Photos

  • Photos

    1938: Clark Gable and Carole Lombard Attend the Marie Antoinette Premiere

    74 years ago this month, lovebirds Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were among the throngs of celebrities attending the world premiere of MGM’s Marie Antoinette at the  Carthay Circle Theater  in Hollywood (no longer standing, sadly.) The film has been on MGM’s drawing table for years; a pet project of producer Irving Thalberg, who died in 1936 before a camera ever rolled on the project. His wife, Norma Shearer, was set to be the star of the picture. After her husband’s death, the project was shelved while Norma grieved and was ill with pneumonia. The film finally started production in December 1937 and was a lavish affair, with a $1.8 million budget–practically unheard…

  • Photos

    {Photos} Clark Gable and…

    Some of my favorite finds when I am scouring through old fan magazines are candids of random stars together. “I never knew that Blank ever even met Blank!” I often think, particularly now during “awards show season”, how the generations to come won’t feel similar joy, since there are thousands of pictures taken at every red carpet event, awards show and party and so thus the surprise of seeing stars posing together has dwindled. Here are some shots of Clark with other Tinseltown folk…   See more in the gallery.

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    {Photos} Reading Up

    Having never finished high school, Clark was very sensitive to the fact that he never had a formal education. He didn’t ever want to be considered ignorant or unknowledgable and so…he was always reading. His widow, Kay, said he averaged “a book a day” and in his estate auction were dozens of books. Clark was often catching up on the newspaper or cramming in a chapter or two on set.

  • Photos

    {Photos} At Home with Clark and Carole

    On the eve of St. Valentine’s Day, [Clark Gable] drove his car into the garage of the Beverly Hills Hotel, where he was staying, and steered for his usual stall.   “I’m afraid it’s already occupied, Mr. Gable,” said the watchman.   Clark got out, and, to his amazement, discovered a dilapidated Model T Ford, painted white, with a pattern of large red hearts. Tied around the body was a huge red ribbon with a card reading: “To My Valentine, from Carole Lombard.” It wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without some photos of Clark and Carole. Here they are where they were happiest, at home on their ranch.

  • Films,  Gone with the Wind,  Photos

    A Photographer’s View on Gone with the Wind and Carole Lombard

    In 1940, Fred Parrish, a well-known Hollywood photographer, mused on some of his favorite moments. Gone with the Wind For a scene of the evacuation of Atlanta in GWTW, a horse-drawn ammuniton wagon was to come down the street and explode just as the horse passed [a lamp post]. I picked the safe side of the street, but when the bomb in the wagon went off, the horse went the wrong way so fast he made Seabiscuit look sick. If it had not been for the iron safety bowl used in the wagon, I would have been blown right off the lot! I’ll bet the hardest work [Clark Gable] ever…

  • Photos

    {Photos} New in the Gallery Today

    There are 40 new photos in the gallery today, some candids, some from films, including: See all the latest uploads in the gallery. Registration required. Next Wednesday: New photos of Clark Gable and Carole Lombard!

  • Photos

    {Photos} Kiss Me, Clark

    I’m sure you’ve heard the song by the Postal Service, which is titled “Clark Gable.” The line that features his name is “I’ll kiss you in a way Clark Gable would have admired.” Say what you want about Clark and his acting limitations, but that man was a born onscreen lover! Rosalind Russell recalled: “The only man who could make a love scene comfortable was Clark Gable. He was born graceful, he knew what to do with his feet and when he took hold of you, there was no fooling around.” Let’s get a lesson in the fine art of onscreen lip locking from Mr. Gable himself…