Gone with the Wind
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Gone with the Wednesday: Via Col Vento Signed by Clark Gable
Clark Gable was famous for thirty years and in that time signed a lot of things–pictures, movie posters, books, handkerchiefs, napkins, hairbows, baseballs, hats…I’ve seen it all. This one, however, is new to me. Here Clark has signed–and inscribed–a copy of Gone with the Wind in Italian! Clark Gable writing in Italian! I would believe that this was inscribed while he was in Europe, either during his tax hiatus in 1952-1954 or while he was in Italy filming It Started in Naples in 1959. I am no expert on the various editions of GWTW so maybe someone can help me out with the year. I also know very little Italian, but this…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Carole Lombard O’Hara
Since it’s time for another Gone with the Wednesday and it’s the end of Carole Lombard month, let’s combine the two! Carole Lombard was a warm-blooded female in the 1930’s, which means she read Gone with the Wind and dreamed of playing Scarlett. Carole was so enamored with the idea that she appealed to everyone’s first choice for Rhett Butler—Clark Gable, naturally. Before they were romantically involved, she reportedly sent him a copy of the book with a note that said, “Let’s do it! Carole.” Clark promptly called her up for a date, thinking it was a proposition of a different sort. When it turned out not to be, that…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Rhett Said It (Part 1)
Over the years, I’ve chatted with Gone with the Wind fans about their favorite quotes. Many of them come from the spirited and somewhat heartless Scarlett, many from hilarious Mammy, even some from Melanie and Ashley. But, hands down, more people say that Rhett has all the best lines. All year long, I have been posting some of them on the website’s Facebook page. And here are some highlights (Part 1): “I think it’s hard winning a war with words, gentlemen.” “Whewww…Has the war started?” “And you miss, are no lady…I consider it a compliment. Ladies have never held any stole with me.” “I believe in Rhett Butler; he’s the…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Cut Out of The Barbecue
There are several stories that have floated around over the years of Clark Gable being at the outdoor barbecue scene set in Busch Gardens in Pasadena. Well, in the final film Clark isn’t in any of the outdoor barbecue scenes. Inside, yes, gazing up the stairs at future wives and having things thrown at him. But not outside. So what is he doing there, in full costume? Filming a scene that ending up on the cutting room floor, that’s what. There was a scene shot for the film, called “A Young Man Talks to Rhett,” in which Rhett converses with a heavily-whiskered man (listed in studio records as being played…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Celebrate the 75th Anniversary in Ohio with The Clark Gable Foundation!
Clark Gable’s home state of Ohio will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of Gone with the Wind this October! Patrick Curtis and Mickey Kuhn (toddler Beau and child Beau in the film) will be in attendance! Friday, October 3 at the Cadiz Country Club in Cadiz, Ohio: 5:30pm–Dinner, Play and Open Forum with Patrick and Mickey Saturday, October 4 at the Tuscarawas County Branch of Kent University Performing Arts Center in New Philadelphia, Ohio: 11:00am–Exhibits and Sales Tables 1:00pm–Forum with Patrick and Mickey 2:00pm–Auction of Memorabilia 4:30pm–Screening of Gone with the Wind For further information and to obtain tickets, contact the Clark Gable Foundation at (614) 942-4989.…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Vivien Leigh, Rhett Butler and I
Here is an article from Photoplay magazine in February 1940 in which Clark dispels some rumors about Vivien Leigh, his feelings toward playing Rhett Butler, and his marriage to Carole Lombard. Some quotes: On the challenge of playing Rhett Butler: “…my mind was preoccupied with Rhett Butler. He had me plenty worried, so worried that I didn’t want to play him. Don’t think that was because I didn’t realize what a fat part he was. Rhett is one of the greatest male characters ever created. I knew that. I’d read the entire book through six times, trying to get his moods. I’ve still got a copy in my dressing…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Clark Gable, George Cukor and the Rumor Mill
Ever heard the rumor that Clark Gable got George Cukor fired as the director of Gone with the Wind because George was gay and Clark had such an inflated ego he wanted his own friend Vic Fleming to diret him instead? I hash out the rumor in this post from 2012: Rumor Mill: Clark Gable, George Cukor and Gone with the Wind
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Gone with the Wednesday: The Stars Before “the Wind”
Let’s take a look at the stars of Gone with the Wind before they starred in their iconic roles 75 years ago… Vivien Leigh (Scarlett O’Hara) Olivia de Havilland (Melanie Wilkes) Ann Rutherford (Carreen O’Hara) Evelyn Keyes (Suellen O’Hara) Leslie Howard (Ashley Wilkes) Barbara O’Neill (Ellen O’Hara) Thomas Mitchell (Gerald O’Hara) and…a young Clark Gable (Rhett Butler)
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Gone with the Wednesday: Who’s That Girl?
Many people over the years have seen the above photo of Clark clutching hands and beaming at this random brunette woman in Atlanta and wondered, WHO is that incredibly lucky girl? The answer is…Mildred Hartsfield. William B. Hartsfield was the 49th Mayor of the city of Atlanta (and yes, that airport you transfer in everytime you fly Delta is named after him). He was mayor from 1937-1962, the longest tenure of any Atlanta mayor. He was in full support of hosting the premiere of Gone with the Wind , seeing it as an oppurtunity to show off his fine city to the world and therefore pulled out all the stops. He declared…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Portrait of Rhett Butler
Clark Gable hated taking publicity photos. He often said it made him feel like a ham. Gone with the Wind was no exception and after hours working on set he was subjected to several more hours of sitting under hot lights in heavy Civil-War era suits, grinning (or scowling) for the camera over and over. Let’s take a look at some of the solitary shots of Clark Gable (suffering) as Rhett Butler.