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{New Article} 1960: How Does It Feel To Die
I like finding articles from the 1950’s and early 1960’s about Clark, mainly because the “fluff” of the 1930’s has dissipated and you are more likely to find real interviews with real quotes, not fussy, gushy, studio-directed pieces. Well, this one not so much. The full title of it is “How Does It Feel to Die, Clark Gable: The Strangest Story Story Ever Told” and I have no idea why it was titled this. The article is completely about when Kay miscarried their baby in 1955 and Kay’s subsequent heart problems. There is nothing about how it feels to die and there is nothing strange about the story other than…
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Gossip Friday: Things That May Never Happen?
From October 1932: Things that may never happen: That threatened Constance Bennett retirement. That Clark Gable divorce. A movie comeback for Alice White. A wolf at Charlie Chaplin’s door. ___ Well. Constance Bennett didn’t retire from the screen until 1966. Clark and second wife Ria divorced in 1939. Alice White worked pretty steadily through the 1930’s, puttered out in the 40’s. And I don’t know what they mean by the Charlie Chaplin comment. Might be about the fact he was reluctant to do talkies….which we all know he eventually did.
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{New Article} 1935: Behind the Scenes with Joan, Clark and Bob
Here is one of those articles that is utterly pointless and serves only as a publicity piece from MGM for Forsaking All Others. I don’t think there was ever any real concern that there was going to be a battle royale for star status between Clark Gable, Joan Crawford and Robert Montgomery but nonetheless: When Joan Crawford, Clark Gable and Robert Montgomery were announced as the stars of “Forsaking All Others,” under the ace direction of “Woody” Van Dyke, the local gossip columnists assumed their favorite cat-that-ate-the-canary expression and sat back and waited for the worst to happen… …of course, there was that fascinating angle of Mr. Clark (star) Gable…
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Gossip Friday: Flustered by a Fan
From February 1957: Never thought I’d live to see the day, or night, when Clark Gable, that big he-man, would literally look scared out of his wits because of a mere female. But that’s exactly what happened at the Hollywood premiere of “The Ten Commandments.” Clark and his beautiful Kay were about the last to arrive, probably hoping they might slip into the theater without a lot of fanfare. That’s what they hoped! Instead, just as he stepped from his limousine, a large, middle-aged woman ducked under the restraining rope and literally tackled Gable! She flung herself at him headlong, grabbing his knees, pawing and clawing him–and if the police…
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Gossip Friday: The Legs Have It
From September 1940: On the set of Boom Town: The last time Claudette [Colbert] co-starred with Clark Gable was in “It Happened One Night.” It gave both of them Academy Awards, made both of them famous. The most memorable scene was the one in which, after Clark unsuccessfully tried to thumb a ride from passing motorists, Claudette stepped to the side of the road and stopped the first motorist who came along by showing a super-generous expanse of leg. We asked Claudette how she felt about that being her best-remembered scene. She laughed. “It was a nice little joke on me that the thing I had fought against all my…
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Gossip Friday: Whiskers and All
From March 1940: During “Gone with the Wind” Clark Gable often remarked that nothing could give him greater pleasure than a haircut. But since “Strange Cargo” has been before the cameras, the actor has decided a shave can mean more to a guy than a haircut. Relating his miseries over the nine-day growth of beard which his role required, Gable said he was awfully tired of being hailed as Mr. Zola. And worse than having someone ask you why you don’t get a haircut or a violin,”he said,”is to have someone ask why you don’t get a snood for the whiskers!”
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We’re 10!
Today marks the 10th Anniversary of DearMrGable.com! The website launched on July 1, 2009, hand-coded by me after reading Website Building for Dummies. It was kind of on a whim. I had loved and admired Clark Gable for years, sure. I was involved in classic film fan groups on the internet and it often turned out that I was one of the only ones who had read up on Clark and seen all his films. I quickly discovered that while many classic film stars had active websites devoted to them, Clark really didn’t, which shocked me. I was surprised the domain name was available, snapped it up and here we…
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Gossip Friday: Another Victim
From June 1942: Clark Gable is another victim whom some have dared to criticize for remaining in civilian life. If Clark is aware of the cruel, ill-considered remarks that have been aimed at him, he has given no sign. In the past months, he has gone quietly about his work, attempting to restore some meaning to his life and, we hope, in some small measure, succeeding. What few people know is that Clark’s war work has already been cut out for him–and by no one less than the President of the United States! It has just been revealed that Clark wrote to President Roosevelt immediately after Pearl Harbor. He offered…
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Gossip Friday: Plenty Smart
From April 1956 (Louella Parsons): Clark Gable not only has a beautiful wife in Kay Williams, he has a perfect companion. Of course, Kay went along with The King when he left for Knabe, Utah, for weeks of location for “The King and Four Queens.” She took along her riding clothes (she may even work in some background scenes just for the kicks), just as when she goes to Palm Springs with Clark she takes her golf bags. And, come party time, Kay is dressed to the teeth–just as Clark likes her to be. A plenty smart wife, Mrs. Gable.
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Movie of the Week: But Not For Me (1959)
This week, Clark Gable is a Broadway producer stuck between his lovestruck secretary Carroll Baker and his ex-wife Lilli Palmer in But Not For Me (1959). Gable is Russ Ward, an aging Broadway producer deep in debt and losing his touch. When he finally decides to throw in the towel, his much younger secretary, Ellie Brown (Baker), admits to being in love with him. Her speech to him gives him the idea for a great play and he sets to work on it, reviving his career, leading Ellie on in the process. She proves she can play the lead role and becomes a success. Russ starts to have feelings for…
