Anniversary
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{75th Anniversary of Carole Lombard’s Death} January 17, 1942
Yesterday we looked at the headlines from the day of Carole Lombard’s death, published before she perished in a plane crash later that day. The next morning, the world was greeted with the frightful headlines: Carole Lombard Among Those On Plane That Has Crashed In West Screen Star, Army Men Crash Victims Carole Lombard Feared Dead in Plane Crash Carole Lombard, 20 Others on Wrecked Airplane Carole Lombard, Screen Actress, 15 Army Fliers Among Accident Victims Hollywood Performers Weep at Death of Carole Lombard Carole Lombard Believed Victim of Air Tragedy They all said the same thing, in different ways. Carole Lombard and 21 Others Killed As Air Liner Crashes…
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Remembering Carole Lombard on the 75th Anniversary of Her Death
Carole Lombard died 75 years ago today, at the age of only 33. Every year this day comes around and every year I can’t believe she’s been gone as long as she has been. This being the 75th anniversary of her death, I am going to spend the next few days chronicling the newspaper headlines that everyone was reading each morning. Back before the news was immediate and in the palm of your hand–when you had to wait between the morning edition and the evening edition or crowd around your radio to get the latest news. Since the plane crashed in the evening, the headlines the morning of January…
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Remembering Clark Gable
Today, November 16, marks 56 years since Clark Gable passed away at the age of 59. You can read about his death and funeral here. Below are the past years memorial tributes: 2015: Marilyn Monroe and John Huston Remember Clark Gable 2014: Goodbye, Mr. Gable (Clark’s final days, as told by his widow) 2013: In Memory 2012: Goodbye, Mr. Gable (Time Magazine) 2011: Hollywood Loses Its King 2010: In Tribute 2009: Rest in Peace This newspaper article ran across the country on November 17: Gable is Gone–And There is No One to Replace Him by Vernon Scott News of the death late Wednesday of Clark Gable, 59-year-old idol of…
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Happy Birthday, Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard, that zany blonde actress who happened to marry Clark Gable and was arguably the love of his life, was born 108 years ago today in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Here’s some newspaper blurbs from her birthday over the years her and Clark were together: 1937: Carole Lombard had a birthday. Firecrackers exploded under her chair. There was a rubber spider in her makeup box. Carole ate cotton-stuffed candy. Carole struck a match–it exploded. Carole lit a match –it exploded. Carole sat down–the chair collapsed. Carole shook the salt shaker–it contained sugar. Carole’s wondering if it isn’t a pretty high price to pay to maintain her reputation as moviedom’s leading…
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Happy 100th Birthday, Olivia de Havilland!
A very, very Happy 100th Birthday to Olivia de Havilland! Usually when I am writing birthday posts about Clark Gable’s co-stars they are actually no longer with us. But Olivia is alive and well in Paris, and I hope having quite a celebration! She may be most commonly known as “mealy mouthed ninny” (as Scarlett called her) Melanie Wilkes in Gone with the Wind, but Olivia had a illustrious career beyond Melanie. Olivia is a two time Academy Award winner (The Heiress and To Each Their Own) and was nominated three more times. She starred in such classics as The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Adventures…
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Happy Anniversary, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard
Clark Gable and Carole Lombard finally tied the knot 77 (can you believe it) years ago today! Associated Press, March 30, 1939: Happy Ending Written to Courtship of Hollywood Stars Fun-loving Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, who wrote the long anticipated happy ending to the story of their courtship in a little Arizona town late yesterday, returned early today to the bride’s Bel-Air home. Exhausted by their 750-mile trip, they retired, to wait until later to move into the home on his One-Mule San Fernando Valley ranch which Gable redecorated in preparation for the wedding. Friends were not surprised when news of the ceremony reached here last night, although their…
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Happy 115th Birthday, Clark Gable!
Happy 115th Birthday, Clark Gable! In celebration, here are 115 random facts about The King of Hollywood: 1. Clark weighed 10 1/2 pounds at birth. 2. He was born at home with the assistance of the town doctor, who charged $10 for the delivery. 3. He was baptized Catholic, one of his dying mother’s final requests. His father was Methodist. 4. He was named Clark after his maternal grandmother’s maiden name. 5. Clark liked to wear trench coats in movies, considering them lucky. Burberry made him one especially for Comrade X and it instantly became his favorite; he kept it and wore it for twenty years. At an MGM auction in 1969,…
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Remembering Carole Lombard
Today marks 74 years since Carole Lombard died suddenly at age 33. She was the victim, along with her mother and one of Clark’s closest friends, of a fiery plane crash near Las Vegas. A difficult day for Clark Gable and Carole Lombard fans, as in a way it ended both of their lives. Carole’s life was over and with it went Clark’s entire way of life; he was never the same. Here is a bit of a collection of articles in her memory: From the article Goodbye, Carole: “I have seen flames around the plane and there seems to be nobody left alive.” Out of far West vastness eight…
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Marilyn Monroe and John Huston Remember Clark Gable
Clark Gable died 55 years ago today, at the age of 59. A heart attack struck him just days after finishing his final film, The Misfits, and a second one stilled his heart ten days after that. You can read more about his death and funeral here. See where he is buried here. The Misfits hit movie screens on February 1, 1961, on what would have been Clark’s 60th birthday. Clark had seen a rough cut and had declared it the best thing he’d ever done. Director John Huston and co-star Marilyn Monroe were both interviewed by the press around this time, and shared their memories of the late great…
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Happy Birthday, Carole Lombard!
Happy Birthday to dear Carole Lombard Gable, born today in 1908! I don’t think anyone has ever questioned why Clark Gable would fall for Carole. After all, who else but Carole… Looks adorable while putting on waders? And hunting gear? But yet can doll up and be the most glamorous woman in Hollywood? Stays very friendly with her ex-husband? Makes everyone laugh, even David Selznick? Beats up Robert Montgomery with roses? Makes no apologies for how much she loves her dogs? And goats? And horses? And chickens? Jumps fences in pajamas? Even makes a goofball out of Charles Laughton? Looks pretty no matter what face she makes? Made Clark Gable…