Gossip Friday: A Perfect Disguise

Happy Halloween! This “gossip” comes straight from fifth wife Kay Williams Gable:

One year Bunker (his stepson) asked Clark to take him to the Halloween festivities at a nearby public park. Pa hesitated, remembering what had happened the year before when he had accompanied the children. he was quickly recognized and surrounded by autograph seekers the rest of the evening. Not only did he personally shy from such attention, Clark also felt all the commotion was unfair to the children.

This time Bunker had it all figured out. He had been to the dime store where they were selling rubber masks fashioned in the likenesses of various movie stars. “Here, Pa, I’ve got a perfect Halloween disguise for you,” Bunker explained as he proudly presented Clark with a paper sack. “You can go to the park with us and nobody will every recognize you–just wear this Clark Gable mask.”

The best part of this story was the discovery Clark made when he laughingly agreed to try on the “disguise.” In his excitement over his big idea, Bunker had picked up the first mask he found with a mustache. “Holy Smoke!” Clark roared as he pulled the rubber mask over his face, “you’ve turned me into Walter Pidgeon!”