{Hollywood} Home to Encino
As I learned after zig-zagging around the (often treacherous) Hollywood hills, most stars of today and yesterday aren’t that different when it comes to where they lay their head. Some locations are desirable only so you can write a certain street and a certain zip code as your address. No doubt this is the reasoning behind people who bought residences such as Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks’ Pickfair and Jimmy Stewart’s beloved Beverly Hills home only to wreck them down and build something ultra-modern and ultra-vulgar.
Both having spent several years residing under the shining lights of Hollywood, Clark and Carole chose the quieter suburb of Encino to set up their new life together.
Clark and Carole had both visited director Raoul Walsh’s home in the San Fernando Valley and were admirers of it. A twenty acre property removed from bustling Hollywood, it had a small main house, garage, stable, barn, fields brimming with alfalfa and oats, and an orchard with orange, lemon and grapefruit trees. In late 1938, Carole got wind that Raoul was looking to sell and sell quickly. Clark and Carole both jumped on the idea, but Clark being cash poor, anticipating a huge settlement looming to divorce Ria, Carole ponyed up and wrote the check for $50,000 and began the renovating and decorating process while she patiently waited for that divorce decree.
It came the following March and they were married. By summer they had moved from Carole’s house in Bel Air and settled into domestic bliss on their ranch.
If Carole had lived, it seems the ranch would not have been their long-standing home. News reports in 1941 state that they were looking for even more land to set up a big cattle ranch; the location anywhere from Northern California to Arizona or even Wyoming. Carole died before these dreams were realized.
Following Carole’s death, Clark couldn’t bear to stay at the ranch for a few weeks. No doubt when he did return it was with a heavy heart. Soon afterwards he put the ranch up for sale.
From a 1942 article:
[One night Clark Gable’s friend] Al Menasco went home to that Encino house with him.“I’ve got to get out of here,” Clark said. “Sunday I’ll go look for a new place.”
“You bet,” said Al. “I’ll help you.” He did help too. On Sunday, he drove Clark all over the San Fernando Valley and every place they looked at, he’d point out the advantages. He told Clark that there would never be a thing on any of these ranches to remind him of Carole, never a stable where they hung up their tack after their long rides, never a barn where he’d remember the first cow he bought, which hadn’t given enough milk, and how, when he’d sent the animal back to its original owner, Carole had said it must be the most humiliated cow in all of California. He kept pointing out these advantages. Gable finally gave him a look from beneath those brows of his.
“So ok,” he said very sharply. “So turn around and I’m not leaving the old house.”
His trusted caretaker, together with his few house servants and his faithful secretary, Jean Garceau, kept the ranch running while he was in Europe during World War II. Upon his return in 1944, he again put the ranch up for sale. But again took it off the market.
In the late 1940’s, Clark traveled around, spending time in New York, Florida and on hunting trips. He spent nearly two years in Europe and Africa in the early 1950’s (filming Mogambo, Never Let Me Go and Betrayed), not returning to the ranch once.
But eventually he did return home to Encino. The ranch to him was a place that I think pained him, but perhaps it was more painful to think of letting it go.
Fourth wife Sylvia Ashley moved in in 1949 and swiftly out in 1951.
1955 brought the arrival of fifth wife Kay Williams, her two children and their nanny. And while Clark and Kay did buy a vacation house in Palm Springs, the ranch remined their home address.
Clark left the ranch for the last time via ambulance on November 6, 1960, of course not knowing it would be the last time.
Kay sold the ranch property to developers in the 1970’s and moved to Beverly Hills. The property was divided up and mansions were placed all over what had once been Clark’s farmland, but the original house remained standing.
There are several articles in The Article Archive about the ranch. Two particularly good ones are this one and this one. It was also featured in Architectual Digest in 1990.
From a June 1940 article:
It’s out in the Valley, the Gable ranch, about a forty-minute drive from Beverly Hills. You turn off the Boulevard on a narrow dirt road and travel until you come to a white hanging gate. The brown earth is turned up to the sun. A tractor stands idle while a farmer eats his lunch. Farther along, the whitewashed tree trunks of a citrus orchard are luminous in the sunshine. And finally you come to the old stables, now a garage, where the driveway turns around a big tree that has flowers growing at its base.
