Gone with the Wednesday: Who’s That Girl?

Many people over the years have seen the above photo of Clark clutching hands and beaming at this random brunette woman in Atlanta and wondered, WHO is that incredibly lucky girl?

The answer is…Mildred Hartsfield.

William B. Hartsfield was the 49th Mayor of the city of Atlanta (and yes, that airport you transfer in everytime you fly Delta is named after him). He was mayor from 1937-1962, the longest tenure of any Atlanta mayor. He was in full support of hosting the premiere of Gone with the Wind , seeing it as an oppurtunity to show off his fine city to the world and therefore pulled out all the stops. He declared the day of the premiere (December 15, 1939) a holiday and gave city workers the day off.  Hartsfield’s date to the three-day  extravaganza was his starstruck 20 year-old daughter, Mildred.

Mildred was the envy of millions of swooning fans when she was given the honor of sitting next to, and constantly conversing with, Clark Gable. I constantly see photos of her and Clark mislabeled as other women, but it is indeed lucky Mildred! She definitely seems enamoured with Clark! Who can blame her…

Mildred passed away on February 16, 2012, at the age of 92. As for what she was whispering to Clark, we can only guess…