Spotlight
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Finding Myrna Loy
From 1938 on, Clark Gable was known as The King of Hollywood and the name has stuck to him even now. Myrna Loy was crowned The Queen of Hollywood at the same ceremony, but unfortunately the title did not stick to her like it did Clark. Nonetheless, from then on, Clark affectionately called her “Queenie.” “Queenie,” much like Clark, was a small-town kid who seemed unlikely to gain worldwide fame, but did thanks to her star power and perseverance. I recently found myself in Myrna’s gorgeous home state of Montana and followed her around a bit. Myrna Loy was born Myrna Adele Williams on August 2, 1905 to David and Della Williams. She was born…
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Spotlight on: Norma Shearer
It is quite common to read that Clark Gable slept with every one of his leading ladies. And while that statement has been buzzing around for so long that many people take it as fact, it’s not true at all. In fact, I think the number of leading ladies he starred opposite that he wasn’t romantically involved with far outnumbers the opposite. Perhaps that is why Norma Shearer doesn’t get much attention as one of his onscreen lovelies–in fact she is one of the few that I can think of that I haven’t even heard a rumor he had slept with her! Nonetheless, Ms. Shearer is an interesting footnote in…
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Carole Lombard Roundup!
I have done Carole Lombard Month the past five years and I know how past posts get lost in the shuffle, so here is a round-up of past items about Carole Lombard: Clark Gable and Carole Lombard Photos: Clark Gable and Carole Lombard on a Picnic On Valentine’s Day, Clark Gable Drives Carole Lombard Crazy! Carole Lombard Behaving Like a Mugg! Culver City Welcomes Mrs. Rhett Butler 1938: Clark Gable and Carole Lombard Attend the Marie Antoinette Premiere A Photographer’s View on Gone with the Wind and Carole Lombard Hollywood: Carole Lombard Lived Here Ahoy to the USS Carole Lombard Property of Carole Lombard Clark and Carole at the Races…
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Spotlight on: Suzanne Dadolle
French model Suzanne Dadolle doesn’t rank among Carole Lombard, Joan Crawford or Grace Kelly as one of Clark Gable’s great love affairs. But she was on Clark’s arm for over a year while he was overseas in the early 1950’s. That is, until she loused it up…. There isn’t much information about Suzanne out there. Google her and all you get are pictures of her with Clark, mentions of her in articles about Clark, and one lone uncredited movie role from 1963 on IMDB. I don’t even know if she is still alive. But she lived what was a lot of women’s fantasy for a while: Clark Gable’s constant companion for a…
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{The Brown Derby Restaurant} Part 3: Eating at the Brown Derby
Recently my husband and I strolled into the Vine Street Brown Derby and glanced at the hundreds of caricatures lining the walls while we were led to our u-shaped brown booth. Under the dim lighting and ambiance full of Hollywood nostalgia, we enjoyed a lovely meal, with a perfect cocktail, beautifully executed entrees and a classic dessert. The above is all true, except we were at the replica of the Vine Street Brown Derby inside of Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios park in Orlando. And the ambiance was a bit ruined by our two year old watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on my phone in between us. But alas… I must admit I was…
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{The Brown Derby Restaurant} Part 2: Cooking for Clark Gable
I wrote earlier about the history of the Brown Derby Restaurant as well as it’s importance in Clark Gable history. And since it was his favorite restaurant, I couldn’t help but buy myself The Brown Derby Cookbook and get to cookin’ Clark’s favorites. From a cooking standpoint, I am very lucky that Clark was a meat and potatoes kind of guy. His favorite foods were steak, pancakes, potato salad, coleslaw, etc. No caviar or crepes suzette or cheese souffle for this Ohio-bred boy. There are over 500 recipes in the cookbook–everything from onion soup and chicken pot pie to strawberries romanoff and lobster medallions. (My husband suggested I do a Julie and…
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{The Brown Derby Restaurant} Part 1: The History
This post is Part One of a series of posts I will be doing regarding Clark Gable’s favorite restaurant in Hollywood, The Brown Derby. The Brown Derby Restaurant was a Hollywood standard. In its heyday, it was as famous and as symbolic of Hollywood as as the Hollywood sign or Grauman’s Chinese Theater. I don’t think I have read a single book on a Hollywood star yet in which the Brown Derby wasn’t mentioned, even in passing. A 1932 article described it as such: The Brown Derby is more than a Hollywood institution. It is not only a place to meet and talk over contracts and plan divorces and further romance under…
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Clark Gable and the Almost-Scarlett: Paulette Goddard
In the post-war, post-Carole years, Clark Gable had a full dance card—dating actresses, script girls and socialites. And one former Gone with the Wind hopeful: the spirited Paulette Goddard. Paulette, blessed with a gorgeous face, was probably best known for comedies, such as the Charlie Chaplin classics Modern Times and The Great Dictator, as well as sparky Miriam in The Women. She had been around Hollywood since the early 1930’s, first as a blonde Goldwyn girl. She proved herself a dramatic force in films such as Kitty and her Academy Award nominated performance in the war drama So Proudly We Hail!. But she could also dance and sing, as she did…
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Spotlight on: Merle Oberon
Merle Oberon, a British/Indian actress probably best known for her portrayal of Cathy in Wuthering Heights (1939), is an interesting person in Gable history. No, they were never paired together onscreen; they did have a brief romance offscreen. But what’s interesting is that Merle, who at first glance is only a flicker on Clark’s romantic radar, was present at many of the defining moments in Clark’s life. In 1936, Clark had officially been declared “fair game” after moving into the Beverly Wilshire Hotel after separating from Ria, and Merle was one of the first to announce her intentions. She was a relative Hollywood newcomer and her romance with fellow British import…
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Spotlight on: Ginger Rogers
Today marks the 100th birthday of Hollywood legend Ginger Rogers. Truly a triple threat, Ginger could dance, sing and actually act, when given the oppurtunity. Best known for hoofin’ it alongside Fred Astaire in ten films, she also won a Best Actress Oscar in 1941 for a wonderful film, Kitty Foyle. Ginger wasn’t much tabloid fodder; her image in Hollywood was squeaky clean. She loved dogs, riding her bike, playing tennis and she never drank–in fact she was probably the only Hollywood star to have an ice cream fountain installed in her home, rather than a wet bar! Despite that, she and Clark were tied for marriages–at five apiece. She also…
