Gossip
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Gossip Friday: Life Doesn’t End at Forty, Clark
From May 1937, this is a reader letter in response to this article where Clark claims that life ends at forty: If Clark Gable really believes that “Life Ends at Forty”, let me remind him of a few gents who are over forty and doing very nicely, thank you. Lewis Stone is a fine example of what a man can do after he is forty; Wallace Beery isn’t slipping; Lionel Barrymore is not exactly on the shelf; although Warner Baxter may have a few gray hairs , we don’t stop to count them when we go see one of his pictures. Wake up, Clark! You sound like an old maid…
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Gossip Friday: Lost in Mexico
From May 1940: Getting “lost” in Mexico has been a favorite pastime among Hollywoodites recently. Oh well–it’s good for a headline–and sometimes for a laugh. Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, vacationing south of the border in a station wagon, were mildly surprised to learn that their studios had been worrying about them–all over the country’s newspapers. Eddie Albert, whose publicity department lost track of him while he was sailing off Mexico in his boat, returned to Hollywood with a tale that ties the two Mexican mysteries together neatly. A Mexican deckhand on his boat, Eddie claims, asked him for a big favor. “Please,” begged the Mexican, “when you get back…
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Gossip Friday: Clark and Carole–Oil Magnates?
From January 1940: Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, and other screen celebrities, who are members of Encino’s “Hard Rock Club,” are within weeks of becoming oil magnates. A short time ago, oil was discovered two miles went of the property and hundreds of barrels were produced. Now oil has been discovered on the Club’s land, and before long the club members will be rolling out the barrels. The club started when a group of stars, Valley residents, wanted a weekend lodge for skeet shooting and riding, and purchased 160 acres in the nearby hills for the resort. P.S. The club’s name is derived from the stony nature of the soil.
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Gossip Friday: Clark, Spencer and Al Volunteer
From December 1939: Those who scoffed at the idea of screen stars accepting political offices as mayors of small valley towns are taking it back in large doses these days. And all because Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Al Jolson are men who mean business. After a small school girl had been killed on Ventura Boulevard by a speeding motorist, a meeting of citizens was called and right there in the front row sat Clark, Tracy and Jolson. “We’ll need a committee to help curb this speeding,” the chairman announced, and instantly these three men rose to their feet and volunteered. “We have time between pictures while your men are…
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Gossip Friday: Sick and Bored
From May 1937: Notes on how to pass the time while in bed with influenza, as demonstrated by Clark Gable: Bored by reading, he had a mop handle, minus the mop, brought to him. He tied a paintbrush, artists’ size, on the end, drew funny cartoons on the ceiling! Tired of that, he got a rubber band and a sheet of newspaper, and gean shooting spitballs at the flies in the room. After eight misses, he bagged a horsefly “right between the mirror and the window.” And finally, allowed to leave his bed by his doctor, Clark had the driver’s compartment of his station wagon glassed in, installed a heater…
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Gossip Friday: No Beard!
From February 1937: Before “Parnell” went into production, Director John M. Stahl announced that Clark Gable would grow a beard for the occaison. This was quickly followed by Gable’s announcement that he wouldn’t grow a beard for ANY occaison. Knowing it was a fight to the finish, we visited the set for a round-by-round account. There were beavers galore all over the place, but none on the handsome pan of Gable. They’re calling the battle a draw, though, for he compromised on sideburns and a mustache. _____ From March 1937: Added note on the Clark Gable beard situation: Shortly after the battle of the beaver between Gable and director…
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Gossip Friday: Buzzing about Mr. and Mrs. Clark Gable
From May 1932: The Monday following a recently notable Sunday, Hollywood was fairly buzzing with reports that the Clrk Gables had had a really serious disagreement–so serious, in fact, that the only ultimate outcome could be divorce. Some of us believed..and others didn’t, because ever since Clark has become so popular as a screen hero there have been rumors that all was not well in the Gable establishment. The Tuesday, after the Monday, after the Sunday, Gene Dennis, the girl-psychic wonder who’s been appearing on a local stage in Hollywood, was being interviewed by one of the magazine writers. The interviewer thought this a particularly good time to find out…
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Gossip Friday: Hedda Hopper’s Academy Awards
Since the Oscars are this weekend…. Famed classic Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper picks out her own “Superlative Academy Awards,” from March 1941 (I agree with the first one, anyway!): Best all-around man in Hollywood: Clark Gable, because he has more reality and virility than any other actor on the screen. And because off screen he’s one of the best balanced men in Hollywood, a swell companion and an all-around friend. Best all-around woman in Hollywood: Roz Russell, who’s had more hit pictures this last year than any other actress–because she’s the most civic-minded gal in town. She blends movies, society and citizenship. Most popular woman: Dame Rumor. Have you got…
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Gossip Friday: Get Tough!
From October 1938: Are you preparing for the future–as are many of Hollywood’s biggest stars? A future so far removed from their present lucrative contracts, luxurious homes, and assured box office appeal that it may contain political upheavals, war, poverty and even the wiping out of the picture industry as it stands now? Just a few years ago, wise little stars prepared for the future by saving their salaries, establishing trust funds, creating estates. Today the answer is not so simple! Clark Gable told me: “I’d rather be able to take care of myself in a wilderness, with only limited camping equipment, than have $100,000 in the banks! Banks can…
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Gossip Friday: All for a Bottle of “Pop”
From July 1941: [I’m a prop man at MGM and] would you believe it, I’ve actually seen that big he-man Clark Gable halt production on a picture while he was allowed to leisurely indulge in a bottle of pop. At MGM, I was filling the bookshelves on one of the adjoining sets and from this vantage point was watching a scene being filmed which called for some fast talk on the part of Clark. One of the sentences had turned out to be a tongue twister, and he stumbled on it over and over, becoming more annoyed at himself each time. Finally he went over and said something to the…