Articles
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{New Article} 1947: Tee for Two
I’ve typed many an article for this website (see for yourself) and will admit that the majority of fan magazine pieces are fluff. Especially in the early 1930’s–they are long winded, written in an almost comical romantic prose, and have little to no substance. This trend started to change after World War II, and most of the articles you get are actual interviews, some better than others. This one from 1947 is actually an entertaining little piece, written by Clark’s frequent golfing buddy Ed Sullivan. In it you’ll find a rare nugget indeed: a Clark quote about Carole Lombard. After her death, his quotes about her are few and far…
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{In the News} 1941: Carole Lombard Declares Open Season on Gossipers
Here’s a syndicated newspaper article from October 1941 (similar to this article in the Archive from 1940: “Help Kill Crazy Rumors about Me!”) Carole Lombard Declares Open Season on Gossipers Goes Hunting After Denying She’s Dead or Is to Divorce Clark Gable Hollywood, Oct. 13–Carole Lombard went gunning today, not only for birds with feathers on ’em, but also for the radio oracles who claim she’s about to divorce Clark Gable, or die, or both. Miss Lombard will get the ducks when the season starts Thursday. On the gossipers she has declared open season. They’re causing her phone to ring so much she’s not getting enough sleep. Last week Miss…
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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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{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…
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{New Article} 1934: An Open Letter to Clark Gable
This article is one of these “Open Letters” that often appeared in fan magazines of the period; they would be written by fan magazine writer “friends” of the star and then the following month the star would “respond.” When Laurette Taylor became a big star in Peg O’ My Heart, she noticed that the audiences were not as friendly to her as they had been at the beginning of the play. She complained to her husband, Hartley Manners, author of the play, and asked him why. “Because,” said Manners, “when you were on the way up you asked your audience to love you. Now that you are on top, you…
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{New Article} 1934: Gable-Crazy!
This article from June 1934 details some of the outlandish experiences Clark Gable had with crazy fans on his public appearance tour to the east coast. It’s not easy being a film star, folks: A toll of Gable’s losses on his short trip includes the following articles: 27 silk handkerchiefs 33 buttons torn from his clothes 1 complete sleeve of a dress shirt 1 lapel from the coat of a business suit 1 pair of bedroom slippers 1 top half of a pair of silk pajamas 1 wrist watch Anybody find that their grandmother or great-grandmother had one of Clark Gable’s buttons or shirt sleeves? Many and strange were the…
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{New Article} 1934: Why I Like To Be Alone
Here is another article from 1934. This one is a typical “Clark Gable isn’t into the glamour and glitz of Hollywood! He is an outdoorsy, simple man just like you!” piece. “Hollywood is over-civilized! A man could go soft in this place in a month. I had to fight like the devil during the first year or so to keep my perspective. Too much chatter. Too many parties. Too much bunk! That’s why I took to going off the backwoods by myself. I had to do that or go crazy…” This was Clark Gable—the last of Hollywood’s Great Untamed—speaking. “The Last of Hollywood’s Great Untamed”—oh brother. He looks you…
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{New Article} 1934: Clark Gable’s Real Family Life!
Over the next few days, I’ll be sharing new-to-the-site articles from the year 1934. We’ll start out with this one, which proclaims with an exclamation point that it’s about Clark Gable’s Real Family Life! A rather deceptive title. Clark at this time was a superstar; 1934 saw him win national acclaim for his performance in It Happened One Night, and his films with Joan Crawford that year had been hits. His studio, MGM, was not too pleased that their manly man star that had women falling at his feet came with a much older, matronly wife with two kids in tow. But that’s what they had to work with, so…
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{New Article} Hollywood Personalities and Their Ideas About Food: Carole Lombard
Here is a little article that ran syndicated in newspapers throughout the country in January 1936. It’s supposed to be about food but the majority of the article prattles on about Carole’s early days in Hollywood and then she gives us a “recipe,” if you can call it that. Hollywood Personalities and Their Ideas About Food: Carole Lombard As Told by Valentine Lyon Syndicated Press January 23, 1936 When just seven years of age, Carole Lombard came to Hollywood with her mother and two brothers. They came only to stay six months, but none of them ever returned to their home in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Carole was familiar with…
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{New Article} 1942: Clark Gable’s Page
This article was in the premiere issue of the fan magazine “Stardom,” February 1942. Now, before you go thinking this will be a sad piece as it was published right after Carole Lombard’s death in January 1942, publication was a lot slower back then and when this hit shelves in January, Carole Lombard’s death was imminent or had just occurred. Magazine articles about her death didn’t occur until April of that year. No, there’s not much to this article, but here it is nonetheless. In each issue, Stardom will offer one page to a star to do with as he will. This is to be the stars’ opportunity to tell…
