Gossip Friday: The Fourth Mrs. Gable

 Since December 20 marks the 60th anniversary of Clark’s marriage to his fourth wife, Lady Sylvia Ashley (for more on her, read here), we’ll devote this week’s Gossip Friday to her and her previous marriage to another man of Hollywood royalty: Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. (Anyone else find it a bit twisted that before she married Clark Sylvia was married to the father of Douglas Fairbanks Jr., who was married to Joan Crawford when Joan was having an affair with Clark? That’s a sick little circle…)

From June 1935:

An eye witness to the arrival of Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. , Lady Ashley and party at Miami Beach, reports that Doug had more than a little trouble covering his irritation at the play everyone made for her ladyship. It seems Douglas expected the “fem” public to make a great dash for him but little did he wot what admirers if titles his fan public is—so, her ladyship was literally mobbed while Doug stood by with a wan smile on his face! Sylvia, Lady Ashley to us, is a handsome gel in the tall, blonde, willowy-English manner. On a shopping tour, a witness said that Sylvia went in for the conservative but that Doug tried to urge the more bizarre nicknacks on her at every turn.

New this week:

An article about Clark written by Spencer Tracy called “My Pal” in the Article Archive