Goodbye, Carole
Today marks 77 years since Carole Lombard perished in a plane crash at the young age of 33.
Every year I mark this anniversary, and every year I marvel at the fact that she has been dead for such a long time. There is just something timeless about Carole.
Carole’s death anniversary over the years:
2010: Memorial poem
2011: Excerpt from “The Story Gable Wouldn’t Tell”
2012: Photo gallery of Carole
2013: Excerpt from “This Was Carole”
2014: Excerpt from “What the Loss of Carole Lombard Means to Clark Gable”
2015: Excerpts from articles about Carole’s death
2016: For the 75th anniversary of her death, I did a day-by-day recap of the newspaper reports of the tragedy. January 16, January 17, January 18, January 19-20, January 21, January 22, January 23.
2017: A celebration of Carole content over the years
There are quite a few poignant articles in the Article Archive about Carole’s death:
What the Loss of Carole Lombard Means to Clark Gable
Carole Lombard’s Life Story Part 1
Carole Lombard’s Life Story Part 2
How Clark Gable is Conquering Loneliness
Celebrate Carole Lombard today!
One Comment
mary whittaker
Wow; 77 years. Forever young.
I noticed the quote from CG you posted a couple of anniversaries ago from the 1950’s where he mentions wondering what Carole would have thought of everything going on then (in the ’50’s). I can’t imagine what the 2 of them would think about life today – if they had any concept that 77 years later people would still be thinking about Carole and remembering this date.
I personally don’t think that Clark and Carole would have survived as a couple very much longer had she lived. Their relationship seemed entirely one sided to me (with Carole exhaustively trying to make herself into whatever made Clark happy). I do believe he certainly was crushed and guilt ridden by her death – and at that point realized what he had had and had previously taken largely for granted with her. What a tragedy for her – and for all the other people on that plane. It’s crushing to know that she (and her mother and Winkler) had absolutely no need to have been on board…and in fact virtually forced their way on at Carole’s diva like insistence.
I thought that Matsen’s “Fireball” was excellent – so well researched and comprehensive. It was so great to have a new/modern analysis of all that had happened so long ago. Every time I travel to Las Vegas I can’t help but look up at Mt Potosi and wonder about the wreckage still lying there after all these years – along with Lombard’s wedding ring (which was never found). Does anyone know what ever happened to the locket Gable had made and wore around his neck for so many years – containing a lock of her hair and some recovered portions of her jewelry?