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Joan Fontaine 1917-2013
Legendary Joan Fontaine died December 15, 2013, in her sleep at her peaceful home in Carmel, California. Unlike the other two classic film deaths that preceded her by mere days, Joan Fontaine wasn’t a co-star of Clark Gable’s at all. But he was one of the few big names that didn’t have the honor to star alongside her. An extremely talented actress, Joan had a career that spanned fifty years. Her list of co-stars is beyond impressive: Laurence Olivier, Cary Grant, Joan Crawford, Fred Astaire, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Montgomery, Franchot Tone, Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Charles Boyer, Orson Welles…wow, talks about a who’s who of Hollywood. Much has already been written…
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Gossip Friday: 1931–The Fans Have Spoken
Two fan letters from 1931: September: Richard Dix is plenty good, but give Clark Gable a real chance. He’s simply wonderful and no going out of the way to say it either. He has the looks that could steal any poor girl’s heart DeWuse John —– October: I have just seen “A Free Soul,” and is that a picture! It may not be the most wholesome type of picture, but to my mind is one of the best produced in some time, the reason being the splendid, forceful portrayals of Lionel Barrmore and Clark Gable. Miss Shearer was fine, too, as she always is, but special tribute is due Mr.…
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Audrey Totter 1917-2013
In the midst of the holiday rush, we were all shocked and saddened by several classic Hollywood deaths separated by a mere number of days. One of which was Audrey Totter, who died peacefully on December 12 at the age of 95. Audrey was known for her tough gal roles in the 1940’s and 50’s, in films like The Setup, Lady in the Lake and Under the Gun. In 1949, Audrey starred with Clark Gable in Any Number Can Play. Audrey played Alice Elcott, the sister-in-law of Clark’s gambling kingpin character. Clark was married to Alexis Smith in the film, but blonde Audrey caught his eye. She was only thirty…
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Clark Gable Wants YOU to Buy Christmas Seals!
It is not often that you find Clark Gable pleading for your money for a cause or product. But in 1958, Clark appeared in a short advertisement urging moviegoers to purchase Christmas seals to support the Tuberculosis Association. This rare gem is now on YouTube! Watch it here: Merry Christmas!
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Holiday Wishes from Clark Gable and Carole Lombard
Happy Holidays to all!
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Gossip Friday: Santa Checks Up on Good Boys and Girls
In the January 1935 issue of Hollywood magazine, they printed “Santa’s book” of good and bad points for film stars. So who’s getting what they wanted for Christmas and who is getting coal? CLARK GABLE Good Points: For giving is It Happened One Night. Being always thoughtful of others. When a friend had no place to keep her dog, he gave it a home on his ranch. Bad Points: Balks at picture assignments with women stars. Drives studio frantic by disappearing between pictures, when he is wanted for story conferences. Gifts: More dogs to take care of CAROLE LOMBARD Good Points: Proved she could act in Twentieth Century. Came…
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Gossip Friday: Nuts About Gable
Letter to the editor, from December 1931: I think Clark Gable is taking the movie world by storm! He’s marvelous! Handsome and everything a movie fan wants! But–why on earth can’t he ever have a likable part in a picture? He was miscast in “Laughing Sinners;” imagine Gable in a Salvation Army garb!!! He was great in the “Secret Six” but he had a dislikable role. He was marvelous as the polished gambler in “A Free Soul” but imagine how the feminine hearts sank when he was shot after doing all that marvelous acting. In the future let us see Clark taking the male lead. Then watch his rise to…
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Gossip Friday: The Curtain Raiser?
From December 1936: YOU know, of course, that Clark Gable and his wife are merely separated—and that, until now at least, there’s been no move toward divorce. They’ve been living under a verbal agreement whereby they have arranged to live “peaceably apart.” BUT—just the other day, Clark started legal proceedings in open court, asking the California Superior bench to “define, compute and compound” the agreement between himself and his wife—so that there may be no misunderstanding when and if a divorce move is started by either. Wonder if that’s the curtain raiser?
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CMBA Film Passion 101 Blogathon: Gone with the Wind (1939)
When I saw what theme had been chosen for the Classic Movie Blog Association’s latest blogathon—what movie inspired your love of classic film, there was not even a second’s pause as to what my choice would be: Gone with the Wind. This will sound corny and somewhat cliché, but… Gone with the Wind changed my life. I was not born in the south, but I consider myself a southerner as I have lived in Georgia for 24 years. My mother was born and raised in Arkansas and her grandmother was a true Southern belle from Savannah, Georgia. It wasn’t too long after we moved to Georgia that a fateful trip to…
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{New Article} 1931: How Many Marriages for Clark Gable?
This short little article from 1931 is extremely tabloid-y but that is what makes it interesting! Published in the fall of 1931 when Clark was the newest heart throb, articles like this were the result of editors screaming at their writing staff, “I need pieces on Clark Gable NOW!” So, they grasp at whatever straws they have, which, back in the days before internet and uh, actual fact checking, were largely rumors. “No,” Clark Gable’s friends quote him as saying last summer. “I’m not married now. My wife just got a divorce in April.” “Yes,” Clark Gable admitted six months later to inquiring interviewers. “I’m married. But I’d rather not…