CLARK GABLE "THE KING OF HOLLYWOOD"
July 20th 2008 01:20
Clark Gable
Gable’s mother died when he was ten months old and two years later his father remarried. Gable’s stepmother was a kind woman and loved him as her own raising him to be a well dressed gentleman who loved music, language, and Shakespeare.
Gable married Dillon and with her cash they went to Hollywood and she managed his career. Gable got some work as an extra before he returned to the stage for a short time. With great reviews Gable appeared in The Last Mile 1930 and his performance so impressed studio bosses he was offered a contract at MGM.
Warner Bros executive Darryl F. Zanuck said about Clark Gable "His ears are too big and he looks like an ape." Something the ladies disagreed with, as Gable divorced wife and manager Dillon and within the year had remarried.
Gable won a Best Actor Academy Award in 1934 for his performance in It Happened One Night, and his talent afforded him the best scripts and actresses in Hollywood at that time.
On being called the “King of Hollywood” Gable said, "This 'King' stuff is pure bullshit...I'm just a lucky slob from Ohio. I happened to be in the right place at the right time". In 1939 although he did not want to play the role Gable appeared in the most famous movie in Hollywood history, Gone With the Wind, portraying Rhett Butler, and earned a second Academy Award nomination. Gary Cooper was originally offered the role of Rhett and refused saying "Gone with the Wind is going to be the biggest flop in Hollywood history. I’m glad it’ll be Clark Gable who’s falling flat on his nose, not me".
Vivien Leigh who played Scarlett O Hara complained of Gables bad breath, and his famous line, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn," caused an uproar since it was in violation of the Production Code in effect at the time. The movie had three directors and was a production disaster not to mention this was Gable’s first Technicolor film. Gable later said every time Gone with the Wind was re-released his career was revived. Take that Gary Cooper!
Gable married for a third time in 1939 to actress Carole Lombard and their marriage was said to be the happiest time of his life, she was his match in everyway. They were madly in love and like two peas in a pod they shared a blunt personality and he adored her crazy sense of humor for which she was famous. Gable said of his soul mate "You can trust that little screwball with your life or your hopes or your weaknesses, and she wouldn't even know how to think about letting you down". In January 1942, while touring selling war bonds, Lombard, her mother, and the best man at Gable’s wedding, were killed when their plane crashed into a mountain outside of Las Vegas. Gable was said to be devastated at the loss of his love and began drinking which led to alcoholism. Comforted by lover Joan Crawford, Gable continued to live in his and Lombard’s home making 27 more movies, but friend and movie star Esther Williams said “He was never the same, his heart sank a bit."
After Lombard’s death Gable joined the U.S. Army Air Force and flew five combat missions including one to Germany in WW2, he left with rank of Major.
After the war Gable made more films including Mogambo with Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly with whom he had an affair and of course Joan Crawford and he continued their love affair living together for a short time. In 1949 Gable married Sylvia Ashley and divorced in 1952. In 1960, Gable made his last movie, The Misfits, with Monty Clift and Marilyn Monroe. It is said that Marilyn was difficult as usual and tried Gable’s patience. Her unprofessionalism drove him to distraction but the final result was worth all the problems as Monroe and Gable are amazing together on screen.
Gable had two children a daughter, Judy Lewis as a result of an affair with actress Loretta Young and a son John Clark Gable born March 20, 1961 four months after his death with then wife Kay.
On November 16, 1960, Clark Gable died from a heart attack, his wife saying Marilyn Monroe was the cause; Gable was stressed on set waiting endlessly for Monroe. Some say a crash diet Gable had recently started was the cause, and the three packs of cigarettes he smoked a day as well as his alcoholism didn’t help matters.
Gable is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California, beside Carole Lombard.
Clark Gable was the finest actor and most loved movie star of his time, but I think what people loved most about him was his ability to be a man and at the same time be vulnerable. He was a gentleman who cared if a lady would get her feet wet and carrying her over a water puddle was never too much trouble for him. He was a classy guy and unfortunately we may never see a man of his stature again either on a movie screen or in real life.
Doris Day summed up Gable's unique personality, "He was as masculine as any man I've ever known, and as much a little boy as a grown man could be, it was this combination that had such a devastating effect on women."
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