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Gossip Friday: Croonin’ Gable
From January 1, 1936: All the fellows are kidding Clark Gable, the actor, because he does some crooning in his next picture, “Wife vs. Secretary.” Clark can “take it,” though. He just bought a new car for $16,000. Not on time, either.
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Gossip Friday: Clark’s Favorite Newsboy
From December 1939: Clark Gable’s Christmas present to a little boy resulted in the screen’s discovery of its outstanding child actor since the advent of Shirley Temple. It was while Martin Spellman was a newsboy at the MGM studios that he got to know all the big stars. He sold them magazines, newspapers and shoeshines, and his only ambition was to win a shiny red bicycle that was a prize for the most magazines sold. But young Martin, he is only 12, who knew every big star and important executive on the MGM lot, has his favorites, like every fan. They are Myrna Loy and Clark Gable and Norman Taurog…
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Finding Myrna Loy
From 1938 on, Clark Gable was known as The King of Hollywood and the name has stuck to him even now. Myrna Loy was crowned The Queen of Hollywood at the same ceremony, but unfortunately the title did not stick to her like it did Clark. Nonetheless, from then on, Clark affectionately called her “Queenie.” “Queenie,” much like Clark, was a small-town kid who seemed unlikely to gain worldwide fame, but did thanks to her star power and perseverance. I recently found myself in Myrna’s gorgeous home state of Montana and followed her around a bit. Myrna Loy was born Myrna Adele Williams on August 2, 1905 to David and Della Williams. She was born…
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Gossip Friday: Not a Lawyer
From May 1933: It looks as if Clark Gable might be doing a portrayal of a lawyer some time soon. And who hasn’t? “Penthouse,” a story by Arthur Somers Roche, has been purchased by MGM, and there is a possibility that Gable may be elected for the title role, which is that of a hero who goes socially berserk by deciding to become a criminal instead of a corporation lawyer. That is, the girl who is affianced to him considers him to be berserking and she regards a criminal attorney as out of their social realm. There are two strong feminine roles in the picture, for the hero indulges a…
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Gossip Friday: Ode to The Queen
From October 1938: To her husband she’s Minnie. To her public she is Myrna Loy, but to Clark Gable, she is The Queen. They first met during the making of “Night Flight.” That was five years ago and she wasn’t a star then, but Gabe says she has not changed a whit since. They were together also in “Manhattan Melodrama,” “Wife vs. Secretary,” “Parnell,” “Men in White,” and “Test Pilot.” They are at it again in “Too Hot to Handle,” which is flashed on the screen at theatres [soon]. “At first I was a little afraid of her,” Gable admitted. “I thought she was mysterious but I soon learned tha…
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Gossip Friday: Stolen Gloves
From November 1939: Clark Gable and Myrna Loy regularly have their driving gloves purloined by souvenir seekers. Both of these stars favor open motor cars and they seem unable to break themselves of the habit of leaving their gloves on the seats of their cars. The gloves seldom are there when they come back.
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Gossip Friday: Over and Under Exposed
From July 1938: As a newsreel cameraman, Clark Gable for a day was convinced he was a flop. For his role as a newsreel cameraman in “Too Hot to Handle,” Gable was called upon to cling to the top of a racing ambulance with his camera equipment while filming Myrna Lot trapped in a crashed burning plane. While Hal Rosson’s cameras were filming Gable and the burning plane on MGM’s Sixty Acres, Gable also was making an actual newsreel of Miss Loy and the blazing plane to be shown on the screen of his boss’ projection room. When Gable returned to the set the next day, he received a regulation…
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Happy 120th Birthday, Clark Gable
Clark Gable was born 120 years ago today, on February 1, 1901. The only child of William and Adeline Gable, he was born at home in their small duplex in Cadiz, Ohio, at 5:30am after 15 hours of labor. He weighed 10 and a half pounds! You can view our posts about Clark Gable’s birthday over the years here. These pictures of Clark celebrating with a large cake with a crown on it are widely circulated. Here’s the deal on that particular birthday party in 1938: They halted shooting on Stage 12 at MGM yesterday afternoon to celebrate Clark Gable’s birthday. Since the Chicago Tribune News Syndicate named him…
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Movie of the Week: Parnell (1937)
This week, Clark Gable is a mutton-chopped Irish politician in love with married Myrna Loy in Parnell. In this historical melodrama, Gable is Charles Parnell, an 1880’s Irish politician dubbed “The Uncrowned King of Ireland” for fighting for Irish freedom from British rule. The British trump up false charges against him to try and keep his efforts down but are unsuccessful. But then Parnell falls in love with Katie O’Shea (Loy), the estranged wife of a British Parliament member. When her husband finds out, he files for divorce and names Parnell as co-respondent, resulting in political and social ruin for Parnell. Just as he begins to fight back for his…
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{New Article} 1936: Clark Gable Warns Stenos What Happens When Husbands Get Caught in a Triangle
This article (and yes that is actually the long, rambling title) is quite obviously just a piece to promote Clark Gable’s latest film, Wife vs. Secretary. Clark, who never worked in an office, is asked about husbands having affairs with their secretaries. “The office husband problem is a tougher subject to talk on than politics—unless you stick to the fence, and I don’t like people who do that. Anyway, I’ve never worked in an office so I wouldn’t know much about that, but, just from the way you have to figure these things out for a picture, I’d say that office wives have to be as careful as office husbands—and…