No longer off dirt paths, for us Encino was a short trip up the interstate from Hollywood. Clark and Carole’s former address was Petit Avenue, which is now the main street with million dollar homes nestled on either side, each resting on the Gables’ former property.
This neighborhood being known as ‘Clark Gable Estates”, I looked for a sign stating so but didn’t find one.
Not by accident, the street the former ranch home is now on is named Tara Drive.
This being the original home and all the surrounding houses being built on the former acreage of their property, the former ranch house is the only one way off the street, tucked away behind a gate. The driveway leads up to a roundabout that goes in front of the main house and guest house.
The house being way off the street and pretty inaccessible, my picture isn’t spectacular, but here is Clark’s home:
The gate and fence looks exactly the same, I was happy to notice.
The only part visible from the street. Based on the location, I am pretty sure this is the guest house that was built in the late 1940’s. Clark’s stepchildren Joan and Bunker lived here with their nanny.
The house is now blue, as you can see, as opposed to white. Clark and Carole’s once 20+ acre property is now reduced to a little over an acre and their quaint two-bedroom ranch home is now over 6,700sqft and has seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms.
But it is fortunate that this house is still standing and although obviously modernized and expanded, well taken care of.
22 Comments
Pam Ewing
I want to let you know how much I thoroughly enjoyed reading and seeing photos of your search for Clark & Carole Gable in and around Hollywood. You have experienced my ultimate “dream”. And I have been anxiously waiting for your trip to Encino and the Gable Ranch. It’s so good knowing the home is still there but had I the good fortune to have purchased it, I would not have changed a thing…;-) You might recall, that I do have the good fortune, however, of possessing their eagle doorknocker that was on The Ranch from 1939 until the mid 70’s. I also was thoroughly enthralled by your treks thru the various cemeteries…another long time goal of mine. Were you able to view Clark and Carole’s crypt at Forest Lawn?
You do such a great service in keeping the memory of Mr. Gable alive. Long Live The King!!
admin
Thank you so much! It was a dream come true for me. We had a great time roaming cemeteries and finding old houses. With so many homes torn down, I am very glad the Gable ranch is still there and is still absolutely gorgeous. It’s like a little oasis.
I do remember talking to you about the door knocker! That is so wonderful that you have that in your possession.
I did go see Clark and Carole at Forest Lawn–the highlight of the trip for me! That will be my last blog post about Hollywood. I have about five to go.
lovegable
OH,MY GOD,thank you very much!!! I’m chinese girl.I love Clark and Carole, please suppply about Clark Gable’S video, In china,I see few Clark Gable’S video, thank you!!!!
The Lady Eve
A really lovely post – but heartbreaking, too. I recently did a piece for a blogathon on “To Be or Not to Be,” Carole Lombard’s last film. In the process of looking into her last film and the last days of her life, I read that after her death Gable insisted her room be preserved as she’d left it and closed the door. Then he joined the military and set off for WWII.
I hadn’t seen pictures of the Encino home before and it is enchanting. If only it had become a historical landmark and left alone…
lovegable
who do own the Encino house now? which house is gable’s son owning? sorry, my english is poor
June
Oh, this was wonderful! And David laughed, saying “see, she didn’t climb a fence either!” reminding me of our 1975 adventure. I still wish I had been brave, pushed through the tall weeds, and open a falling fence! I was young then; could have done it. Unfortunately, all of our photos were destroyed because David decided to go out on to some rocks along coast at Cambria – a HUGE wave came in and the expensive camera (a wedding gift) was ruined along with film in it. Luckily, I still had David! haha Again, bravo to you – and the pics are GREAT, silly girl!
admin
Thank you June!
Lovegable: The house is owned by an ex-investment banker/motivational speaker. He bought it from Clark’s widow in the 1970’s and has lived there ever since. I do not know where Clark’s son lives; somewhere in Southern California.
lovegable
Thank you , admin.
