Films
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Gossip Friday: Advice from the Expert
From July 1959: In a scene for “But Not For Me,” Clark Gable had to show Barry Coe how to kiss Carroll Baker, according to script. So when Barry had a love scene in “Affair” with Christine Carere, he got a still photo of the clinch, sent it to Gable with a note, “Is this okay?”
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Gossip Friday: Quite a Distraction
From 1954: In May, 1950, the big race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was only a few weeks away. To add to the excitement, MGM was hopefully trying to shoot scenes for To Please a Lady. The cameramen were trying to get shots of Barbara Stanwyck coming down the back steps of the Pagoda, but they couldn’t get into the correct position because of the crowd. Suddenly everybody started moving infield, and I, wondering what ruse they were using to distract the crowd, followed and saw four State Troopers. Walking in their midst was the handsome, smiling Clark Gable. This enabled MGM to shoot their scene, and enabled me to see…
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Gossip Friday: Rhett Can Ride
From March 1940: Clark Gable proved that if he ever gets tired of romantic leads he can sign up as a hard-riding western star. Assigned to “sit out” a scene on a spirited black horse, Gable found the animal feeling too good to stand still. So, before the next take was ready, Gable galloped his steed up the road and gave it such a workout that it was glad to take a rest while the picture was being shot. The riding part was that of Rhett Butler in “Gone with the Wind,” David O. Selznick’s Technicolor production starring Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland and currently showing…
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Gossip Friday: Below Freezing
From March 1947: Clark Gable and Lana Turner are another pair of movie lovers who are not presently what you might call friendly. During “Homecoming,” the atmosphere on the set was below freezing they tell me. And that’s really strange because Lana and Clark are the two sexiest characters in the film business. I mean, if anyone can out-sexy Clark, it’s Lana–and vice versa. I’m told they had an outside date once and something went wrong. However, they’re both too smart to let it show in their movies.
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Gossip Friday: Misadventure
From February 1951: You can safely bet anything you have that Clark Gable and Greer Garson will never kiss each other, or anything each other, in any movie. “Gable’s Back and Garson’s Got Him!” I remember the ad excitement when Clark returned from the war, and Greer, then Queen of the Metro lot, grabbed him for “Adventure.” A better title might have been “Misadventure.” They never did hit it off. Some say it was because Greer was ready to work until 10:00am. Clark Gable stomped on the sidelines, made up and ready to go from 9:00am. But that I find hard to swallow. Greer is too conscientious an actress to…
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Gossip Friday: Don’t Worry, Fella
From April 1947: At a preview showing of “Homecoming” in Glendale, Clark Gable, John Hodiak and Anne Baxter were all sitting together. During a love scene between Gable and Anne, a man behind them whispered to his wife: “Gee, Hodiak just sits there and watches Gable make love to his wife.” Hodiak turned around and whispered back, “Don’t worry, fella. I kissed Anne when we got home. And Gable wasn’t there to watch me.”
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Gossip Friday: Intelligent and Sensitive
From June 1948: On “The Hucksters” set, Clark Gable and Deborah Kerr were going through a scene in the rear of a taxi. Clark looked exceedingly well…. Producer Arthur Hornblow strolled over and [said] what a pleasure it was to work with Clark. “He knows the script inside out weeks in advance and if there is a complaint to be made, he makes it before the picture starts instead of waiting until the day of the scene. And intelligent, sensitive actor,” Mr. Hornblow pronounced him.
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Gossip Friday: Very Gray
From 1950: The person this story amuses most is–Clark Gable. It seems before he started “Across the Wide Missouri,” his studio instructed him to let his beard grow. Being a good boy who always does what he’s told, the virile Mr. G. just smiled and tucked away his razor. Finally, they called him into the studio for wardrobe fittings. When they got a gander at that luxuriant face foliage–very fine but very gray–they ordered the makeup department to make with a fast false beard. Clark went happily on his way–to the barber shop.
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Gossip Friday: Playing Scrabble
From 1954: Interiors were shot in London and exteriors in Holland. At all times, in all places, longtime friends Lana Turner and Clark Gable had a ball working together on “Betrayed.” Clark brought back old copper pieces for his Encino ranch fireplace. Lana collected rare. cut crystal mugs. Between shots the Hollywood pair taught English cast members how to play Scrabble!
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Gossip Friday: No Strange Cats on Strange Cargo
From March 1940: Disappointment smacked down all the let’s-be-there-when-it-happens gang, who under one pretext or another managed to clutter up the sound stage on the first day of shooting for MGM’s Strange Cargo. That’s the picture in which, you know, Joan Crawford and Clark Gable share top billing. And for weeks, the rumor has hottened Hollywood, that Joan and Clark were about as friendly as a couple of strange cats, and that when they got together, the temperamental fur would fly all over the set. So what happened? So Joan smiled at Clark, and Clark smiled at Joan, and it remained for Joan’s famous dachshund “Puppchen” to provide the only…
