Why was Gable called Clark?
Gable was named William after his father, but he was almost always called Clark, and referred to as "the kid" by his father. Due to the doctor's illegible handwriting, he was mistakenly listed as male and female in the county register; the clerk later corrected it to male. He had Belgian and German ancestry.
What movie did Clark Gable appear in?
He changed his stage name from W. C. Gable to Clark Gable and appeared as an extra in such silent films as Erich von Stroheim 's The Merry Widow (1925), The Plastic Age (1925) starring Clara Bow , and Forbidden Paradise (1924) starring Pola Negri.
How did Gable become an actor?
Gable was inspired to become an actor after seeing the play The Bird of Paradise at age 17, but unable to make a start in acting until turning 21 and receiving his $300 inheritance from a Hershelman trust. After his stepmother died in 1920, his father moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, going back into the oil business. He worked with his father for some time wildcatting and sludge removing in the oil fields of Oklahoma before traveling to the Pacific Northwest.
Why did Gable refuse to go down with the submarine?
Screenwriter Larry Gelbart, as quoted in James Garner 's biography stated that Gable, "... refused to go down with the submarine, because Gable doesn't sink". (In reference to Gable's film Run Silent, Run Deep ).
Why did Gable leave Night Nurse?
The studio experienced financial problems after the film's delayed release, so Gable left for work at Warner Bros. The same year in Night Nurse, Gable played a villainous chauffeur who knocked Barbara Stanwyck 's character unconscious for trying to save two children whom he was methodically starving to death.
How many times was Gable married?
Gable was married five times. He was engaged to actress Franz Dorfler when he lived in Astoria, Oregon. She referred him to the woman who would become his acting coach and manager, Josephine Dillon. Gable and Dillon married in 1924 and divorced in 1930. Gable would say "he owed her a debt of gratitude" for the training he received from Dillon in the early years of his career. His second wife was Texas socialite Maria Franklin Prentiss Lucas Langham (nicknamed "Ria"). The couple divorced on March 7, 1939.
What was the last movie Gable and Harlow filmed together?
Their final film together was Saratoga (1937), a bigger hit than their previous collaborations. Harlow died during its production. The film was ninety percent completed, and the remaining scenes were filmed with long shots or the use of doubles like Mary Dees; Gable said he felt as if he were "in the arms of a ghost".
Overview
Life and career
William Clark Gable was born on February 1, 1901, in Cadiz, Ohio, to William Henry "Will" Gable (1870–1948), an oil-well driller, and his wife Adeline (née Hershelman). His father was a Protestant and his mother a Catholic. Gable was named William after his father, but he was almost always called Clark, and referred to as "the kid" by his father. Due to the doctor's illegible handwriting, h…
Personal life
In 1933, Gable was initiated into Freemasonry at the Beverly Hills Lodge No. 528 CA.
Gable habitually married. He was engaged to actress Franz Dorfler when he lived in Astoria, Oregon. She referred him to the woman who would become his acting coach and manager, Josephine Dillon. Gable and Dillon married in 192…
Style and reception
In a photo essay of Hollywood film stars, Life magazine called Gable, "All man ... and then some."
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."
In popular culture
Warner Bros. cartoons sometimes caricatured Gable. Examples include: Have You Got Any Castles? (in which his face appears seven times inside the novel "The House of the Seven Gables"), The Coo-Coo Nut Grove (in which his ears flap on their own), Hollywood Steps Out (in which he follows an enigmatic woman), and Cats Don't Dance (in which he appears on a billboard promotion for Gone with the Wind and on the backlot of MGM).
Filmography
Gable is known to have appeared as an "extra" in 13 films between 1924 and 1930. He then appeared in a total of 67 theatrically released motion pictures, as himself in 17 "short subject" films, and he narrated and appeared in a 1945 World War II propaganda film entitled Combat America, produced by the United States Army Air Forces.
See also
• List of actors with Academy Award nominations
• List of members of the American Legion
Bibliography
• Essoe, Gabe (1970). The Films of Clark Gable. Secaucus: The Cidadel Press. ISBN 978-0-8065-0011-9.
• Harris, Warren G. (2002). Clark Gable: A Biography. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 978-0-609-60495-3.
• Lewis, Judy (1994). Uncommon Knowledge. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-70019-5.
Acting career
Later years
- After divorcing Maria Langham, in March 1939 Clark married Carole Lombard, but tragedy struck in January 1942 when the plane in which Carole and her mother were flying crashed into Table Rock Mountain, Nevada, killing them both. A grief-stricken Gable joined the US Army Air Force and was off the screen for three years, flying combat missions in Europe. When he returned the studi…
Overview
- Clark Gable was an American film actor, often referred to as \"The King of Hollywood\" or just simply as \"The King.\" The 1930s saw him at the peak of his acting ability and his popular appeal, as he often portrayed down-to-earth, bravado characters with a carefree attitude. He was known as the epitome of masculinity with his unmatched charm and knowing smile. He was named th…
Early years
- Gable was born in Cadiz, Ohio, to William Henry Gable, an oil-well driller, and his wife, Adeline, in 1901. When he was six months old, his mother baptized him as a Roman Catholic and she would pass away just a month later. He quit high school at the age of 16 and was inspired to become an actor after seeing the play The Bird of Paradise. However, he was unable to begin a legitimate c…
Marriage
- In 1924, Gable moved to Hollywood with his theatre coach Josephine Dillon, who was 17 years older than him. She paid for him to have his teeth repaired and his hair styled. She also trained him to lower his voice and attain better body posture, attributes that that were instrumental in contributing to his later success and eventual iconic status. She became his manager and the t…
Film
- Gable worked as an extra in Hollywood before making his talking film debut in The Painted Desert (1931), a western in which he played an archetypal villain named Brett. Gable would go on to star in many films including Red Dust (1932), Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), Wife vs. Secretary (1936), San Francisco (1936), Call of the Wild (1935), Saratoga (1...