{New Article} 1936: Is Carole Lombard in Love at Last?

Is Carole Lombard in love at last? What a question for this article in 1936 to ask! At this point, their romance was new and one of the most exciting topics in Tinsel Town. This article basically recaps Carole’s romantic exploits. After the demise of her marriage to Bill Powell:

All Powell would say was, “For Carole and me there simply was no married life.”

Their story that there had been no quarrel was accepted by Hollywood as true—and their conduct after Carole returned abundantly confirmed it. Divorce seemed to make little or no difference to the friendly relations between them. The very first night after her return, Gloria Swanson gave a dinner for them, then the Barthelmesses, then the Clive Brooks. They were seen tete-a-tete at the Derby, the Grove, the Colony, and the Culver Club. They went to the premiere of Dinner at Eight. When Ronnie Colman came home from the Goldwyn wars, Carole gave him a party—such a party!—and borrowed Bill’s house to give it in.

Of course the pace couldn’t last. The studios were calling. Bill went into his routine. Carole went into her dance’ it was Bolero, with George Raft. Presently the gossips went to work.

Carole’s bungalow dressing room on the Paramount lot is right next door to Gary Cooper’s. Here is a social center for Paramount players. Everybody is always dropping in—but the fan writers make a good deal of the fact that tall Gary was among the droppers.

Cooper was, at that time, at the peak of his romance with Countess di Frasso. Everybody knew that. When someone ran to Bill Powell, he laughed: “A romance with Gary? Don’t be crazy!”

Then the gossips switched, first to George Raft—who, it turned out, was concerned only because he couldn’t have his own favorite cameraman and was forced to take Carole’s—and later to Gene Raymond. But Carole squelched all these rumors with: “I do not believe that screen stars should marry.”

Soon, however, she had fallen under the spell of Russ Colombo’s golden voice and ebony eyelashes. When he met his tragic death, she put on black.

“Russ and I loved each other,” she explained. “Eventually, I believe, we would have married. How soon I don’t know. His love for me was the kind that comes rarely to any woman. I never expected to have such worship, such idolatry, such sweetness from any man.”

But she promptly consoled herself with Bob Riskin, champion screen writer. He was not only seen everywhere with Carole, but was said to do his most inspired writing in the patio of her new house. All she would say was: “I have always attached myself to interesting minds, to people who stimulate me mentally and spiritually.”

It can’t be that Bob’s mental stimulus died. He wrote Mr. Deeds Goes to Town after he was superseded in Carole’s affections. So it must have been something spiritual that the brawny Mr. Gable supplied.

Carole was not one of the many actresses of her era who bed-hopped. She chose her companions carefully and wasn’t prone to scandal. Bob Riskin seems to me to be the most serious of the bunch between Bill and Clark. Apparently what broke them up was that Bob didn’t ever want to have children and Carole did. I just finished reading Fay Wray’s autobiography, On the Other Hand. Fay married Bob in 1942 and bore him two children (so I guess he changed his mind). She commented in  the book that Bob kept a gold watch chain with Carole’s profile on it.

Now, Gable had seen Carole before. They had played together in No Man of Her Own. But that was when they were both married and working hard at it. Now Clark was separated from Rhea, Carole divorced from Bill. All afternoon they were inseparable. They have been ever since.

Will it last?

With Carole, yes. Whatever she may been before, there is no doubt about her being in love at last.

There was a little flurry when Carole and her delightful ex went to Universal to play in My Man Godfrey. Jean Harlow, who had moved into the blonde vacancy in Bill’s life, was said to be not a bit keen about it. How Clark felt, nobody knows.

But after it was all over Bill went back to Jean, and Carole—well, it can’t be said that she had really left Clark, but she is certainly with him now.

Whether she will be with him a year from now, five years from now, depends largely on whether she is willing to fit into his life.

I know Clark Gable. He won’t keep up this social whirl long. And now he is running around with the partyingest girl in the cinema capital.

Bill Powell followed the Lombard pace for two years.

How long will Gable follow it?

Will he follow it to the altar?

This is all quite true–Clark couldn’t keep up the social life long–and he didn’t. And Carole was quite willing and able to fit into Clark’s life.  As in most anything she set out to do, Carole’s determination got her just what she wanted–the man she wanted–for life.

You can read the article in its entirety in The Article Archive.