• Gossip

    Gossip Friday: Hedda Hopper’s Academy Awards

    Since the Oscars are this weekend…. Famed classic Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper picks out her own “Superlative Academy Awards,” from March 1941 (I agree with the first one, anyway!): Best all-around man in Hollywood:  Clark Gable, because he has more reality and virility than any other actor on the screen. And because off screen he’s one of the best balanced men in Hollywood, a swell companion and an all-around friend. Best all-around woman in Hollywood:  Roz Russell, who’s had more hit pictures this last year than any other actress–because she’s the most civic-minded gal in town. She blends movies, society and citizenship. Most popular woman:  Dame Rumor. Have you got…

  • Articles

    {New Article} Two Happy People Part IV

    Here is the final installment of Movie and Radio Guide’s four part series on Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. Read Part Two here and Part Three here. I’m still hunting for Part One! Clark Gable’s favorite topic of conversation is Carole Lombard and her favorite topic is Gable. And that’s why we feel justified in calling this man and his wife two happy people. If they are not happy, then they are better performers at home than on the screen. In Hollywood, where gossiping is a profession and scandal-mongering is a craft, the Gables have been spared the darts that usually are hurled at the folks who live in the…

  • Photos

    {Photos} Reading Up

    Having never finished high school, Clark was very sensitive to the fact that he never had a formal education. He didn’t ever want to be considered ignorant or unknowledgable and so…he was always reading. His widow, Kay, said he averaged “a book a day” and in his estate auction were dozens of books. Clark was often catching up on the newspaper or cramming in a chapter or two on set.

  • Articles

    {New Article} 1936: Is Carole Lombard in Love at Last?

    Is Carole Lombard in love at last? What a question for this article in 1936 to ask! At this point, their romance was new and one of the most exciting topics in Tinsel Town. This article basically recaps Carole’s romantic exploits. After the demise of her marriage to Bill Powell: All Powell would say was, “For Carole and me there simply was no married life.” Their story that there had been no quarrel was accepted by Hollywood as true—and their conduct after Carole returned abundantly confirmed it. Divorce seemed to make little or no difference to the friendly relations between them. The very first night after her return, Gloria Swanson…

  • Gossip

    Gossip Friday: Get Tough!

    From October 1938: Are you preparing for the future–as are many of Hollywood’s biggest stars? A future so far removed from their present lucrative contracts, luxurious homes, and assured box office appeal that it may contain political upheavals, war, poverty and even the wiping out of the picture industry as it stands now? Just a few years ago, wise little stars prepared for the future by saving their salaries, establishing trust funds, creating estates. Today the answer is not so simple! Clark Gable told me: “I’d rather be able to take care of myself in a wilderness, with only limited camping equipment, than have $100,000 in the banks! Banks can…

  • Articles

    {New Article} 1961: The Secret Clark Gable and Kay Never Shared

    Obviously, if you take a gander at the Article Archive, I am a vintage magazine junkie.  I scour Ebay and antique stores and love nothing more than when I find some obscure Gable candid or article nestled in the yellowing pages of a seventy year old magazine. Most of my magazines are from the 1930’s. Clark was top dog then and I know that I can snatch up any magazine, any issue, any year from about 1934-1941 and they’ll be at least one picture, gossip items and, if I’m lucky, an article. By the time Clark returned from war, after the initial “he’s back!” hubbub, the coverage of him lessened…

  • Photos

    {Photos} At Home with Clark and Carole

    On the eve of St. Valentine’s Day, [Clark Gable] drove his car into the garage of the Beverly Hills Hotel, where he was staying, and steered for his usual stall.   “I’m afraid it’s already occupied, Mr. Gable,” said the watchman.   Clark got out, and, to his amazement, discovered a dilapidated Model T Ford, painted white, with a pattern of large red hearts. Tied around the body was a huge red ribbon with a card reading: “To My Valentine, from Carole Lombard.” It wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without some photos of Clark and Carole. Here they are where they were happiest, at home on their ranch.

  • Articles

    {New Article} 1940: Two Happy People Part II

    This article is the second in a series of four articles about Clark and Carole that appeared in Movie and Radio Guide in May 1940. You can read Part Three here. Mr. Gable has a seven-year contract with MGM for $2,000,000. He has Carole Lombard! Gentlemen, if luck does that to a man, then here’s one fellow who begins today to make his troth with Lady Luck. We have an idea that ability and hard work had something to do with Mr. Gable’s success. Luck may get a man to the top, but luck can’t keep him there. “Have you met Mrs. G?” Mr. Gable asked. “She’s not working right…