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Gossip Friday: Fashionably Interested
From April 1950: The invitations to Adrian’s spring fashion show read, “So many men have asked me, ‘Why can’t we come to your fashion show and see what our wives are buying?’–that he invited the gents. Even so, seeing Clark Gable sitting beside his bride, Sylvia, who carefully marked all of Adrian’s best numbers down, was something I thought I’d never live to witness! Yes, there was king Gable, looking as interested as all get-out–and seeing him was worth paying admission for. At first I thought Clark was blushing, but it was only a deep sunburn!
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{In The News} Clark Gable and Sylvia Ashley Post-Divorce, 1952-1954
(Here are Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this series) Soon after the divorce decree was handed down, Clark hit the high seas for Europe. May 7, 1952: Clark Gable Sails for Europe, Denies Romantic Thoughts New York–Clark Gable sailed for Europe Tuesday for six months of picture making. “I’m not thinking of any romantic attachment yet,” Gable said aboard the liner Liberte. “I’m still married.” The screen star explained that the divorce obtained by the former Lady Sylvia Ashley last month at Santa Monica, Cal., does not become final for a year. Here’s a piece that came out around this time about the girl everyone thought would…
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Gossip Friday: 2:00am Evidence
From August 1937: Of course, I’m not one to gossip, but they do say that the Lombard girl waited at the MGM studio till two o’clock the other morning for Clark Gable, who was having a long session in front of the cameras. That, in Hollywood, is love…. The burning question of the moment is, “Will Carole marry Clark?” The Lombard-Gable affair has been a headline romance for some time now. their friendship began back in 1933, when they appeared together in No Man of Her Own. Carole at the time did have a man of her own (she was married to William Powell), and no whisper of romance came…
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{In The News} Clark Gable and Sylvia Ashley Agree to Divorce (1952)
Finally the end is near and as 1952 arrived, it looked like the divorce would finally be settled between Clark Gable and Wife #4. (Here are Part 1 and Part 2 of their divorce battle) February 7, 1952: Mrs. Clark Gable (Lady Sylvia Ashley) has been ambulanced to Doctors Hospital. I know Gable visited her in her ninth-floor suite. But they tell me that’s only a manifestation of a gentleman’s courtesy and that he plans to fly to Florida and Dolly O’Brien, though other friends expect him to return to, perhaps marry, Virginia Grey, in Hollywood. These are rumors with no substantiation that I could rivet down. February 15, 1952:…
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Gossip Friday: He Makes Them Tingle
Fan letter from 1946: It is wonderful to know that we will soon see Clark Gable again. He doesn’t make the femmes “swoon”–he makes them “tingle.” Others have portrayed the adorable scoundrel but none can do it so effectively as Clark Gable; one wonders whether it is something provocative in his eyes or just that ironic grin. Generally when a male star is popular with the ladies, he is hated by the men, so I think Clark Gable passes the supreme test in being popular with both sexes. -Libby McEwen, Montreal, Quebec.
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{In The News} Clark Gable and Sylvia Ashley’s Divorce Battle Continues
Continuing the saga of Clark Gable’s divorce from his fourth wife, Sylvia Ashley as detailed in the newspapers… (Here’s Part 1) Sylvia returned from her self-imposed exile and Clark wanted this marriage to end, and quickly. From August 21, 1951: Gable on Vacation Glenbrook, Nev., Aug. 21—Movie Idol Clark Gable was in Nevada today on what he insists is a “vacation” despite rumors that he is seeking a “quickie” divorce from his wife, the former Lady Sylvia Ashley. Same date: Gable at Lake Tahoe; Divorce Plan Denied Reno, Nev., Aug. 20—Actor Clark Gable, the latest in the string of Hollywood celebrities to visit Lake Tahoe this summer arrived…
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Gossip Friday: Snubbed by Kay
Here’s a rare one, gossip about the fifth Mrs. Gable, Kay Williams, from the mouth of Louella Parsons, no less. Any guess which actress she’s talking about? From December 1955: Mrs. Clark Gable has become so much the wife of the King that she is seeing few of the old friends who were so good to her in the dark days when life was pretty desperate for her. It’s understandable that a married woman must accept her husband’s pals and make his pals hers, but there is one case where I think Kay is remiss–that of a certain actress who was very good to her during the days when other…
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Gossip Friday: Western Garb
From July 1941: It’s kind of cute on Carole Lombard’s part. Because she is so happy living on a ranch, every time someone has a birthday she sends him or her a complete western outfit. Carole and Clark are looking for huge acreage in Northern California. The Fred MacMurrays are interested too. They may buy together and build on adjoining properties. The MacMurrays want to raise citrus fruit. Clark and Carole want to raise among other things, cattle.
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{New Article} The King and I
This new article was syndicated in The America Weekly, which was a Parade-magazine-like insert in newspapers. I actually was very surprised to find this printed in 1957. Clark had a very arms-length relationship with the press. He was usually cooperative but he never let them get TOO close. When they bought the ranch in 1939, Clark and then-wife Carole Lombard immediately instituted an ironclad rule that no pictures were to be taken inside. With the exception of this interview, which I absolutely adore and is as close as we’ll ever get to Clark being on Johnny Carson or the like, Clark’s answers about his personal life were usually guarded. Knowing…
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Gossip Friday: Greetings from Your Ex
From 1948: Ann Sothern couldn’t have looked more surprised when Clark Gable, stopping by to see her on the “Words and Music” set, casually remarked: “Oh, by the way, I just left your ex-husband!” Sure enough, Bob Sterling, who once asked to be released from MGM, is back in that all-male stellar cast of Clark’s “Command Decision.” A living’s a living–but Ann and Bob would still be just as pleased if they could avoid running into each other.