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Gossip Friday: Chew on This
From October 1941: Carole Lombard chews up more letters than she writes. When she sits down to write she chews the edge of the stationary while she is thinking and by the time she has the letter halfway finished it is so well chewed up that she throws it in the wastebasket and goes out to feed the chickens. That’s why you don’t ever get letters from Lombard. Carole Lombard is probably the only actress in Hollywood who feeds the chicken while wearing Irene dresses. Or maybe Carole Lombard is the only actress in Hollywood who feeds the chickens! _______________________ New this week: Articles galore! One about Carole from…
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TCM Moguls and Movie Stars Exhibit
A few days ago I went to the TCM Moguls and Movie Stars exhibit in Atlanta. From TCM.com: Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is bringing a bit of Hollywood history to five cities across the United States this fall as part of a special tour tied to the network’s landmark seven-part documentary series, MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD, which premieres Monday, Nov. 1, at 8 p.m. (ET). The multimedia exhibit was created to let film lovers across the country experience the MOGULS & MOVIE STARS series through interactive displays on the history of filmmaking in America. The exhibit will feature unique memorabilia, including an Oscar®…
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Gossip Friday: Signed by Carole Gable
From January 1940: After a preview the other evening, a boy asked Carole Lombard for her autograph. The actress obligingly signed “Carole Gable”. The boy looked at it and then said, “Shucks, I can sell your Carole Lombard autograph for two bits to a pal of mine, but this ain’t worth nothing!” New this week: Articles: Will the Gable-Lombard Romance Last? written right before they married and the foreword that Clark wrote for Adolphe Menjou’s autobiography
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From Glamour Girl to Mud Lover
Clark often gets blamed for changing Carole to his liking. After all, before they got serious, she was a lounge lizard, a party animal, the go-to girl for a good time in Hollywood. After falling for Clark, she started hunting, fishing, skeet shooting, gardening and farming with the best of them. She always said, “Whatever makes my Pappy happy!” I don’t see Clark forcing her to do these things—really, do you think Carole was the type that could be forced to do anything?!–I think she wanted to be the ideal woman for Clark and she really wanted him to be happy. And every once in a while he did put…
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Gossip Friday: On the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Want some candids and behind the scenes scoop from Carole’s film “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”? Happy to oblige. Both from February 1941: Just for good luck Alfred Hitchcock always appears in one brief scene in his pictures. Just to show that he was a good sport he let Carole Lombard, the star of his picture “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” direct the scene in which he appeared. That was a big mistake, as he discovered later. Miss Lombard, the director, sat in the director’s chair, neatly placed in the shade, and for half an hour or more made Mr. Hitchcock go through his one line. The sun became hotter and hotter on…
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Remembering Bonnie Blue
On Sunday, I attended the memorial service for Cammie King Conlon, or as we all know her, Bonnie Blue Butler, in Marietta, Georgia. Filled with both tears and laughter, it was a touching tribute to a woman who always claimed she “peaked at age five”. It began with a video tribute, including all of her scenes from GWTW and also a scene from Bambi (she was the voice of young Faline). Speakers included Cammie’s son Matt Conlon, Chris Sullivan, a long time Gone with the Wind enthusiast and collector (whose collection is housed at the GWTW Museum in Marietta), and Mickey Kuhn, who portrayed Beau as a child in GWTW.…
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Movie of the Month: No Man of Her Own
No surprise, since we’re having Carole Lombard month, that this month’s movie is the only Clark and Carole film, No Man of Her Own, from 1932. Thanks to the legendary romance of Clark and Carole that would begin about four years later, this film has now become a fan favorite, whereas maybe if Clark’s co-star hadn’t been Carole it would be dismissed as another soapy melodrama. But actually there is some substance in it, and even overlooking the Clark and Carole legend, it’s a good little pre-code. Clark is Babe Stewart, a womanizing card cheat. As he says to a pining Dorothy Mackaill early on, “You know I’m a hit…
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Gossip Friday: Fred and Carole
Here’s some Carole scoop from September 1941: Proving there is an attraction between opposites, Fred [MacMurray]’s favorite femme fatale is Carole Lombard. He’d rather play a small part with her than co-star with her contemporaries. When an agent called to offer a radio engagement, Lily [his wife] explained that Fred was down in San Diego on location. She was sure he would like to do it. Perhaps another time. “I understand,” said the agent, “I’m sure we can find someone this time to play opposite Carole Lombard. “ Did he say Lombard? Lily was ure Fred would fly back if there was a chance to work with Carole. They were…
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Clark: Private and Undisclosed!
Few things excite me as much as being told that there are FIVE HOURS of previously unreleased home movies of Clark that were found! It is true! I received an email last week from Michelle Morgan, who is the author of the 2007 book Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed. She is helping produce a documentary and corresponding book on Clark, using aforementioned footage. The footage includes Carole Lombard, as well as him hunting and fishing, and military footage. Michelle descibes the project as “exploring Clark through the eyes of those who knew him best.” It should be completed in 2011. You can follow the project yourself on her blog: www.ClarkGableProject.blogspot.com I, for one, can not…
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“Happy Birthday Dear Ma…”
Today is Carole Lombard’s 102nd birthday! To celebrate, here’s an interesting item printed in January 1941: When bigger and better pranks are played in Hollywood, you can be sure of one thing–Gable and Lombard will play ’em. When Lombard’s birthday rolled around, Gable had made an enormous cake carefully iced on top–“To Ma–on her 75th Birthday”. When Carole cut the cake, imagine her surprise to hear coming from the cake’s innards a conversation between Clark and a friend. “Now Clark, the gag is for you to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Carole.” “What? Me sing? Nothing doing,” said Gable’s voice. “Next thing you know the studio will have me in singing films.”…