more than one (she was hoping To Be or not to be would put her back on top. Taking everything into consideration, it’s understandable she felt threatened. If Clark had not had a dalliance with Lana it was a mistake for carole to make a major deal out of it as it put ideas in Clark’s head. This was definitely the reason she was so anxious to get home. She wanted to make up with Clark. And- to ascertain for herself what was going on. I find it hard to believe she received that telegram reading things were heating up on the set? How could anyone know that? If she called a friend to find out, that friend wasn’t talking and I would think they would confirm the telegram was sent. Although spencer Tracy said it was true but I doubt she called him. Whoever sent that telegram, if true, should have felt very guilty.
May
Sadly, I think Gable and Turner most likely had a long-term affair, at least during their first three movies. I agree that I don’t think Gable was sleeping with Turner the moment he heard the news of Lombard’s death, but he was carrying on an affair with Turner. Turner did not admit to an affair with Gable because it would ruin her reputation further involving circumstances surrounding Lombard’s death. Sometimes, I wonder if Gable, not Tyrone Power, could quite possibly be a love of her life, but she kept it a secret. I definitely wonder the same thing about Joan Crawford because of her own long-term affair with Gable. No matter what, Gable was so distraught over Lombard’s death that I don’t doubt for a second that it was because of the loss of her as a mate, a wife, and also some sense of guilt, but the loss more so.
Gee
Well, given that 2 of Lombard’s close associates who were working with Lombard on the tour at the time knew about the affair and fight from Carole plus another friend of Gable and Lombard confirmed the story about the affair and their fight over Turner prior to the tour. Plus her 2 associates on tour with her also confirmed that Carole was determine to cut her tour short to fly home early to see Clark because Carole and Clark spoke over the phone and made up plus the airbase officials working the base where the plane took off also confirmed much of the story in why Carole was trying to get on one of their planes by trading her later flight, her mother’s seat, and manager’s seat with 3 other soldiers on the flight, I believe the story is true with one exception in your description of events. Carole was not trying to fly back early to catch Lana and Clark as the affair was well known by that time, and Clark at that time was growing tired of the affair and wanted to patch things up with Lombard this why they had the phone call that led her to fly home early.
As for Turner not sharing the affair; that actually would look worse than an abortion at the time if her biography as Carole Lombard is still extremely popular and a beloved actress so diving into an affair that was pretty much over by the time of the crash was for Turner best left in the distant past. As I don’t recall Barbara Stanwyck dying in a plane crash over rushing back to be with Taylor after a fight over Turner so no harm mentioning her affairs with Taylor and Powers.
As for Powers, Turner made it clear that of all the men she loved he is the one who broke her heart and took a long time to get over.
Mariia
Maybe I’m too naive, but I want to believe that there was no romance between them after all and he remained loyal to Lombard.