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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…
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Gossip Friday: No Spat Between Gable and Harlow
From November 1935: Reports were published that Miss Harlow declared a dislike for Gable, and that she openly stated she would never appear in another picture with him. Other printed items vouched that Clark replied: “My pet name for Miss Harlow cannot be printed.” On the day those mis-facts appeared in print, Miss Harlow hurried to her studio publicity director to deny them. She arrived just at the moment when Gable telephoned from his sick-bed to voice and equally vehement denial. The truth is that Clark remarked that he preferred not to work with “a certain star.” Because he had just finished “Hold Your Man” with Jean, gossipers drew their…
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November Movie of the Month: Mogambo (1953)
This month’s film is the 1953 jungle romance-adventure Mogambo. The most interesting thing about this film is that it is a remake of Red Dust, with Clark reprising his role. What man could reprise the leading role of the jungle Lothario twenty years later? Only Clark Gable, of course. Gable is Victor Marswell, who earns his living in Africa by trapping wild animals for zoos and carnivals. His no-nonsense way of life is interrupted by the arrival of Eloise “Honey Bear” Kelly (Ava Gardner), a sassy showgirl from New York who is stranded there. They clash at first but soon are bedfellows. Just as Honey Bear leaves, anthropologist Donald Nordley…
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75 Years Ago, Saying Good-bye to Jean Harlow
75 years ago today, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard attended the funeral of 26 year old Jean Harlow. Jean was a dear friend of Clark’s. They starred together in The Secret Six, Red Dust, Hold Your Man, China Seas, Wife vs. Secretary and Saratoga. He loved her lack of pretense and how casual and free spirited she was. While everyone else called her “The Baby,” he called her “Sis.” Theirs was not a romantic relationship; he was like her protective older brother. They were filming Saratoga together when, after weeks of looking bloated and feeling fatigued, she collapsed on the set. She died just a few days later. Carole Lombard…
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{New Article} 1933: Behind the Scenes with Jean and Clark
I was ecstatic to find this article because I love Clark Gable and Jean Harlow together, on screen and off, and Hold Your Man is my favorite film of theirs. So what could be better than a behind the scenes piece, written by Anita Loos herself, the author of Hold Your Man? One morning Jean was late in making her appearance on the stage. I happened to be there and Clark was plainly concerned. “I am worried for fear Jean’s sick,” he said. “She’s never late unless something’s wrong. Do you know,” he continued, “I can’t understand how that tiny kid stands up under such strenuous work. She only weighs…
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{Photos} New in the Gallery Today
There are 40 new photos in the gallery today, some candids, some from films, including: See all the latest uploads in the gallery. Registration required. Next Wednesday: New photos of Clark Gable and Carole Lombard!
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{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…
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{Hollywood} Forest Lawn Glendale: The Great Mausoleum and The Church of the Recessional
Continuing on in Forest Lawn Glendale… Before we venture over to the Great Mausoleum, we have one important pitstop: The Church of the Recessional, where both Clark Gable and Carole Lombard’s funerals were held–Clark on November 19, 1960 and Carole (with her mother) on January 21, 1942. Naturally, we tried to see inside but there wasn’t much to see through the windows and all the doors were locked. Here is a photo of the inside, from Forest Lawn’s website: And now…onto the Great Mausoleum. A place I have thought of often and had always hoped to visit. It is absolutely gorgeous to behold in person.The building is huge…
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{Hollywood} Forest Lawn Glendale: The Lawn and Freedom Mausoleum
Forest Lawn Glendale is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous! I have heard this before, of course, but this is one of those times where words don’t do it justice. Founded in 1906, the memorial park is famous for its vast collection of sculpture and art, as well as for being one of the first cemeteries to not allow upright headstones, giving the park a smoother look and appeal. There truly is no other cemetery like it, not that I have ever seen in my life. Of the five we visited, this was the first one (for obvious reasons) and we said later on that we shouldn’t have visited it first since it…
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{Hollywood} The Former Homes of…
Instead of hopping on a tour bus to be driven around, snapping photos and hoping to catch today’s stars in their bathrobes watering their front lawns, we were on a mission to find the homes of the past. Let’s start with two of Clark’s wives… Here is the house on Landale that Clark’s first wife Josephine Dillon lived in from her arrival in Hollywood until her death. Clark owned this property, paid the property taxes and let Josephine live there rent-free. He left her the house in his will. After Clark’s widow Kay Williams sold the Encino ranch to developers in 1970’s, she moved into posh Beverly Hills to this house on…