Gossip
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Gossip Friday: Clark Gable’s Recipe for a Perfect Wife
From September 1937: Recipe for the Perfect Wife By Clark Gable, she must: –enjoy the things hubby does, laugh at the right time only –not complain about ashes on the floor and clothes not hung up –give him his favorite dish once a week –not complain about unexpected guests brought home by hubby –not sulk when he has bad luck financially –dress up because he wants other men to admire her All right, girls, there’s Clark’s order. Can you fill it? ___ Think Carole Lombard was up to the task?
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Gossip Friday: Earthquake!
On March 10, 1933, “The Long Beach Earthquake” hit Los Angeles. From May 1933: Hollywood came through the earthquake practically unscathed. Long Beach and Compton business districts, only a score of miles away, were virtually demolished. But the sustained temblor, which wrecked these cities, caused Hollywood to shake up on its foundations, and people rushed panic-stricken into the streets. No one knew when the buildings, swaying like trees in a gale, would fall upon them. Hollywood was plenty scared. Broadway stage folk who had recently arrived stood with white faces and open mouths, terrifiedly wishing themselves back in New York. And those who had lived in Hollywood all their lives…
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Gossip Friday: Good Day for Golf
From September 1940: Living in Hollywood is more or less like renting a perpetual reserved room in a madhouse. At 8am of a Sunday this journalist drove to Fox Hills golf course for his usual weekly game, still half asleep. Approaching the first tee he saw a mob of strange creatures emerge from the morning fog, accompanied by unearthly sounds of catcalls, screeching sirens and exploding guns. Any sane person would have gone home. We hung around. Presently there appeared Clark Gable, Bob Taylor, Carole Lombard, Mickey Rooney, Spencer Tracy and other celebrities. It turned out to be the annual MGM golf tournament. When Mickey stepped up for his first…
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Gossip Friday: Tampering with his Tobacco
From June 1932: Big he-man Clark Gable, who doesn’t pull his punches, would like to know who was the dirty so-and-so who put pencil shavings with his choice tobacco in the tobacco jar. The finger of suspicion points to Buster Keaton–but yoo-hoo Buster, you know me, I never said you really did it. I just said some folks suspect you.
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Gossip Friday: No Spat Between Gable and Harlow
From November 1935: Reports were published that Miss Harlow declared a dislike for Gable, and that she openly stated she would never appear in another picture with him. Other printed items vouched that Clark replied: “My pet name for Miss Harlow cannot be printed.” On the day those mis-facts appeared in print, Miss Harlow hurried to her studio publicity director to deny them. She arrived just at the moment when Gable telephoned from his sick-bed to voice and equally vehement denial. The truth is that Clark remarked that he preferred not to work with “a certain star.” Because he had just finished “Hold Your Man” with Jean, gossipers drew their…
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Gossip Friday: Rhett Refuses to Twang
From June 1939: Clark Gable, even, is taking his role of Rhett Butler very, very seriously. More seriously than any he’s every played before, his pals tell us. But he’s not going to try to talk with a Southern accent. So different from Vivien Liegh, the English gal who got the Scarlett O’Hara role. Vivien IS developing a Southern drawl for the film. Even to the extent of snooting her English pals, these nights. She turns down their dinner and party invitatons with this classic–“So soddy, my deahs–but I just cahn’t afford to be exposed to your broad A’s. I’ve got to talk Southern, honey!”
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Gossip Friday: Don’t Believe Your Hunches
From February 1932: Playing hunches or other psychic suggestions is not Clark Gable’s way of doing things. “I don’t believe in hunches at all,” he argued. “In fact my experience has been that hunches work out exactly the opposite way. A lot of people kid themselves into believing a hunch made them do this, that or the other thing that panned out well. As a matter of fact, it was either their own good judgement or advice from outside sources that guided them and not a hunch at all. They judt don’t stop to analyze the reasons behind their own decisions and give all the credit to an imaginary hunch.”…
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Gossip Friday: The Grieving Husband
From February 24, 1942: Clark Gable today was expected to report back to work at his studio within a few days to begin work on “Somewhere I’ll Find You.” The production was postphoned indefinitely when the actor’s wife, Carole Lombard, perished in a plane crash in Nevada. From February 27, 1942: Clark Gable did not actually work before the cameras the first two days after returning to MGM for “Somewhere I’ll Find You.” He sat quietly on the set talking to his director, Wesley Ruggles, and watching various scenes. From March 2, 1942: What can Hollywood offer Clark Gable–without Carole Lombard? It certainly can’t tempt him with more money, more fame,…
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Gossip Friday: Moving On Out
From June 1932: When Clark Gable’s wife went to New York, Clark gave up the apartment that they had occupied together and moved into bachelor quarters. But he didn’t give anybody the address and when he appeared at the studio his manager was constantly by his side to keep him from being questioned about the divorce, which folks say is imminent. However, in his new neighborhood word sort of got around among the kids that Clark was living in that corner house and dozens of little girls–all under ten, Mrs. Gable–have presented themselves at the front door, welcomed Clark to his new house and asked for an autographed picture. In…
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Gossip Friday: Oh, Buster!
From December 1931: Buster Keaton got generous one day and invited the entire cast of “Possessed” to be his guests for luncheon. Joan Crawford and Clark Gable were the honored guests. Then he served them corned beef and cabbage and onions. And that afternoon Joan and Clark had to do a big love scene. Oh, Buster!