Anniversary
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Remembering Clark Gable
Clark Gable died 64 years ago today, after suffering a fatal heart attack. He was 59 years old. Still full of life, he had just completed The Misfits and was eagerly awaiting the birth of his son. You can read about his death and funeral here. After Clark’s death, the newspaper the Atlanta Constitution interviewed some Atlantans who had met Clark when he was in town for the premiere of Gone with the Wind. Atlantans Who Entertained Gable in 1939 Comment on His Death by Yolande Gwin Clark Gable whispered to one of the newspaperwomen and said: “Do you suppose I could have a few words with her? (Margaret Mitchell).…
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85 Years Ago, Meet the Newlyweds
85 years ago today, March 30, 1939, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, married less than 24 hours, posed happily for the press on the lawn of her Bel-Air home. Two things that are misconceptions about that day: 1. No, they did not spend their wedding night in Oatman, Arizona. I don’t know who started that rumor to generate tourism to Oatman, but NO they did not. They drove all night back to Los Angeles. 2. The March 30 pictures were not taken on the lawn of their Encino ranch house. They were still renovating and had not moved in yet. The newlyweds stayed at Carole’s home on St. Cloud Rd…
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85 Years Ago, Clark Gable is Set Free
On March 8 1939, Clark Gable’s second wife, Maria “Ria” Franklin Gable, and her atrocious hat, obtained a divorce in Reno, Nevada. Clark and Ria’s marriage had been “in name only” for years. Clark had left the family home to live at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in the fall of 1935 and famously began a romance with Carole Lombard the following year. Ria had been confident Clark would not divorce her, stating to reporters that Clark had never mentioned divorce. As the years wore on and the romance between Clark and Carole blossomed, the press began to loudly criticize Ria for clinging on and not allowing Carole to become Mrs.…
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Happy Birthday, Clark Gable
William Clark Gable was born February 1, 1901 in Cadiz, Ohio. The only child of William “Bill” and Adeline “Addie” Gable arrived at 5:30am in the middle of a raging snowstorm, and weighed ten and a half pounds. To celebrate, there is a new series of articles on the site that were written by Adela Rogers St. Johns, a dear friend of Clark’s (so much so that there were rumors for years that one of her sons was not her husband’s but Clarks…she always denied it). Adela wrote them after Clark’s death in November 1960 to eulogize her friend. Some snippets: The king is dead. Long live the king, because…
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Remembering Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard was killed on January 16, 1942, when the plane carrying her, her mother, MGM publicity man and the Gables’ friend Otto Winkler, and several others, crashed into Mount Potosi outside Las Vegas. Carole was only 33. You can read more about her death here. From the Associated Press, February 1, 1942: So much has been written on the subject of Carole Lombard’s tragic death that almost any sentiment must be a repetition of other tributes to her. However, a few paragraphs that appeared recently in the Motion Picture Herald sum up Hollywood’s feelings so adequately, they bear reprinting. “Hollywood,” states the writer, “is mourning Carole Lombard as it…
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Remembering Clark Gable
Clark Gable died 63 years ago today. He was 59 years old. The Los Angeles Evening Herald Express, Thursday, November 17, 1960: Marilyn Monroe Weeps for Gable by Bus Engleman It was my sad task to break the news of Clark Gable’s death to Marilyn Monroe, who co-starred with “The King of Hollywood” in the last picture he’ll ever make. “Oh, God, what a tragedy,” Marilyn sobbed, almost unable to believe it. I had gone to her apartment at 44 E, 57th St. at 4am and called her on the house phone. Her maid awakened her and she came to the phone sleepy voiced. The news that the man she…
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Happy Anniversary, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard
Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were married 84 years ago today, March 29, 1939, in Kingman, Arizona. It was Clark’s third marriage and her second. Clark was hard at work on a little film called Gone with the Wind at the time. Carole had been known as the “Queen of Screwball” for her zany comedies like Nothing Sacred, My Man Godfrey, True Confession and The Princess Comes Across. After she married Clark, she changed course and decided she wanted to try her hand at drama. Desperate to have a baby, she slowed down her work load and only made six films from 1939 until her untimely death in January 1942.…
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Happy Birthday, Dear Mr. Gable
William Clark Gable was born 122 years ago today, on February 1, 1901, in Cadiz, Ohio. The only child of William and Adeline Gable, he was born at 5:30am during an intense snowstorm. Clark’s father was quite proud of his newborn son, as he recalled later, “The kid, I always call him that, was a real he-man from the start. He was a regular blacksmith from the time he was born.” The future King of Hollywood had humble beginnings. As detailed in “The King” by Charles Samuels: By one of those oddities of history that delight both scholars and simpletons Clark Gable was born just as Queen Victoria’s funeral was…
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For Us, The King Will Never Die
Clark Gable died 62 years ago today at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Los Angeles. A heart attack claimed The King of Hollywood at age 59. This pictorial layout appeared in Modern Screen magazine after his death: Clark Gable 1901-1960 For us the King will never die A poor boy…a nobody…with big ears and a magnetic charm, a he-man ruggedness…Clark lived his life, said little, and we loved him. lovers: In Clark’s life there were five wives and no scandals. But on the screen his amours were messy–and with the greats of filmland’s Golden Days. Shown in his arms are Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow and Vivien Leigh, the lovely…
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Happy 100th Birthday, Judy Garland!
Judy Garland, born Frances Gumm on June 10, 1922, would have been 100 years old today! Although Judy and Clark Gable never co-starred together, they were both on the MGM roster and Judy’s big break into stardom was because of her singing her adulation for a certain Mr. Gable. At the beginning of 1937, 14-year-old Judy was contracted to MGM but they didn’t really know what to do with her. She was extremely talented, yes, but was too young to sing romantic songs. Judy was set to appear on the radio show “Ole Maestro,” a radio variety program run by Ben Bernie. The vintage torch song “You Made Me Love…
