-
Gone with the Wednesday: Marietta Celebrates the 75th Anniversary
This past weekend, I was among the “Windies,” taking part in the Marietta Gone with the Wind Museum‘s 75th Anniversary Celebration in Marietta, Georgia. Three days of activities were planned and Gone with the Wind fans came out in droves…I met people from all over the country, from Italy, England and Russia. (Shout out to Kendra, Robbie and Marissa, who made the event so enjoyable for us!) On Friday, we attended a satire play of Gone with the Wind called “The Wind Has Left,” with Patrick Curtis (toddler Beau in GWTW) as Rhett and Morgan Brittany (Vivien Leigh in “The Scarlett O’Hara Wars” and “Gable and Lombard”) as Scarlett. It…
-
Gossip Friday: Building Clark Gable
From February 1936: At a party we saw Mrs. Clark Gable chatting with the ex-wife of a famous star. “My husband didn’t play fair about alimony,” said the ex-wife. “I gave him the most dignified divorce Hollywood ever saw. I chaperoned him and his girl friend for months to avoid scandal. Now she has him when he’s on top. I worked for him during the building years.” Mrs. Gable nodded quietly. “I know a little about building myself.”
-
Gone with the Wednesday: Memorable Scenes Await You!
From Screenland magazine in December 1939, a preview of some of the scenes that were awaiting audiences!
-
Gossip Friday: Saving Clark’s Soul
From October 1935: Poor Clark Gable had to stand a lot of ribbing about being prayed for by members of a church in his old hometown, and everybody wanted to know how he was “serving the devil of lust.” Clark himself has some curiousity on the subject, too. Jack Oakie, who worked with Clark on “Call of the Wild,” was, at last reports, endeavoring to convert Clark by preaching to him, but without much success. Jack took on the duty because he took on such a long beard for the picture that he looked like a biblical patriarch. Anyway, it may all suggest a new religious film to some producer.
-
Gone with the Wednesday: 1938’s Casting Roundabout
1938– a year full of suspense and speculation in regards to Gone with the Wind. Who would be Rhett? Who would be Melanie? Who would be Ashley? And especially…who will play Scarlett? To call the book a sensation would be an understatement. In three separate celebrity interviews from that year, magazines stated that young Judy Garland “spent last Christmas reading Gone with the Wind,” Deanna Durbin “has read Gone with the Wind twice!” and–the horror–“Nelson Eddy admits he has not yet read Gone with the Wind!” There was a lot at stake for this cast… In February, Photoplay magazine reported: Our monthly “Gone with the Wind” Department…whispers now have it…
-
May Movie of the Month: Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise (1931)
It took me two months to do the Nutshell Reviews for all 66 of Clark’s credited roles. Now that that is over, it’s back to Movie of the Month! This month, Clark Gable is paired with the Grande Dame of the screen in this scandalous pre-production code romance, Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise. Garbo is Susan (born Helga), an illegitimate orphan raised in shame by her aunt and her cruel husband, who treats her like a slave. He picks a man for her to marry “so you won’t be without a wedding ring like your mother”. When the man tries to rape her, she runs away in a rainstorm,…
-
Gossip Friday: Take a Ride in Clark Gable’s Wheels
From November 1940: A few years back Clark Gable owned a very swanky car. The body was low-slung, with dazzling chromium from stem to stern. The gaudy paint job made the car recognizable blocks away. Clark finally had to give up his foreign-made pet because it attracted too much attention. Now the Gable stigma still clings to the machine. It’s owned by an executive of a large corporation here. He uses it, specifically, to show visiting officials about Southern California. They get a big kick out of riding in a car once owned by Clark Gable.
-
Gone with the Wednesday: Repost–Spotlight on: Vivien Leigh
This week, here is a spotlight I did in 2011 on Vivien Leigh. Read what Clark really thought of Vivien and how Vivien felt about winning the most coveted role of the century. http://dearmrgable.com/?p=1783
-
{New Article} 1940: Help Kill Crazy Rumors About Me!
This article is a little bit of fun. I’ve read here and there over the years about Carole Lombard’s “fragile health” after she married Clark Gable. I know she had poison ivy at one point, and appendicitis, but I’ve always suspected that this whole “fragile health” scenario was a bit of a cover-up for her struggle with fertility. It gave a reason as to why she wasn’t pregnant yet despite everyone’s held breath for the news, and as to why she had slowed down making movies. Well, here is one time where she is denying she’s an invalid; this article addresses Carole’s feelings on the subject of her being…
-
Gossip Friday: Mickey Rooney’s Idol
From May 1939: Clark Gable…played a very important part in Mickey Rooney’s career. No wonder Mickey wants to be just like him. It was about five years ago when Mickey was twelve, and on the verge of starvation. Vaudeville was a thing of the past, and Mickey couldn’t even get a job as an extra in Hollywood. He’d only worked about three days in three months. Then he had an idea. He called Clark Gable. “Mr. Gable,” he said, “there’s a good part for a boy in ‘Manhattan Melodrama,’ and I’d give my shirt to play it. I’ve been acting since I was a baby–and I know I can do…