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1939: A Memorable Year for Clark Gable
Everyone has specific years in their lives where they look back and realize that that particular year was one of the most memorable of their entire lives. 1939 is being heralded quite a bit this year, as it is widely considered the best year for movies in history, with classics such as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Dark Victory, Ninotchka, Wuthering Heights, Beau Geste, Juarez, Stagecoach, etc. Looking back, I don’t think that Clark Gable could deny that 1939 was indeed a special year for him, personally and professionally. Let’s have a look back at Clark’s life, 75 years ago…. January –After…
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Gossip Friday: A Commissary Visitor
From July 1937: The whole MGM commissary was agog the other noon when the luscious Carole Lombard dropped over for lunch with Clark Gable. And we understand that it was none other than little Missy Lombard who’s responsible for those twenty pounds Clark dropped after completing work on “Parnell.” Seems the studio had been after him to lose weight for months, but it took the iron-hand of Carole to get him to be serious about the situation. And as Gracie Allen would say, he certainly looks beautiful!
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Gone with the Wednesday: Clark Gable Rights a Wrong
This is one heartwarming story from the set of Gone with the Wind. Lenny Bluett, a young black man playing an extra in the film, was distraught over discovering that the port-a-potties on the set were labeled for White and Colored. He brought to the attention of Clark Gable, who had a few choice words for Vic Fleming and the property manager… I just love that video. Clark was far from perfect (who is?) but it ruffles my feathers when I have heard people call him racist (don’t even get me started on Marcella Rabwin’s book!!!). I have no idea where that came from, but he was in no…
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Gossip Friday: Five Million Tag Alongs
From November 1937: The lowdown on the Clark Gable disappearing act he pulled on his recent vacation was because Clark couldn’t even complete his bear hunt he started out to do without five million people tagging along. So he upped and turned his car the other way and vanished into thin air because he really needed a rest and even the studio didn’t know his whereabouts.
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Gone with the Wednesday: Who’s That Girl?
Many people over the years have seen the above photo of Clark clutching hands and beaming at this random brunette woman in Atlanta and wondered, WHO is that incredibly lucky girl? The answer is…Mildred Hartsfield. William B. Hartsfield was the 49th Mayor of the city of Atlanta (and yes, that airport you transfer in everytime you fly Delta is named after him). He was mayor from 1937-1962, the longest tenure of any Atlanta mayor. He was in full support of hosting the premiere of Gone with the Wind , seeing it as an oppurtunity to show off his fine city to the world and therefore pulled out all the stops. He declared…
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Gossip Friday: No Tea For This He-Man
From December 1940: Clark Gable is so afraid of even having it suggested that he is a softie that every day on the set of “Comrade X” when tea time rolled around and he was offered tiny cakes and tea he bellowed, “Gimme some food fit for a man to eat!” However, he was kidded out of being too disdainful of tea. The day I visited the set his director arranged a gag. As a total surprised a “sandwich” arrived for Clark at tea time. It was made of a loaf of bread cut in half with a two-inch steak between, and a quart of coffee as a chaser. The…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Portrait of Rhett Butler
Clark Gable hated taking publicity photos. He often said it made him feel like a ham. Gone with the Wind was no exception and after hours working on set he was subjected to several more hours of sitting under hot lights in heavy Civil-War era suits, grinning (or scowling) for the camera over and over. Let’s take a look at some of the solitary shots of Clark Gable (suffering) as Rhett Butler.
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Gossip Friday: A Storied Mind
From June 1937: During the preparation for the last three pictures he’s appeared in, Clark Gable has been sitting in on all story conferences. Studio executives feel he is a real help in working out details for baffling situations and more than welcome his presence. In fact, Anita Loos, who has been working on “Saratoga,” insists Clark has one of the best story minds in Hollywood.
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Gone with the Wednesday: Vivien Leigh, Unafraid
A short little interview with Vivien Leigh from November 1939: When David O’ Selznick shortly releases Margaret Mitchell’s famous story, “Gone with the Wind,” a little English girl, born in India, will be under the guns of Hollywood. For the comparative newcomer, Vivien Leigh, landed the role every actress in the movie colony longed to play. Is Miss Leigh, the Scarlett O’Hara of the film, afraid? “Why afraid?” returns Miss Leigh coolly. “All that talk of hundreds of actresses trying for the part was publicity, a lot of it on the part of other studios. Actually less than a dozen made tests. Norma Shearer, who had considered the part, sent…
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{New Article} 1961: Clark Gable’s Baby: This is a Story of Faith and Immortality
Sometimes, when I find a new article for the site, I sit down and read it, jot down some notes, and then put it in the pile to type. Other times (often when I’m backlogged!), I don’t read the article until I am actually typing it up. This article is one of those and I must say that while I was typing it I had to stop several times and re-read what I typed, shaking my head, “What the heck is the point of this article?!” I’m still not sure. Kay Gable ignored the advice of her doctor. “Your own heart’s not in such great shape, you know,” he’d said.…