The American film actor William Clark Gable has been remembered as the “King of Hollywood”. He spent three decades as a leading man, starring in more than 60 motion pictures.
Early life
Clark Gable is a Hollywood actor who made his name during the 1920s and early 1930s. He is often credited with being one of the leading romantic actors in American films.
William Clark Gable was born on February 1, 1901 in Cadiz, Ohio. His father was an oil well driller, and his mother was of Irish and Swiss-German descent. He was the only child of the family. After his mother’s death, Gable was adopted by his adoptive father.
When Clark Gable was a young boy, his mother baptized him a Roman Catholic. As a child, Gable was mistakenly listed on his birth certificate as a female.
In the mid-1920s, Clark Gable was in training at a Broadway theatre to become an actor. While he was studying, he met a veteran actress, Josephine Dillon, who became his acting coach. She saw potential in Gable and helped him land his first film role.
When the couple married in 1924, Clark Gable and Josephine Dillon moved to Hollywood. They lived in California for five years and Texas for six. Both Clark and Josephine were rich, but their relationship was difficult. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1930.
In the mid-1930s, Clark Gable became involved with actress Carole Lombard. The pair worked together in three films. By the time Lombard died in 1942, the two had become inseparable. But after Lombard’s death, Clark was devastated. He tried to commit suicide on a high-powered motorbike.
Following his divorce from Carole, Gable continued his career in films. Although his stardom faded, he remained popular with audiences. A fan magazine cited him and Lombard as the official couple.
In the 1950s, Gable began to lose his stardom. During this period, he voted for Richard Nixon and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Film career
During his 37-year film career, William Clark Gable starred in more than sixty motion pictures. His most popular films included Red Dust (1932), The Tall Men (1953), and Never Let Me Go (1953).
Born in Cadiz, Ohio, William Clark Gable was the son of a farmer and oil field worker. When he was just a few years old, he moved to California. He joined a traveling theater company.
At the age of 17, Clark Gable decided to pursue a career in the film industry. He started out in silent movies, working as an extra. As he worked his way up in the industry, he met actress Josephine Dillon. She became his mentor and coach. Her guidance helped improve his body posture and improve his voice.
After a brief stint in the Army Air Force, Clark returned to Hollywood. His next film, Red Dust, landed him the title of MGM’s top male star. However, his box office was hit and miss, and his career never really regained the momentum it had after Adventure.
In 1942, Clark Gable lost his third wife, Carole Lombard, in a plane crash. It was during this time that he also became involved in the army. By 1944, he was promoted to the rank of major. During the war, he served as a tail gunner on five combat missions over Europe.
Following the war, Clark Gable went back to work at MGM. After this, he continued his film career, appearing in 65 movies. Some of his best performances included in his three Oscar-winning roles in It Happened One Night (1934), Gone With the Wind (1939), and The Misfits (1951).
Aside from his films, Clark Gable was a decorated aviator. He received an Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross for his five combat missions in World War II.
Marriages
Clark Gable was married five times. He first married actress Josephine Dillon in 1924. They moved to Hollywood in 1924. Their marriage was brief, however.
Clark and Josephine were divorced in 1930. Clark went on to date several actresses. Some of them were Ava Gardner, Evelyn Keyes, and Grace Kelly.
Eventually, Gable began to date a Texas socialite named Maria “Ria” Langham. She was seventeen years older than Gable. The two had a passionate relationship.
Clark Gable met and fell in love with Carole Lombard in 1936. When they met, they were inseparable. After his first wife died, Clark and Lombard became romantically involved. They starred in three movies together.
Clark Gable and his third wife Carole Lombard met for the first time at a party in 1936. They became a couple and starred in No Man of Her Own. However, in 1942, they died in a plane crash.
Clark Gable was also a member of the US Army Air Force. He served as a tail-gunner on five bombing missions over Germany. Despite his success in silent films, he never got back to his pre-war success.
In the late 1920s, Clark Gable started working as a stage gigolo. He was hired by another theater company. This gave him a chance to learn more about acting. He was also a stud for older actresses.
Clark and Ria separated in October 1935. The following year, Clark Gable and Dorothy Gable had a relationship. It was later reported that Gable was secretly in an affair with Maria Langham.
Gable was a conservative Republican. He supported Richard Nixon and Dwight D. Eisenhower. As the years passed, he grew tired of his extravagant ways.
Secret daughter
Clark Gable and Loretta Young had a secret love child. They kept it a secret until Judy Lewis was born in 1935. The baby was actually born on the set of the film “The Call of the Wild”. However, the story didn’t end there.
After a 19-month stint in orphanages, the baby was returned to her birth mother. Young never told Tom Lewis that he was her adoptive father, and she didn’t tell him her secret. Nonetheless, the baby’s ears resembled Gable’s.
Apparently, the real reason for Lewis’ large ears was not so much to distract the viewer, but to protect her true parentage. A friend of Young’s was told to not reveal to the baby’s father that her mother was actually her illegitimate daughter.
When she was older, she wrote a memoir about her life as an illegitimate child. She claimed she didn’t know her mother was the real thing until she was about 31 years old.
As she got older, she became a therapist. Her career lasted longer than most actresses. Some people believed that her choice of career was connected to her healing abilities.
At age 7, the baby underwent surgery to pin back her ears. This was the first of several procedures to be performed to disguise her true parentage.
Although her biological parents never acknowledged her as their daughter, Clark Gable was a generous celebrity who gave her a good education. He was also married five times and had affairs with Joan Crawford, Ingrid Bergman, and Maria Langham.
Although Young’s secret love child was not quite the big news she thought it would be, it certainly made headlines. And for tragic reasons.
Although she was a devout Catholic, Loretta Young was not about to abort the baby. For 19 months, she hid the girl from the public. She also hid the fact that she was pregnant.
Death
Clark Gable, who died in 1960, was one of the most famous Hollywood stars of the 1930s and 1940s. He starred in many films, including Gone with the Wind, The Misfits, and Call of the Wild.
Clark Gable’s death has raised a lot of controversy. Some believe that he died prematurely because of the rigors of filming westerns. Others point to a history of drug abuse. Regardless, his death brought raw feelings among his descendants.
During his career, Clark Gable became romantic leading man. His portrayal of Jack London’s hero in Call of the Wild for Twentieth Century Fox earned him an Oscar nomination. He also received a Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal.
Clark Gable enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1942 at the age of 41. During World War II, he served as a tail gunner. During his tenure, he flew five combat missions in B-17 Flying Fortresses.
After the war, Clark Gable toured the oil fields of Oklahoma. He also performed in stock companies. But he never finished high school.
Gable was married to three different women. First, he was married to actress Carole Lombard. When she was pregnant, she failed to tell him. In the meantime, she miscarried.
Gable had an affair with actress Loretta Young. They kept their relationship secret from the public. Eventually, they had a daughter.
Gable also had an affair with actress Joan Crawford. It was believed that Clark Gable was the favourite actor of Adolf Hitler.
Despite his fame, Clark Gable suffered from heart problems. He had an acute myocardial infarction. Although he was in the hospital, no resuscitation attempts were made. A medical examiner reported that he was an abuser of drugs.
