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{New Article} 1941: Roughing It
This short article appearing in Cosmopolitan Magazine (yes, you read that right) in July 1941. It is basically Clark detailing how much he enjoys the outdoors, riding horses and training dogs. You can get a world of pleasure out of owning and training a hunting dog. A good one can be bought for around twenty dollars, and you can get books out of the library and do the training yourself. Studying up should be part of the fun. There is always something new to be learned about an animal. From the time I was six, I have had some kind of mutt at my heels. The first dog I owned was…
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Gossip Friday: What a Wind
From May 1939: During Hollywood’s coziest wind storm in many a day, a traveler far out in the valley spotted two men struggling with some object on a nearby estate. Fearing his fellow men were in trouble, the traveler braved the nasty tempered blast to go their aid. “Need help?” he called. “Yea, thanks,” came back the answer, “we’re trying to wire down these trees. Don’t want them to be blown away.” Valiantly the men struggled with wire and stakes until the last tree was safe. It was only then the traveler turned for a good look at his hard-working companions. One of them was Clark Gable! “Say,” said the…
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Cameo Clark
Unfortuantely for us Gable fans, Clark wasn’t comfortable with the television medium and so clips of him on the small screen are scarce–no little cameos or guest spots like many of his contemporaries. But, in 1951, he did make a brief cameo appearance in the film Callaway Went Thataway, starring Fred MacMurray, Dorothy Maguire and Howard Keel. From what I gather, he was on the lot waiting around, Fred MacMurray was a long-time friend of his, so he said why not and did the scene in one take. It’s a cute little comedy. Fred and Dorothy play advertising execs who are in a bind when an old cowboy star named…
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Spotlight on: Ginger Rogers
Today marks the 100th birthday of Hollywood legend Ginger Rogers. Truly a triple threat, Ginger could dance, sing and actually act, when given the oppurtunity. Best known for hoofin’ it alongside Fred Astaire in ten films, she also won a Best Actress Oscar in 1941 for a wonderful film, Kitty Foyle. Ginger wasn’t much tabloid fodder; her image in Hollywood was squeaky clean. She loved dogs, riding her bike, playing tennis and she never drank–in fact she was probably the only Hollywood star to have an ice cream fountain installed in her home, rather than a wet bar! Despite that, she and Clark were tied for marriages–at five apiece. She also…
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Gossip Friday: Splitsville for the Gables
Ria and Clark Gable Since July 19 marks 80 years since Clark married Ria Franklin, here is a gossip column’s statement on their break-up, from February 1936: There is heartbreak in Hollywood over the official separation of the Clark Gables. The whispers have been flying for months, but the whole town hoped that these two grand people would never definitely part. Everyone is so fond of both of them. In one of the most difficult spots in the world, Ria Gable has presided with dignity and humor. She seemed the perfect wife for a famous man and no one out here is more charming. The separation will inevitably be blamed…
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{Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier Appreciation Blogathon} Spotlight on: Vivien Leigh
As is Gone with the Wind folklore, producer David Selznick’s search for the perfect Scarlett O’Hara reached far and wide, cost thousands of dollars and took years. Every female star auditioned for the part, regardless of how qualified she was. People on the street debated on who should play her. Southern debutantes took acting lessons and bought train tickets to Hollywood. It caused a nationwide frenzy. Then appeared the dark horse: British Vivien Leigh–whose casting surprised some, and rattled others. Civil War descendants decried her casting in letters to newspapers, stating, “The selection of Vivien Leigh is a direct affront to the men who wore gray and an outrage to the memory of…
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Gossip Friday: A Handsome Pair
Since Clark and Kay were married 56 years ago on July 11, here’s some gossip on them from June 1944, when they were dating the first go-round: At an Army and Navy dinner dance recently [we] sat kitty-corner from Captain Clark Gable who had pretty Kay Williams as his girl friend. [We] thought the two a handsome pair but couldn’t help comparing the quiet, almost demure Kay to the vivid, magnetic Carole. What a contrast.
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{New Article}1940: At Home with the Gables
After some rather depressing articles detailing Clark’s emotional spiral after Carole’s death, it’s nice to go back and look at the good times they had together, in their favorite place to be–their Encino ranch. Carole didn’t marry Rhett Butler. With her eyes wide open, she married a farmer. Clark likes the movies. Nobody forced him into his profession. He wanted to be an actor. But his first and deepest passion is for the soil. He could talk all day about fertilizer and tractors. It’s like pulling teeth to get a couple of words from him on his next picture. Without the movies, he could still be happy. Without a piece…
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July Movie of the Month: It Happened One Night (1934)
I began “Movie of the Month” last July after the site’s first anniversary. I try to bounce around Clark’s filmography as I figured it would be rather dull to start from the beginning and end at his death. The films featured so far: June: But Not For Me May: Idiot’s Delight April: Band of Angels March: Saratoga February: China Seas January: Hold Your Man December: Red Dust November: The Secret Six October: No Man of Her Own September: Teacher’s Pet August: Never Let Me Go July: Wife vs. Secretary So, I thought it was fitting to celebrate two years of the site and one year of “Movie of the Months”…
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Clark Croonin’ with Bing
Clark singing with Bing Crosby. That is one of those things that seems unlikely to have ever happened. And I wouldn’t believe it either, if I hadn’t heard it with my own ears! And “Ragtime Cowboy Joe”, of all things! We have a new clip that is from a private recording, circa 1938. A special thank you to Kurt for the clip and to David of The Bing Crosby Media Archive for determining where it came from! If you are a Bing Crosby fan, you should definitely follow his blog. You can hear it on the Audio page. Clark doesn’t exactly keep up with Bing tone-wise, but at least he’s…