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Remembering Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard Gable died 73 years ago today, at the young age of 33. Her sudden death in a plane crash shocked the nation, stunned Hollywood and devastated her husband. This article that was published a few months after Carole’s death, appears in the Article Archive, What the Loss of Carole Lombard Means to Clark Gable: Gable was working on that fateful afternoon of January 16, 1942. He felt wonderful about it. He’d had five months lay-off since the production of “Honky Tonk,” the longest vacation he’d experienced since his first real click in 1931. It was swell to be back and he liked the new picture. It was…
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Gossip Friday: Leading the Field
From June 1954: Clark Gable and Virginia Grey have resumed their long, long romance. If there is to be a fifth Mrs. Clark Gable this year, the Grey lass seems to be leading the field. There was quite a lot of excitement around when Clark Gable sent flowers to Virginia Grey when she was in the hospital as a result of an automobile accident. Virginia was one of his more serious romances, you know. But nothing happened except that Virginia got well, thank heaven, and Mr. G. went back to his Arizona ranch.
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Hollywood Hobbies
This cartoon appeared in Screenland magazine in 1933: John Barrymore Just as sure as not You’ll find John on his yacht Developing seaworthy legs. And spending his time, Without reason or rhyme, With his rarest collection of eggs. Joan Crawford You cannot ignore, In this group of four, The personal hobby of Joan. She considers it play To model in clay And even to chisel in stone. Norma Shearer If you can’t analyze The charm of her eyes Of the glamorous lure of her tresses– You, at least, should have known That Miss Shearer is prone To designing her very own dresses. Clark Gable Here is…
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Gossip Friday: Be Seeing You, Sugar!
From November 1949: Paulette [Goddard], of course, has found her true love at last, or so she claims, in Clark Gable and this romance, which started with a gag blind date, has flourished so that Paulette didn’t even want to leave for Mexico for a picture commitment. However, when Clark escorted her to the plane in that maroon Rolls Royce,she was loath to kiss him in front of the photographers. All she did when she got to the top of the ramp, was turn to Clark and shout, “Be seeing you, Sugar!” and then disappeared into the plane.
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Gossip Friday: Starting a Trend on Baby Dolls
From April 1937: The sudden rush on holiday toy shops was not due entirely to the holiday season. Clark Gable started it when he began buying dolls and sending them to people–Carole Lombard and Madeline Fields were the first recipients–with the announcement, “This is the way you looked when you were young!” The shops were practically sold out of funny-looking baby dolls in no time. But smart buyers are looking ahead. One of them told us, “We are ordering a stack of grotesque and astonishing old lady and old gentlemen dolls–caricature dolls–because actors are already trying to order insulting ones to send to other actors with the message, “This is…
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Merry Christmas, from Carole to Clark
75 years ago, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were celebrating their very first Christmas as a married couple. To commemorate the occasion, Carole gifted Clark with a silver cup: The item was recently auctioned, with an estimate of $400-$600 and ended up going for $3,250! The auction listing stated: Silver loving-cup trophy attributed as a 1939 Christmas gift from Carole Lombard to Clark Gable. (Dec. 25, 1939) Silver “loving-cup” style trophy, 10 x 11 in. (on later-added octagon scallop base for lamp conversion) engraved “Carole to Clark” 12-25-1939” and attributed by recent owner Billie Nelson Tyrrell of the Antique Doll Emporium as a Christmas 1939 gift from…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Repost–Gone with the Wind Hits Los Angeles
This week, here is a repost of a post I did in 2010 detailing the Los Angeles premiere of Gone with the Wind, which took place December 29, 1939. Carole Lombard, in a gold gown, was the belle of the ball on Clark Gable’s arm! See who else attended and what the wore… http://dearmrgable.com/?p=591
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Gossip Friday: Gable the Cow
From December 1933: Clark Gable laughed at this, so I suppose I am safe passing it along. I mean this paragraph from a letter from Jean Betty Huber, a Gable fan: “We took snapshots. One pose especially was good; I was garbed in slacks and had my arms around Clark Gable. Our ‘Clark” happens to be the cutest little brown calf with the world’s BIGGEST EARS!!! Oh, well, Clark laughed at it.
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Gone with the Wednesday: Merry Christmas from David O. Selznick
Clark Gable and Gone with the Wind producer David O. Selznick didn’t exactly always see eye-to-eye (to put it mildly), but nonetheless David let bygones be bygones and gifted Clark with this gorgeous Tiffany’s cigarette case for Christmas in 1939: “Presented to Clark Gable at the completion of “Gone with the wind” Atlanta–Dec. 25, 1939 David O. Selznick.” I wonder if he gave it to him at the Atlanta premiere, which was just ten days before Christmas? The case went for $20,000 at auction a few years back (complete with the unfiltered cigarettes). Quite a priceless artifact! Here’s hoping maybe it pops up in a museum one day…
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Gossip Friday: Carrying a Torch
From December 1953: Grace Kelly is trying to forget Clark Gable by dating most of Hollywood’s eligible males, but the torch she carries for “The King” can be seen from Catalina on a clear night.