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We’re Three!
Today marks the third anniversary of this website, I am very happy to announce! (Technically it was yesterday but I had some posting problems…) So thank you, thank you, to you many Clark Gable fans who support me, who send me pictures, who have mailed me radio shows, who email me and discuss anything Gable related. Thank you for helping me keep Clark’s films and legacy alive! To date, there are over 10,500 pictures in the gallery– here are some of my favorites from the past year: There is so much more to come so stayed tuned!
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Gossip Friday: Carole Waits for Her Man
From July 1937: True Love Note: Carole Lombard waited at the studio gates for Clark Gable to finish a couple of retakes the other night. She waited until 2:00am!!
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{New Article} 1934: Let’s Go Home with Clark Gable
I was excited about this article as it is the first I know of to provide a detailed description of the Brentwood home Clark Gable shared with second wife Ria in the early 1930’s. They moved here soon after Clark struck stardom gold in 1931. Clark moved out in 1935 and into the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. In 1939, he moved into Carole Lombard’s St. Cloud home and soon after, his Encino ranch, which would be his last home. I believe Ria stayed here until she left Hollywood for good in the 1940’s. Usually I only post a few paragraphs of an article in a blog post, but this one is…
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Gossip Friday: Carole Lombard’s Fashion Show
From December 1936: For weeks now, Carole Lombard has been trying to convince Clark Gable that she should be allowed to come along on the hunting trip Clark has planned with a bunch of the boys. She hasn’t had any luck. Then she heard, for the first time, about those red caps and scarlet jackets that most deer hunters wear to preserve life and limb. “An idea!” smiled Carole as she telephoned her modiste. When Clark called that evening, Carole ordered him into a large comfortable chair and informed him that she was about to put on her first “Hunting Wardrobe” show. Red hats…red lounging pajamas…red sports outfit…red shoes and…
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June Movie of the Month: Betrayed (1954)
Clark Gable reigned as the King of the MGM lot for 23 years. He felt safe on that big lot, protected by their scripts and directors and the familiar faces. Never very confident in his acting ability, his home playing field gave him the confidence he needed (although, ironically, two of his three Oscar nominations were for films in which he was on loan-out to other studios). Many actors free-lanced and hopped from studio to studio, but not Clark. He stayed on as MGM’s golden boy. But times changed. Clark returned from World War II older, grayer and emotionally damaged. Newer, fresher faces were emerging on the scene and Clark…
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{New Article} 1938: Gentle Gable
This article is the publicity team at Metro Goldwyn Mayer doing their job–depicting roughneck Gable as a simple, nice soul. And while it is sugary sweet, there are probably some seeds of truth here and there. Nor would anyone expect him, to take time out, away from his own problems, to sit down for hours at a time, every few months, and talk about a little shaver whom he has never seen, a little fellow named Bobby. Yet his understanding of children and their interests is so real to him that it stretches farther than the mere lessons in whittling that he can give to extra children on the set.…
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{Book Review} Good Stuff: A Reminisence of My Father, Cary Grant
My review of this book is rather timely, it being Father’s Day weekend and all! Jennifer Grant, the only child of screen legend Cary Grant, after years of pressure, finally wrote a book about her father. In my opinion, this book is just what you would want it to be. She doesn’t pretend to be an expert on his films or on his acting, admitting there are film scholars far more qualified to do that than she. She says how the man in Arsenic and Old Lace or Bringing Up Baby almost seems like another person to her. Instead, this book is a random collection of her memories. We hear about…
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{Gossip Friday} Ann Rutherford the Copycat
Some gossip about Ann, from May 1940: Ann Rutherford tells us that every time she goes into one of the deluxe dress shops in town the clerks watch her from the moment she enters until the door closes behind her. “Admiring me? she laughed. “Well, not exactly. They’re just keeping an eagle eye on me because I copy their designs.” With one squint at a swanky model, three yards of silk crepe and an evening at home, the little Rutherford gal can produce a Paris model.
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In Memory of Ann Rutherford: “I guess things like hands and ladies don’t matter so much anymore…”
It was with a heavy heart that I learned of Ann Rutherford’s passing yesterday. She lived to be 94, which is itself an accomplishment, but my heart just breaks as we continue to lose these classic stars. Their era is fading away, and with them goes their memories. I met Ann for the first time in November 2009 at the 70th anniversary of Gone with the Wind event in Marietta, GA . She was full of life, very spunky and those big brown eyes were quite the giveaway to her youthful self. I only spoke with her briefly. At the time I was pregnant and she congratulated me and said, “I hope you’ll show…
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75 Years Ago, Saying Good-bye to Jean Harlow
75 years ago today, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard attended the funeral of 26 year old Jean Harlow. Jean was a dear friend of Clark’s. They starred together in The Secret Six, Red Dust, Hold Your Man, China Seas, Wife vs. Secretary and Saratoga. He loved her lack of pretense and how casual and free spirited she was. While everyone else called her “The Baby,” he called her “Sis.” Theirs was not a romantic relationship; he was like her protective older brother. They were filming Saratoga together when, after weeks of looking bloated and feeling fatigued, she collapsed on the set. She died just a few days later. Carole Lombard…