Anniversary
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Happy Anniversary, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard
Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were married 76 years ago today, on March 29, 1939. After three years of will-they-or-won’t-they, America’s favorite couple had made it official. I usually post this on their anniversary, but instead of me telling the tale of their wedding day, it’s best coming from Clark Gable himself, don’t you think? “It has been written since then that Carole and I had that wedding day planned out for months in advance, but that’s not true. It happened this way. On the afternoon of March 28, I was finished with my scenes [in Gone with the Wind] about three in the afternoon. While I was taking off…
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Happy Birthday, Clark Gable
Clark Gable would be 114 if he was alive today. Last year, to celebrate his birthday, I complied 113 quotes that others said about Clark. So this year I gathered together 114 quotes from the man himself. So here’s what Clark had to say on a number of topics: 1. “What I want from life is what everyone wants—peace of mind, good health, a share of this world’s goods, friends—companionship. I’m not different from anyone else, for that’s what everyone wants.” (1948) 2. “Just don’t ask me for advice on staying married. I wouldn’t know the secret. I must have learned something about marriage since I went into it the first…
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Remembering Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard Gable died 73 years ago today, at the young age of 33. Her sudden death in a plane crash shocked the nation, stunned Hollywood and devastated her husband. This article that was published a few months after Carole’s death, appears in the Article Archive, What the Loss of Carole Lombard Means to Clark Gable: Gable was working on that fateful afternoon of January 16, 1942. He felt wonderful about it. He’d had five months lay-off since the production of “Honky Tonk,” the longest vacation he’d experienced since his first real click in 1931. It was swell to be back and he liked the new picture. It was…
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Goodbye, Mr. Gable
Clark Gable died 54 years ago today, on November 16, 1960. He was 59 years old. Here is the description of his final ten days on earth, detailed by his widow, Kay. The last day Clark spent in the house he loved began much as any other day on the ranch, except that it was raining. It was Saturday, Nov. 5, 1960. The night before, Pa had finally finished all work on The Misfits and he came home looking so worn out my heart ached for him. He talked of flying up to the duck club near Stockton for the weekend, but changed his mind. Saturday morning he looked…
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Happy Veterans Day
There are a lot of misconceptions about Clark Gable, but one of them that I really can’t tolerate is anyone who says his Army service wasn’t the selfless and heroic act that it was. Today is Veterans Day and therefore the perfect opportunity to revisit this 2008 article that was published in World War II magazine: Captain Hollywood Miami Beach can be miserably hot during the off-season, and in the summer of 1942—long before air conditioning became commonplace—it was an inferno. It was definitely no seaside paradise for the men of the US Army Officer Candidate School who lived there. Barracked in waterfront hotels that the federal government had stripped…
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It Happened One Night, 80 Years Ago
2014 has brought about the 75th anniversary of Gone with the Wind, which has been met with much deserving fanfare. No doubt, Rhett Butler is who draws the majority of people into Clark Gable fandom these days. But this year brings about another important film milestone: the 80th anniversary of It Happened One Night, the little-film-that-could, one of the greatest romantic comedies ever made and the first to win the Academy Award “grand slam”: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay. It is safe to say that if Clark had never played Rhett Butler, he would be remembered best for Peter Warne. Director Frank Capra, one…
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Happy Birthday, Carole Lombard
A very happy birthday to the third Mrs. Clark Gable, the love of his life, Carole Lombard! It isn’t her birthday without this audio of Clark singing “Happy Birthday” to her: Hard to believe Miss Lombard would be 106 if she was still with us today. I’ve just returned from my trip to Ohio and I’ll be working on my blog posts from my trip, plus new Carole stuff so stay tuned!
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1939: A Memorable Year for Clark Gable
Everyone has specific years in their lives where they look back and realize that that particular year was one of the most memorable of their entire lives. 1939 is being heralded quite a bit this year, as it is widely considered the best year for movies in history, with classics such as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Dark Victory, Ninotchka, Wuthering Heights, Beau Geste, Juarez, Stagecoach, etc. Looking back, I don’t think that Clark Gable could deny that 1939 was indeed a special year for him, personally and professionally. Let’s have a look back at Clark’s life, 75 years ago…. January –After…
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We’re 5!
Today marks the fifth anniversary of DearMrGable.com! I can hardly believe that myself. It seems like only yesterday I was just a Clark Gable fan on the internet, sharing information here and there, until people started saying, “He doesn’t have a decent website! YOU should do it!” I went from “Nah, no way I could I do that.” to hand-coding and dealing with the trials and tribulations of WordPress and Coppermine. Five years later and there are over 10,000 pictures in the photo gallery and over 160 articles in the Article Archive. I’ve been told a few times that I should write a book. Now THAT idea frightens me!…
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Happy 75th Anniversary, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard
75 years ago today, on March 29, 1939, Clark Gable married Carole Lombard in Kingman, Arizona. Clark’s description of the day himself: It has been written since then that Carole and I had that wedding day planned out for months in advance, but that’s not true. It happened this way. On the afternoon of March 28, I was finished with my scenes [in “Gone with the Wind”] about three in the afternoon. While I was taking off my make-up, the assistant director came over and said I didn’t need to work the next day. I called Carole at once and with the aid of a close friend, we headed out that…