Happy Birthday, Clark Gable

William Clark Gable was born February 1, 1901 in Cadiz, Ohio. The only child of William “Bill” and Adeline “Addie” Gable arrived at 5:30am in the middle of a raging snowstorm, and weighed ten and a half pounds.

To celebrate, there is a new series of articles on the site that were written by Adela Rogers St. Johns, a dear friend of Clark’s (so much so that there were rumors for years that one of her sons was not her husband’s but Clarks…she always denied it). Adela wrote them after Clark’s death in November 1960 to eulogize her friend.

Some snippets:

The king is dead. Long live the king, because this big guy is really worth remembering. The title started, or course, as a gag, bestowed on Clark Gable by a pal named Spencer Tracy.

One morning when they were making a picture together, Tracy saw Gable drive up to the MGM studio gate through a populace of cheering girls, women, tourists, boys on their way to school, men on their way to work, then progress down the studio street where every single human being, grips, carpenters, extras, office help, executives, stopped to watch him go by.

So Tracy made a flourishing salaam and said, “Long live the king. Now maybe we can get started.”

From the beginning The King title annoyed Gable and became a barb for anyone who wanted to kid him. But as years went by and Gable was loved by more millions, other stars flashed across the sky and vanished and the big fellow was still tops, it began to come true.

…

“I’m not a bad actor,” he said, apologetically. “I work hard. I’m no Greek Adonis, but men don’t get sore if their wives or sweethearts like me, because I’m the common man and they know that. The reason they come to see me is because I know life is great and they know I know it.

“They take a look at me getting the best of earthquakes and storms at sea and wars and tigers and floods and airplane crackups, and they figure life’s a lot of fun. Life’s worth living even if it gets rough.

“They know that even if I had known what was going to happen to Carole, it was worth it. The price isn’t ever too high if it’s life.

“People don’t want to be depressed. They know life’s good if you stand up to it. That’s the way it’s always been with me and that’s the way it’s going to be. It’s all I’ve got to offer and I’m not going to betray them.”

It’s really not so important that they called Gable The King.

What is important is that everyone who knew him from the US Army to the fan in the street, from the woman who loved him to the top brass and the grips and carpenters at the studio called him a man. That was a man. God bless him!

We shall not see his like again.