Gossip Friday: Mr. and Mrs. Gable in Nashville
From January 1941:
Nashville, TN: Gable, Lombard Smilingly Give Autographs in Stopover Here
Clark Gable and Carole Lombard smilingly gave autographs and had a cheery greeting for nearly a hundred persons who had gathered to see the movie stars in their brief stopover at Berry Airport last night.
The two were en route to Hollywood via American Airlines from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore where Gable underwent an operation for an abscessed tooth and where Mrs. Gable had taken a room to be near him.
They were accompanied by Howard Strickling, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer representative, who said Gable’s next starring vehicle will be “Soapy Smith,” a roistering romance of the Colorado mineral fields in which the actor plays the role of a reckless adventurer.
“I feel like a new man,” Gable said, smiling as he stroked the head of a little girl in a red snow suit who had asked for his autograph.
“Here, honey,” he said to Miss Lombard, “write your name for the little girl.”
The actress looked tired. She had on a mink coat and a black hat. A veil screened her face, but her smile was charming.
“I guess the people of the South still look on me as Rhett Butler,” Gable said, “and I’ll always appreciate the South for producing such a role for me to play.”
Fellow passengers on the plane said that Gable pulled off his shoes and wiggled his toes. “When I ride on a plane, my feet swell,” he explained.
He and his actress autographed cards for all the passengers.
Strickling said Gable’s new picture will be put under production about January 15. The Gables left Baltimore this morning, and hope to be in Hollywood tomorrow.
Gable appeared as he did in “Parnell.” He looked worn. The hair at his temples was gray.
Miss Lombard said little, but she smiled graciously while her husband did the talking.
Crowds were waiting both inside and outside the airways office as the plane glided in at 9:40. Mr. and Mrs. Gable got away from the crowd for a few minutes to rest in a private room at the airport.
2 Comments
Dan
OMG, was this when they would have been trying to figure out their fertility issues? Poor Carole. This would have been such a stressful time for them both 🙁
Connie
Now that you mention that Dan; you’re probably right. What always amazed me about Clark & Carole was that as big a star that Gable was; Carole was willing to” take the back seat” to his career and just about gave up her own to nurture his. I always wonder how things would have turned out had she lived. Would they have had the children they wanted? How would that have enhanced their marriage? The few things I’ve read about Carole Lombard in her brief life; she seemed to be such a giving, kind, encouraging person. I could see their children not necessarily becoming actors; but perhaps becoming doctors, teachers, humanitarians perhaps. Just being in service to others.