-
Gossip Friday: Bets on Garbo
From September 1931: Bets are two ways on Clark Gable, leading man for the Northern Light. There are those who say he will fall for the enigmatic Garbo and those who say he won’t. So far he has not suffered any pulse accelerations from his feminine embraces, including Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Jean Harlow. Garbo, however, is different. Clark wore a white turtle-necked sweater (a favorite type of sports garment with Garbo) into the MGM commissary and three enthusiasts put their money on Garbo to win. During the heat of betting he was busy re-marrying his second wife, to make the wedding valid in California, a minor fact blissfully ignored by…
-
Gossip Friday: Bets on Clark and Carole
Since Clark and Carole were married 74 years ago this month, here’s one from November 1936: London, of all places, has the cutest new betting game. They’re betting, over there, on whether or not certain film couples will marry! ! ! They’ve even got a set of standard odds, like this: even bet that Bob Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck will wed; 90 to 1 against George Brent taking the leap with Garbo; 5 to 1 that Clark Gable and Carole Lombard will; 10 to 1 that Bill Powell and Jean Harlow won’t; 5 to 3 that Ann Sothern becomes Mrs. Roger Pryor; 7 to 4 against the Jackie Coogan-Betty Grable…
-
Clark Gable’s Star Rises in MGM Publicity
It’s interesting to see what a few short years in Hollywood will do to one’s stardom! Clark Gable burst on the scene in 1931 and literally went from a nobody to a somebody over night. His path can be traced through MGM’s magazine advertisements…. In 1931, he was a newbie and certainly didn’t merit a picture in the stars at the top or even listed in bold among names such as Marion Davies, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford or Norma Shearer (all of which would be Clark’s leading ladies!). No, Clark is listed in the small print among names such as Dorothy Appleby, Gus Shy and Edwina Booth. But also among…
-
Gossip Friday: a Clark Gable Salad and a Greta Garbo Sandwich
From December 1931: Clark Gable has become a second Greta Garbo. No, no, little Oscar, he’s not walking in the rain and going mysterious on the home folks. It’s simply that he’s become so popular with the lads and lassies who go to the movies that scores of reporters follow him wherever he goes, trying to get hot news about him. Our faithful secret service makes us follow burning discoveries: He hates dark suits. If he had his way he’d only wear grey. He dislikes tuxedos because he doesn’t dare have them made in light material. His one objection to pictures is that he can’t wear grey suits on the…
-
{Photos} Kiss Me, Clark
I’m sure you’ve heard the song by the Postal Service, which is titled “Clark Gable.” The line that features his name is “I’ll kiss you in a way Clark Gable would have admired.” Say what you want about Clark and his acting limitations, but that man was a born onscreen lover! Rosalind Russell recalled: “The only man who could make a love scene comfortable was Clark Gable. He was born graceful, he knew what to do with his feet and when he took hold of you, there was no fooling around.” Let’s get a lesson in the fine art of onscreen lip locking from Mr. Gable himself…
-
Gossip Friday: Elusive Garbo
Since today is the anniversary of the birth of Clark’s Susan Lenox costar, Greta Garbo, here’s some gossip about her from November 1939: Our demon photographer, Hyman Fink, is still recovering from the joyful shock of getting the camera scoop of the year pictured here. It came about, as such surprises usually do, at the most unexpected time, in the most unexpected place. The stylist, Irene, gave a fall fashion show at Bullock’s-Wilshire in Los Angeles, which Hymie attended in line of duty. Things were going along very calmly and uneventfully until the last number went on. Then, suddenly, from a tiny dressing room behind the main salon, emerged three…