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Gossip Friday: Spotting the Widower
Some gossip about Clark from the August after Carole Lombard’s death… From August 1942: Our most pleasant experience in many weeks: spotting Clark Gable dining out for the first time since his loss, accompanied by friends at the Vine Street Brown Derby. Later we saw him shaking hands with young soldiers who clustered around him. Gable looks more fit than he has in a long time, lean and tanned from riding to and from work on his motorcycle. Remember that old Ford that Carole Lombard dolled with fancy paint and gave to Clark Gable for a Valentine years ago? It was so much a part of their happy love story…
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In 1931, Clark Gable was “On the Up and Up”
This week I have been digging through Photoplay magazines from 1931–the earliest year of fan magazines my Gable-hunting self would dig through, because before 1931 Clark Gable didn’t exist in Hollywood. He was a nobody and not worth mentioning. In fact, that is the case for most of 1931. He is not even mentioned at all in film reviews for films like Night Nurse and The Easiest Way. It is not until A Free Soul comes along in the summer that his name starts popping up. In September, the Questions & Answer section of Photoplay, where readers write in and ask random questions about their favorite stars, noted this: Hundreds…
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Gossip Friday: Carole Lombard vs. a Bee
From November 1940: Carole Lombard reported on the “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” set with a huge bump on the nose and a lump on the ear, result of a Mr. and Mrs. fishing trip (Gable’s the Mr.) with two bees practically eating her up. Gable sends her a pound of honey a day, as a gag.
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{New Article} 1940: I Was Afraid of Rhett Butler
It’s no secret that Clark didn’t want the role of Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind. Nowadays, if people do know his name, it is for that role alone–unless they are TCM fans. This article is one of many that appeared around the time GWTW was released, in which Clark tells why he didn’t want the role–too much pressure–and tries to dispel the rumor that Margaret Mitchell wrote the character of Rhett specifically with him in mind. This one’s short, so here it is in its entirety: I Was Afraid of Rhett Butler By Clark Gable Liberty magazine, February 1940 Rhett Butler really put me on a spot, a…
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Gossip Friday: Clark Pranks Spencer
From January 1941: You won’t find two greater pranksters in all of Hollywood than Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy. So when Spencer returned to town from a trip to New York and found an invitation to dine with the Gables, he knew there was something up. Accompanied by Mrs. Tracy, he arrived at the Gable ranch, fully expecting some gag. All during dinner, he was on pins and needles waiting for the joke to pop. Up until the moment he and Mrs. Tracy were at the door ready to leave, he looked furtively about, expecting something to happen. But all had gone divinely well. Finally,Spencer mopped his brow nervously and…
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1938: Clark Gable and Carole Lombard Attend the Marie Antoinette Premiere
74 years ago this month, lovebirds Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were among the throngs of celebrities attending the world premiere of MGM’s Marie Antoinette at the Carthay Circle Theater in Hollywood (no longer standing, sadly.) The film has been on MGM’s drawing table for years; a pet project of producer Irving Thalberg, who died in 1936 before a camera ever rolled on the project. His wife, Norma Shearer, was set to be the star of the picture. After her husband’s death, the project was shelved while Norma grieved and was ill with pneumonia. The film finally started production in December 1937 and was a lavish affair, with a $1.8 million budget–practically unheard…
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{New Article} 1955: Live Alone and Like It?
This article from 1955 is of a common theme, one that was often repeated after Carole Lombard’s death and especially since Clark divorced Sylvia Ashley: Who will be the next Mrs. Gable? Could Clark possibly be happy all alone? Clark Gable is fifty-four years old. He has been married four times. Before each of these marriages, he ardently courted the woman who was to become his wife. During this period, he steadfastly denied any matrimonial intention. Gable is currently squiring Kay Williams Spreckels, “an old friend” he has known for years. Kay recently had her former husband, Adolph Spreckels, thrown in prison for beating her up. “I’ve had enough of…
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Gossip Friday: Missing Something…
From February 1941: Did you know that Clark Gable sleeps in only the upper part of his pajamas? ____ Oh my…
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July Movie of the Month: A Free Soul (1931)
I began writing “Movie of the Month” posts in July two years ago, to start something new to celebrate the first anniversary of the site. For the first one, I selected Wife vs. Secretary because it’s one of my personal favorites and the following July I selected It Happened One Night because of its importance. I’m continuing the tradition of selecting an “important” Gable film in July with A Free Soul, the film that made Clark Gable a star. Gable is Ace Wilfong, a gangster on trial for murder being represented by upper class defense attorney Stephan Ashe (Lionel Barrymore). Stephan, while successful as an attorney, is an alcoholic who is…
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Gossip Friday: It’s a Wrap for Gone with the Wind
From October 1939: Most welcome news of a “completion party” for a picture came from Selznick studios. On one of the “Gone with the Wind” stages, refreshments were served and all who had worked on the picture were invited to come. Carole Lombard came, anyhow. Said her sense of curiosity drove her to it, since she’d never believe it was actually happening without seeing it with her own eyes. Cameraman Fred Parrish, who had made a record 6,000 stills for this one picture, arrived to take a few more of the party. But Gable insisted he put down the camera and relax. “As it is,” Gable pointed out, “you’ll probably be…