Articles
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{New Article} 1936: He Lives His Impulses
That crazy, non-conformist Clark Gable! MGM publicity pretty much shoved the idea that Clark was a free spirited, unsophisticated regular Joe down the public’s throat repeatedly. Not that it wasn’t mostly true, because Clark indeed shunned the spotlight and the glamour that came along with it. But MGM really pushed for these kind of stories. This article is just Clark chatting with the reporter at the MGM commissary. “People often have asked me what I get out of it all—you know, being a movie star, making money, all the prerequisites. I don’t get out of it what a lot of people would, that’s a fact. I’m not luxury-minded. I don’t…
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{New Article} 1932: Would You Like to Be Mrs. Gable?
Does that seem like an easy question to answer? Surely not! This is mostly just a fluffy article detailing how hard it is to be Mrs. Gable since you are constantly haunted by feelings of self-doubt and jealousy while thousands of women pine after your man. It really could have been written about any of the married male stars of that era. Imagine the glowing sense of possession you would feel when you said “I want you to meet my husband…” and the thrill of pleasure that would go through you as some woman looked up into the face of Clark Gable. Imagine sharing a home with Clark Gable. Let…
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{New Article} 1957: She Calls Him “Pappy” But She Calls Him “Darling”
This article from 1957 focuses on a Clark Gable film that’s not often mentioned, The King and Four Queens. The main reason that it is not often mentioned is that it is quite bad. It was Clark’s first and only attempt at producing and it was a flop, therefore he retreated back into his happy rabbit hole of acting only. Kay accompanied Clark to Utah for the location shoot of the film. “Well,” the slim, blonde, suntanned woman asked Barbara Nichols, “what do you think of my old man?” “Do you really want me to tell you?” asked Barbara. The woman before her stiffened. Her blue eyes frosted over. “Why,…
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{New Article} Two Happy People Part IV
Here is the final installment of Movie and Radio Guide’s four part series on Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. Read Part Two here and Part Three here. I’m still hunting for Part One! Clark Gable’s favorite topic of conversation is Carole Lombard and her favorite topic is Gable. And that’s why we feel justified in calling this man and his wife two happy people. If they are not happy, then they are better performers at home than on the screen. In Hollywood, where gossiping is a profession and scandal-mongering is a craft, the Gables have been spared the darts that usually are hurled at the folks who live in the…
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{New Article} 1936: Is Carole Lombard in Love at Last?
Is Carole Lombard in love at last? What a question for this article in 1936 to ask! At this point, their romance was new and one of the most exciting topics in Tinsel Town. This article basically recaps Carole’s romantic exploits. After the demise of her marriage to Bill Powell: All Powell would say was, “For Carole and me there simply was no married life.” Their story that there had been no quarrel was accepted by Hollywood as true—and their conduct after Carole returned abundantly confirmed it. Divorce seemed to make little or no difference to the friendly relations between them. The very first night after her return, Gloria Swanson…
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{New Article} 1961: The Secret Clark Gable and Kay Never Shared
Obviously, if you take a gander at the Article Archive, I am a vintage magazine junkie. I scour Ebay and antique stores and love nothing more than when I find some obscure Gable candid or article nestled in the yellowing pages of a seventy year old magazine. Most of my magazines are from the 1930’s. Clark was top dog then and I know that I can snatch up any magazine, any issue, any year from about 1934-1941 and they’ll be at least one picture, gossip items and, if I’m lucky, an article. By the time Clark returned from war, after the initial “he’s back!” hubbub, the coverage of him lessened…
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{New Article} 1940: Two Happy People Part II
This article is the second in a series of four articles about Clark and Carole that appeared in Movie and Radio Guide in May 1940. You can read Part Three here. Mr. Gable has a seven-year contract with MGM for $2,000,000. He has Carole Lombard! Gentlemen, if luck does that to a man, then here’s one fellow who begins today to make his troth with Lady Luck. We have an idea that ability and hard work had something to do with Mr. Gable’s success. Luck may get a man to the top, but luck can’t keep him there. “Have you met Mrs. G?” Mr. Gable asked. “She’s not working right…
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{New Article} 1933: Behind the Scenes with Jean and Clark
I was ecstatic to find this article because I love Clark Gable and Jean Harlow together, on screen and off, and Hold Your Man is my favorite film of theirs. So what could be better than a behind the scenes piece, written by Anita Loos herself, the author of Hold Your Man? One morning Jean was late in making her appearance on the stage. I happened to be there and Clark was plainly concerned. “I am worried for fear Jean’s sick,” he said. “She’s never late unless something’s wrong. Do you know,” he continued, “I can’t understand how that tiny kid stands up under such strenuous work. She only weighs…
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{New Article} 1950: This Was the Lonely Heart
Much to Clark’s chagrin, the media was apt to describing his life as lonely and sad after Carole’s death and he returned from war. No doubt he was lonely, but it’s rather hard for a man to move on when the press is constantly calling him out for being so and lamenting his lost love. Then he found Sylvia and they all cried how wonderful it was and how perfect they were together. Then when they divorced, they all said of course they didn’t work out, they were too different. Such is the press. This article is after Clark married Sylvia and was still in newlywed bliss. Many men survived…
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{New Article} 1961: Clark Gable as I Knew Him
I’ve had this magazine for years and years. I never posted this article in the archive on the site because it is just an abridged version of Kathleen Williams’ book, Clark Gable: A Personal Portrait, so I figured it wasn’t necessary. Recently, I have had quite a few people email me and ask me if I knew where they can find the book, as it is out of print (Ebay and Amazon usually have copies). So I figured it would be worthwhile to put up this article so everyone could at least read the abridged version if they can’t get their hands on a copy. I turned down the first invitation…