Happy Birthday, Mr. Gable

Clark Gable was born 121 years ago today, on February 1, 1901, in Cadiz, Ohio. The only child of William and Adeline Gable, Clark or “Billy” as he was called growing up, would one day be one of the biggest movie stars in the world. And 121 years later, we still remember him.

Director Mervyn LeRoy once said, “The tough thing about describing Clark Gable is that there’s nothing bad to say.”

There was a general consensus around Hollywood that Clark was a stand-up guy–remarkably unpretentious and without an ounce of self-importance. A rare type of man whom men wanted to be friends with and women were automatically smitten with. A man who wore the same suits for 20 years, who ate onions like apples, who’s weakness was chocolate cake, who loved dogs and all animals, who joined the Army at age 41 when no one would have expected him to.

Here are some candid photos of Clark over the years. Happy Birthday, Clark!