Encino is very beautiful, key couldnt sell Encino.
It should belong gable and carole .
sandra hammond
I have really enjoyed seeing the pictures of the beautiful home that Clark Gable and Carole Lombard shared. I wish we were able to see the inside of the home since it has been redone. I couldn’t imagine living in that home knowing that they had lived there. Their story is so sad. I am glad that he did find happiness with his fifth wife Kay. She really made his life happy after losing Carole.
B. M.
Clark Gable’s son lives in Malibu.
Lori
What a shame Kay Spreckels had to sell the ranch to a DEVELOPER. It almost seems as if she was hoping that even the ex home of Carole Lombard would be destroyed.
She’d have to have known that the the place would be nothing but wall to wall houses…how could she do that ? Out of spite to Carole’s ghost ? How can you live on a beautiful 40 acre ranch and in the end, hand it over to DEVELOPERS ? What a horrible woman.
Lori
One other comment.I’ll never understand how anyone can get a home that was original to a past,famous owner or even just an original historic home without a famous ex owner….and start changing it. I just can’t fathom it.
So what if you want extra bathrooms ? Or bigger rooms ? Then go build them somewhere else. Go build a brand new house somewhere ! Once you destroy history, it’s GONE.
Kimberly
Hi there, do you know the name of the ex investment banker that bought the home? I heard it was Milken. Thank you!
admin
Yes, Michael Milken. He bought it from Kay and has lived there ever since.
Kimberly Kennedy
Love!
Toni
I was a childhood friend of Joan and visited the ranch frequently. The house to the right of the main house, where the round-about is, was the residence for the Gable’s butler, Martin, and their housekeeper, Louise, as well as other staffers. There were two little guest houses on the property down from the main house, where Joan, Bunker and Yo (governess) stayed. The first time, I ever smoked a cigarette was on that property in the stables. (How naive were we, that no one would see us?) Such childhood memories. Thank you for this wonderful article!
Marty
Enjoyed this so much! Thank you!
Ruth
I was 14 when Mr. Gable passed away. I remember like it was yesterday. It broke my heart. I was so hoping I could have met him. A more handsome man, there was NOT!
I had been saving my money to go to California to see him. Dear God, what a loss !!!
Jen
Just Wondering if Joan will write a book about her life on the Gable ranch?
DMGAdmin
That would be interesting. I’d think she would have written it by now, she’s in her sixties.
Manon Galloway
I too, like the former person who mentioned her dismay with this property being changed as I have been a person, like her, that HATES history being destroyed!! This harkens to “Pickfair” for me… What an ABSOLUTE TRAVESTY! I understand the Singer, Pia Isadora tore it down and rebuilt what I have seen i pictures, a COMPLETE 1980’s style (a period in my opinion where there was NO style!) atrocity! That was SO devastating to me as a lover of “Old Hollywood”… Unbelieveable In my opinion, that home should have been preserved no matter the cost and made a MUSEUM of OLD HOLLYWOOD! When talking about Mary Pickford and Fairbanks, you are talking about the VERY BEGINNINGS of HOLLYWOOD!! WHY this was allowed by the historical society there is absolutely, 100% BEYOND ME!! Ot os am absolute TRAVESTY and DESTRUCTION of HISTORY. And, Hollywood should be ASHAMED, they’ve allowed a lot of this destruction of history to happen and we are the FILM HISTORY capital of the WORLD!! Disgusting!! I guess why my Dad, who brought us up in San Francisco Bay Area, referred to LA as a “cultural desert”… People that have the entire history of FILM and have almost NOTHING to show for it!! Really sad…
Eliza Bradley
Lombard was Gable’s first & last true love. So perfect together. Ultimate love story. Should have had children or adopted. All they really wanted was a family finally. They had paid there dues to Hollywood. They needed a life. Although I am a born 3 generations later, I adore the 30’s & loved Lombard & Gable. I like the lifestyle of stars of that era ~ 1929 had destroyed income but The Stars kept going.