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Gossip Friday: A Familiar Looking Couple
From November 1939: One cold, fall night not long ago, an auto court manager in a small California mountain town rented a bearded man and his wife a cabin for one night. The manager didn’t pay much attention to the man, or the beard, because every male in town was growing one for the annual Fiesta. But he couldn’t he over how pretty the blonde girl was, and he was almost sure he had seen her before. The next morning word was buzzed about the town that Clark Gable and Carole Lombard had spent the night there, and left behind a hunting coat with Clark’s name in it. There were immediate suggestions that the coat be…
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Lauren Bacall and Clark Gable: No Sparks
As everyone as heard by now, screen legend Lauren Bacall died this week at the age of 89. Known for her whistling, partying with the Rat Pack, legendary romance with Humphrey Bogart and that steely stare, Lauren’s death leaves a void in Hollywood. Glamour that can not be copied. Although Lauren did not star alongside Clark Gable in any feature films, did you know that she did have the pleasure of being Clark ‘s date for one night? In the summer of 1944, Lauren was depressed because her ongoing affair with the married Humphrey Bogart was not going anywhere. They were on the outs and her friends all thought she should move…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Clark Gable, George Cukor and the Rumor Mill
Ever heard the rumor that Clark Gable got George Cukor fired as the director of Gone with the Wind because George was gay and Clark had such an inflated ego he wanted his own friend Vic Fleming to diret him instead? I hash out the rumor in this post from 2012: Rumor Mill: Clark Gable, George Cukor and Gone with the Wind
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Photos: We Point With Pride
Silver Screen magazine “points with pride” to Clark, in April 1939: In The Lists Of The “Ten Best,” Clark Gable Is Always Among Those Present. All the misguided promotion ideas that usually leave the actor booked for Oblivion were tried on Clark Gable, but he out-lasted them all. He was Great-Lovered and Parnelled, but he is still one of the best bets at the box-office. Whether he is cast in a part like Christian on the Bounty or a lead in “It Happened One Night,” he does his dardnest and leaves it up to you. And there is his secret–he gives you all he’s got, and who can give…
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Gossip Friday: No Brooding Lancelot
From September 1951: Clark Gable will be too busy to brood, even if he were inclined to, over the divorce from Sylvia. He’ll do his first costume picture since “Gone with the Wind,” called “King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table,” in which he’ll portray Lancelot, and talk is that the King will also star in a series of rough and romantic adventure dramas this fall. ____ Well, that film didn’t come to fruition at all! And I think at 50 Clark was a bit old to be Lancelot anyway…
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Gone with the Wednesday: The Stars Before “the Wind”
Let’s take a look at the stars of Gone with the Wind before they starred in their iconic roles 75 years ago… Vivien Leigh (Scarlett O’Hara) Olivia de Havilland (Melanie Wilkes) Ann Rutherford (Carreen O’Hara) Evelyn Keyes (Suellen O’Hara) Leslie Howard (Ashley Wilkes) Barbara O’Neill (Ellen O’Hara) Thomas Mitchell (Gerald O’Hara) and…a young Clark Gable (Rhett Butler)
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1939: A Memorable Year for Clark Gable
Everyone has specific years in their lives where they look back and realize that that particular year was one of the most memorable of their entire lives. 1939 is being heralded quite a bit this year, as it is widely considered the best year for movies in history, with classics such as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Dark Victory, Ninotchka, Wuthering Heights, Beau Geste, Juarez, Stagecoach, etc. Looking back, I don’t think that Clark Gable could deny that 1939 was indeed a special year for him, personally and professionally. Let’s have a look back at Clark’s life, 75 years ago…. January –After…
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Gossip Friday: A Commissary Visitor
From July 1937: The whole MGM commissary was agog the other noon when the luscious Carole Lombard dropped over for lunch with Clark Gable. And we understand that it was none other than little Missy Lombard who’s responsible for those twenty pounds Clark dropped after completing work on “Parnell.” Seems the studio had been after him to lose weight for months, but it took the iron-hand of Carole to get him to be serious about the situation. And as Gracie Allen would say, he certainly looks beautiful!
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Gone with the Wednesday: Clark Gable Rights a Wrong
This is one heartwarming story from the set of Gone with the Wind. Lenny Bluett, a young black man playing an extra in the film, was distraught over discovering that the port-a-potties on the set were labeled for White and Colored. He brought to the attention of Clark Gable, who had a few choice words for Vic Fleming and the property manager… I just love that video. Clark was far from perfect (who is?) but it ruffles my feathers when I have heard people call him racist (don’t even get me started on Marcella Rabwin’s book!!!). I have no idea where that came from, but he was in no…
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Gossip Friday: Five Million Tag Alongs
From November 1937: The lowdown on the Clark Gable disappearing act he pulled on his recent vacation was because Clark couldn’t even complete his bear hunt he started out to do without five million people tagging along. So he upped and turned his car the other way and vanished into thin air because he really needed a rest and even the studio didn’t know his whereabouts.