Scandalously Unmarried!

If you’ve read any biography of Clark or Carole, you’ll come across a mention of a certain Photoplay Magazine article titled “Hollywood’s Unmarried Husbands and Wives”. This seemingly innocent article caused quite an earthquake among the studios. It lists Hollywood couples who conduct themselves as if they are married—but they aren’t!  The article scolds:

And that, it seems, would point a lesson to the unique coterie of Hollywood’s unwed couples—Bob Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck, who could get married if they really wanted to; George Raft and Virginia Pine, Carole Lombard and Clark Gable and the other steady company couples who might swing it if they tried a little harder. You can’t take your happiness with you.

 For nobody, not even Hollywood’s miracle men, has ever improved on the good old-fashioned, satisfying institution of holy matrimony. And, until something better comes along, the best way to hunt happiness when you’re in love in Hollywood or anywhere else—is with a preacher, a marriage license and a bagful of rice.

You can read the article  in its entirety here as it is the latest addition to the ever-growing Article Archive.

This article and the resulting public uproar sped up the marriage plans of Clark and Carole (much to MGM’s urging) and led to their March 1939 nuptials.

What became of the other couples mentioned in the article?

Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck felt the pressure from the studio as well and were married on May 13, 1939 after months of speculation. Close friends of Clark and Carole, their union seemed happy for many years. But apparently not always. Barbara filed for divorce, supposedly tired of Bob’s cheating, and it was granted on February 21, 1951. Barbara never remarried. Bob married actress Ursula Theiss in 1954 and they had two children.

George Raft and Virginia Pine (pictured with her daughter Joan) never did make it to the altar. I’m not sure when exactly they broke up, but I do know that by late 1939 George and widowed Norma Shearer were the hot couple of the moment. And after their breakup, George courted Clark’s ex-wife Ria for a bit!  By 1942, George was hot and heavy with Betty Grable. Despite his many high profile romances, he remained married to Grace Mulroney from 1923 until her death in 1970.

Gilbert Roland became Constance Bennett’s husband #4 in April of 1941. Their marriage lasted until 1946, and they had two daughters. She married an Army Colonel two days after her divorce from Gilbert was final. Gilbert remarried in 1954.

Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard were a complicated pair. Together for a few years,  they remained mum on their relationship status and seemed to be unmarried and living together. Charlie sent shockwaves through the gossip columns when he called Paulette his wife at the premiere of his film “The Great Dictator”  in 1940. But they never could produce a marriage certificate and no reporter could dig one up either. Supposedly, this inability to prove she was married to the man she was living with is what caused Paulette to be eliminated from consideration for her dream role, Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone with the Wind”. Married or not, by 1942, they were through. Charlie married 17-year-old Oona O’Neill  in 1943 and they had eight children.Paulette went on to marry actor Burgess Meredith in 1944 and writer Erich Remarque in 1958. She also dated Clark after her separation from Meredith in 1948.