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Gossip Friday: Very Much All Right
From March 1941: Wouldn’t you think that, after coming 3,000 miles to see Clark Gable (and a few others), and, after rearranging a whole week so as to be able to get out to MGM, when he would be working on a picture–wouldn’t you imagine that we’d have something very serious and important to talk about? Something like the Rhett Butler portrayal which climaxed his career. Or like the shoulder which gave him so much trouble a few months ago. Or like his home life. Or Carole Lombard. Well, we did touch on those subjects, of course, but lightly. No need to say much about Rhett Butler, since Gable put…
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Clark Gable in Tampa Part 2: He Looked at Me–And I Reached For The Wall
Continuing in our series of articles posted in the Tampa Tribune in February 1958, here is Part 2 of Clark being interviewed at the Tampa International Airport: He Looked at Me–And I Reached For The Wall by Lee Winter, Tribune Staff Writer Clark Gable’s whiskery glance stirred up a thick batter of longing among women waiting in the cold wind at the airport. Mostly, they were older women who strained for that first look at the tall figure striding from the plane. One woman tore a button off her glove as she leaned on the wire fence. Later, she told me that her first memory of Clark Gable was a…
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Gossip Friday: Easy to Handle
From January 1936: Clark Gable is easy to handle, Lionel Barrymore is difficult and Norma Shearer is “sweet and stoical about pain.” That is how Peggy Coleman, who sees the stars when they are suffering, sizes up stellar response to the first-aid treatment she administers in her capacity as studio nurse. For 11 years Peggy Coleman has ministered to common colds, minor ailments, injuries and sometimes serious accident cases that befall the workers on her lot. If an actor has a headache on the set, they send for Peggy. If an actress fears her cold will show in her eyes, Peggy hastens over to give treatment. She may be dressing…
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Clark Gable in Tampa Part 1: Virility and Charm–And His Voice is Husky Yet Soft
Since it’s Clark Gable’s birthday month, we will be featuring a series of small articles that were printed in the Tampa Tribune in February 1958. It was around his birthday that Clark Gable and wife Kay Spreckels arrived at the Tampa International Airport, en route to a cruise to the West Indies. Is any of this earth shattering information? No. But if you wanted to know what Clark thought of chemise dresses, if he ever unclogged sinks at home, if he thinks women should know how to cook, if he thinks Rhett ever came back to Scarlett, what his favorite cake is and if he likes to die in movies,…
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Happy Birthday, Mr. Gable
Clark Gable was born 121 years ago today, on February 1, 1901, in Cadiz, Ohio. The only child of William and Adeline Gable, Clark or “Billy” as he was called growing up, would one day be one of the biggest movie stars in the world. And 121 years later, we still remember him. Director Mervyn LeRoy once said, “The tough thing about describing Clark Gable is that there’s nothing bad to say.” There was a general consensus around Hollywood that Clark was a stand-up guy–remarkably unpretentious and without an ounce of self-importance. A rare type of man whom men wanted to be friends with and women were automatically smitten with. A…
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Gossip Friday: Setting a Record
From November 1938: Clark Gable says he has set a record for osculation in the movies. He had to kiss four nurses in one sitting in “Idiot’s Delight.” But something went wrong with each take (I think I know why), and Clark had to do each scene with each girl ten times. “I’m not sure I liked it,” said Mr. Gable. I bet Miss Lombard doesn’t like it, either.
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Gossip Friday: So Much for that Resolution
From January 1955: Clark Gable’s resolution for 1955–to stay single. But if Kay Spreckels wants to change his mind–she’s the only gal who can do it. ____ And that she did, becoming the fifth Mrs. Gable in July of that year.
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Remembering Carole Lombard, 80 Years Later
Carole Lombard died 80 years ago today when her plane crashed into Mount Potosi outside Las Vegas, Nevada. She was only 33 years old. The glamorous Lombard was born Jane Alice Peters in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on October 6, 1908, the only daughter of Elizabeth “Bessie” Peters and her husband Frederic. She had two older brothers. When her parents separated in 1914, Bessie moved the children to Los Angeles. Blonde, blue-eyed Jane made her first screen appearance at only twelve–a small part in “A Perfect Crime,” 1921. By the age of sixteen, she had signed with Fox, although only appeared in small bit parts. She adopted the more glamorous moniker…
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Gossip Friday: Quite a Cougar
From January 1934: Clark Gable was en route home today from a hunting trip through southern Utah. Gable shot a 200-pound cougar during the trip. The expedition also went through the Kanak area where Gary Cooper recently went hunting.
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{New Article} 1949: The Story Behind The Gable Legend
Here’s a new article from 1949. Most of the fan magazine articles about Clark in this post-WWII, late 1940’s period are all about who he’s dating and who will be the next Mrs. Gable. This one has actually has some nice quotes about Clark. It’s kind of funny that in 1949 there is an article trying to explain why Clark Gable has been popular for almost 20 years. Here we are, 90 years after his film debut, still talking about him! He’s launched a double-dozen young actresses to fame through being his leading lady. He’s been a man’s hero, too. No clotheshorse ever, when he wore turtlenecked sweaters, everybody started…
