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{New Article} 1952: The Inside Story Behind Clark Gable’s Feuds
This article, published while Clark Gable was in the midst of divorcing his fourth wife, Sylvia Ashley, promises some kind of inside information about juicy feuds involving the King of Hollywood. Not really though. These “feuds” are just between him and his soon-to-be-ex-wife, no big surprise there, and MGM, his home studio of 30+ years. Oh and he also doesn’t like Greer Garson. Not really juicy. The amount of the financial settlement Sylvia Gable is to receive, however, was not decided upon. Certainly, it will be much less than $500,000. The chances are she will settle for $50,000 and legal expenses amounting perhaps to $25,000 more. When Clark was asked…
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{Photos} Clark Gable and Carole Lombard on a Picnic
By 1938, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were madly in love, and everyone knew it. The stories of “Will Their Romance Last?” were starting to dissapate and the “When Will Ria Gable Give Clark the Divorce so These Lovebirds Can Marry?” stories were roaring. So, no surprise, Carole was Clark’s date to the annual MGM company picnic that year (I think I am mostly surprised Clark attended at all–maybe Carole convinced him to be a good sport?). The pictures of them from this event are some of my very favorites. Clad casually in sweaters and Carole with very little make-up and her hair pushed off her face, they look like…
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Clark Gable’s Star Rises in MGM Publicity
It’s interesting to see what a few short years in Hollywood will do to one’s stardom! Clark Gable burst on the scene in 1931 and literally went from a nobody to a somebody over night. His path can be traced through MGM’s magazine advertisements…. In 1931, he was a newbie and certainly didn’t merit a picture in the stars at the top or even listed in bold among names such as Marion Davies, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford or Norma Shearer (all of which would be Clark’s leading ladies!). No, Clark is listed in the small print among names such as Dorothy Appleby, Gus Shy and Edwina Booth. But also among…
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June Movie of the Month: Betrayed (1954)
Clark Gable reigned as the King of the MGM lot for 23 years. He felt safe on that big lot, protected by their scripts and directors and the familiar faces. Never very confident in his acting ability, his home playing field gave him the confidence he needed (although, ironically, two of his three Oscar nominations were for films in which he was on loan-out to other studios). Many actors free-lanced and hopped from studio to studio, but not Clark. He stayed on as MGM’s golden boy. But times changed. Clark returned from World War II older, grayer and emotionally damaged. Newer, fresher faces were emerging on the scene and Clark…
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{Hollywood} Sony Pictures (formerly MGM)
I approached this tour rather apprehensively. Metro Goldwyn Mayer is, sadly, no more. The largest studio, the most prestigious studio, the studio that had “more stars than there are in the heavens”, Clark’s home studio for over 20 years, is gone. By the 1970’s, its glory days were nothing but a memory. The MGM name is nothing but really a name anymore, not a place. The former studio is now Sony Pictures and Sony owns Columbia and is much more proud of that than of MGM history. I won’t get into the long, sad story of MGM’s decline here but I highly recommend this book that came out last year,…
