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Gossip Friday: No Pearls or Mink Allowed
From 1955: It’s so much hooey, that printed report that his doctors tabooed cocktails for Clark Gable. The King’s health is churning and so is his interest in Kay Williams Spreckels and not Marilyn Monroe as 20th Century Fox subtly hints! When Clark went duck hunting recently, it was Kay whom he asked to hostess a party for him. She made arrangements with Chasen’s where they cooked and served the wild birds in their private dining room. Clark loves gags so Kay dressed up a hysterical-looking dummy and placed it at the head of the table. The lady guests were instructed to wear sweaters and tweeds and–“no pearls or mink…
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Gossip Friday: Take a Hint
From December 1938, Walter Winchell’s column: Mrs. Clark Gable speaks up: “I am still the wife of Clark Gable, the question of a divorce has never even been broached to me!” Gable hasn’t lived under the same roof with you for years–can’t you take a hint? ___ That’s hilarious, nobody puts it quite Winchell! Despite what a lot of bad biographies and terrible films will have you believe, the movie-going public and the press wasn’t scandalized by Clark Gable and Carole Lombard’s romance and sympathizing with poor Ria Gable. Quite the opposite–they found Ria to be an old battle ax and wanted nothing more than her out of the way…
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Gossip Friday: Honorary Referee
From November 1938: Clark Gable will be honorary referee of the National Air Races at Cleveland this year. His selection was announced by Cliff Henderson, managing director of the air races when the latter visited the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios to inform Gable of the honor. The nomination was made as a result of the star’s role in “Test Pilot,” now showing…in addition to his selection by motion picture fans as the foremost masculine star of the year. Gable said that he would spend three days in Cleveland during the races.
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Gossip Friday: Back to Silents
From December 1939: Clark Gable had his voice back today, but his movie studio ordered him home to recuperate completely from an attack of laryngitis. Gable went to the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital last week and for some days he communicated by written notes. he lost his voice after a strenuous 12 hours of shouting while waist deep in water for a movie scene.
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{New Article} 1935: Gable Selects The Ten Most Attractive Women
This article is from 1935 and is a fluffy piece in which Clark Gable is asked to select the ten most attractive women in Hollywood. I have a bit of difficulty believing that this article is quoting Clark verbatim as it includes the following sentence: “A woman’s features may be perfectly moulded, her skin a peach-blown dream and her body perfect, but unless her character shines through, she can never be truly beautiful. It takes more than mere perfection of face and figure for a woman to be beautiful.” Can anyone imagine Clark saying “her skin a peach-blown dream” ???? Me neither. At first Clark picks the ideal characterisitics these…
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Gossip Friday: Ailing Eye
From January 1942: A hot rumor that Clark Gable was in one of the local hospitals under an assumed name suffering with eye inflammation kept this writer busy. After spending most of the day and half the night checking I learned Gable has had a bad cyst on his eye. He was told he should have it removed but so far he has not gone into the hospital. He was not able to go duck hunting as he planned but spent New Year’s Eve in town and went to a small private party with Carole Lombard.
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Gossip Friday: Not a Cowboy in This Grass
From March 1937: Clark Gable in a ten-gallon hat, and the duds of the plains–and maybe even wearing chaps…that’s an interesting vision, and one nearer the innate Gable personality than most, if you seriously consider (and why not?) how he favors the outdoors for recreation. This Clark Gable may be realized in “Sea of Grass,” for I understand there is much talk about his playing the lead in that picture, regarded as a follow-up (in American environment) for “The Good Earth-“–with its Chinese. “Sea of Grass: is an epic programmed for late in the year at MGM. Sidney Franklin is already settled on as its director. Spencer Tracy will probably…
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Gossip Friday: Storks Flying West?
From December 1939: The movie colony is as excited as a couple of maiden aunts over the persistent rumor that both Carole Lombard and Barbara Stanwyck are expecting babies. There’s no denying that Miss Lombard isn’t herself on the set these days. More than once she has displayed a Victorian fragility quite uncommon to her usual vivacious character by fainting during the filming of “Vigil in the Night.” For future father Clark Gable there may be some vigils in the night yet to come. Miss Stanwyck has been cancelling her picture engagements and now has no future commitments. Enjoying this period of inactivity with her is handsome husband Bob Taylor.…
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Gossip Friday: One Foot in Front of the Other
From April 1939: Walter Pidgeon became indignant when he read that Clark Gable, with a 11 1/2 shoe size, claimed the largest acting foot in Hollywood. Pidgeon picks ’em up and lays ’em down with size 13 and all his shoes and socks are made to order.
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{New Article} 1934: Clark Gable Replies
As a followup to this article posted this week, “An Open Letter to Clark Gable,” here’s Clark’s response to claims that he’s gone “high hat.” Anyhow, thanks for the kick in the pants. Perhaps I needed it. I just finished rereading your open letter to me in the August issue of HOLLYWOOD and if talk like that is going around, you can tell the world I want to answer it. You ask if I’m going high-hat. My answer is No! You ask if I’m going social, if I’ve traded my turtleneck sweaters for a tuxedo. No again! I’d rather climb into a leather jacket and a pair of hiking boots…
