{New Article} 1950: Clark and Sylvia

New to the website is a series of syndicated newspaper articles written 74 years ago this week. The media was in a frenzy because, out of the clear blue, Clark Gable had hurriedly gotten married just before Christmas 1949 and hightailed it to Hawaii. The game of “who would be the next Mrs. Gable” had been played practically since Carole Lombard’s funeral eight years prior. Any woman Clark was pictured out with was declared to be the one.

The British, thrice-married widow of Douglas Fairbanks Sr. was a shock then and it’s still a shock now. 74 years later, it still isn’t clear what on earth Clark was thinking. There were many other women who fit the bill, some he went out with for weeks, for months, who obviously adored him. The media at the time, once the ceremony was over and the honeymoon had ended, seemed to want to shout from the rooftops that this pairing DID make sense and let us tell you WHY. It didn’t then and it doesn’t now.

These three articles don’t offer a lot in the way of substance.

At first appraisal Clark and Sylvia didn’t appear to have a thing in common. The big, husky Clark is the personification of the great outdoors. Slender Sylvia is like a hothouse orchid whose pale petals open only in the soupy sunshine of all the nightclubs in the world—from Paris to Palm Beach, Singapore to Saranac.

And the big current $64 question is, how’s she gonna like it down on the Gable farm in Encino? And if not, will Clark have to like what she likes—or else?

Gather around, kiddies, I have a surprise for you. I think they’re both going to like it fine. Because Clark, more and more, has been getting bored by those great lonely outdoor spaces.

Lady Sylvia, who’s been wife of two peers of the British realm and the two biggest movie stars in Hollywood history, isn’t entirely what she seems to be. In one section of her heart, she’s quite a home girl, and just as much of an outdoor huntin’ and fishin’ female as the late Carole Lombard—Clark’s third wife. And just as much fun to be with….

Very few people will believe that Lady Sylvia, the queen of café society, the toast of the international set, one of the best dressed women in the world, not only does her own marketing but also washes and fixes her hair herself—and always has. She also manicures her nails. And, she’s a terrific cook. Not only all that, but when she loves a man, she’ll do anything for him, even hunting and fishing!

Yes, the general consensus was that the outdoorsy Clark had grown bored with that lifestyle so now was interested in being a tux-wearing plus one at the nightclubs! The very idea that Sylvia was as much of an outdoor gal as Carole Lombard is laughable and I cannot imagine anyone back then buying that. Oh and she manicures her own nails! I stand corrected. This marriage will surely last then.

Everyone wants to know how Lady Sylvia succeeded in marrying Clark when so many other just-as-beautiful girls failed. Virginia Grey was so sure that Clark would never remarry, she gave him the gate after years of companionship. Iris Bynum, who looked pretty hot for a while, plunged into marriage with a colonel in the army, shortly after a tiff with Clark. Anita Colby seemed to have the best chance, but when I asked her, “are you going to marry Mr. Gable?” she replied, “He’s never asked me.” Anita finally pulled up stakes here to live in New York.

Personally, I think Sylvia happened to be around at the psychological moment. Every one of Clark’s girls, including Marilyn Maxwell and Audrey Totter, have told me he was a very lonely person. As the years went on and the touch of gray appeared in his dark hair, he seemed lonelier. Sure, he still likes to fish and hunt, but lately the trips to his Oregon hunting grounds were getting shorter. And he seemed rather more lonely recently, with his passion for people in nightclub life. Christmas and the New Year is always a dreary time for lonely people. And I think both Clark and Sylvia, who is usually very gay and has a great sense of humor, were dreading the holidays.

There may be truth to this. She was fun, she was available, she was new and exciting, it was the holidays, he didn’t want to be alone. That’s that.

Clark and Sylvia were separated by February 1951 and divorced the following year. So much for that.

You can read the complete articles here:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3