The Life and Many Loves of Clark Gable

Clark Gable: Man of Many Women

Clark Gable's image, even 60-plus years after his death, is still that of the handsome romantic, the rogueish charmer, a Rhett Butler sweeping beautiful women off their feet. The reality of Gable's life is somewhat less romantic.

The Ruthless Toyboy

He was certainly a womaniser, a serial seducer and philanderer, and he ruthlessly used his attractiveness to women, particularly older women who held powerful positions in Broadway and Hollywood, to make his way to the top. He was a toyboy before the name had been coined.

Once established as a star, he continued his womanising ways. With Loretta Young, he fathered an illegitimate child whom he never acknowledged, and even when married to his soulmate, Carole Lombard, he conducted an affair with Lana Turner.

The sudden, tragic death of Lombard in an air crash traumatised him and pushed him into the arms of a host of other women in a desperate search to recreate the happiness he had known with Lombard.

This is Clark Gable's story.

Early Days

He was born William Clark Gable on February 1, 1901, in Cadiz, Ohio, and in boyhood was always known as Billy Gable.

Until he graduated from high school, Billy had no thought of becoming an actor but this changed after a visit to the theater when he was 17 to see the play Bird of Paradise. He was a determined young man and, as soon as he received a small bequest from his grandfather, he went to Kansas City to join a travelling troupe called the Jewell Players.

In the meantime, he made a living as best he could, doing odd jobs for a newspaper and later becoming a telephone linesman.

Young Love

He began touring with stock companies, learning the business, working in Bute, Portland, and Astoria, Oregon, where he met and fell in love with a dark-haired, young actress named Franz Dorfler.

They got engaged during the fall of 1922 while living in Astoria, but Franz's parents advised her against marrying a penniless actor. Dorfler, herself, thought they should wait until they had a more secure income. She encouraged Gable to contact Broadway actress and acting coach, Josephine Dillon, who was starting a new theatrical group in Portland called the Red Lantern Players.

Older Love: Josephine Dillon

Josephine Dillon was 15 years Gable's senior and was an experienced stage director. She became Gable's acting coach and saw a spark of acting genius in him that others had missed, and soon she became his patron, paying from her own pocket to have cosmetic work on his teeth, his hair groomed, as well as coaching him in speech and movement.

Gable ended his engagement to Dorfler. He and Dillon moved to Hollywood in 1924, and they were married on December 12 of the same year. Gable always claimed that the marriage was never consummated.

As for Dorfler, she never got over Gable. "I never went to his pictures because I knew him. I knew all of his expressions, his gestures, the raising of one eyebrow, the crooked smile, his dimples and wink. He never really changed. A bit polished, but still the same … Sometimes I wished that I hadn't met him because I was unable to accept any of the other proposals I'd had. I couldn't marry someone else while I still loved Clark."

Broadway Gigolo

After appearing as an extra in several silent movies, Gable was dissatisfied with his progress in Hollywood, and he returned alone to New York and the Broadway stage. He spent time working as a stage gigolo, squiring older, rich, well-connected women who could help further his career around town.

Actress and playwright Jane Cowl gave him a walk-on role in her production of Romeo and Juliet; Laura Hope Crews, 21 years his senior, was a successful stage and movie actress, as was Pauline Frederick, 18 years his senior, with whom he had a 2-year affair.

Frederick cast him in her revival of Madame X, and as a nightclub owner in Lucky Sam McCarver. She bought him a new suit and paid for the further extensive dental treatment he needed.

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Another May-December Marriage

By the end of the decade, his marriage to Frederick was crumbling. He had become famous on Broadway but not in Hollywood, and he needed help with his Hollywood ambitions.

Again he found an older, rich woman to provide it. In 1930, he divorced Frederick and married Texas socialite Ria Franklin Prentiss Lucas Langham. He explained to Frederick quite candidly that he wished to marry Ria Langham because she could do more for him financially.

"He is hard to live with because his career and ambition always came first," said Frederick wistfully.

Clark Gable Relationships Galore

Maria Langham, daughter of a rich Texan family, was older than Josephine and 17 years older than Gable and had been married three times before, but for Gable, she had a great advantage over Josephine—she had more money.

She continued the job of smoothing Gable's rough edges and finishing his social education. Gable was an avid pupil, and during the early years of their marriage, his Hollywood career took off with a vengeance. So did his appointments diary.

Gable's On-Screen Pairings

He was paired with virtually all the beautiful leading ladies of MGM, including, in 1931 alone, Norma Shearer in A Free Soul, Greta Garbo in Susan Lenox, Her Fall and Rise and Joan Crawford in The Possessed.

He and Garbo disliked each other, and his relationship with Myrna Loy was warm but platonic. His relationship with Joan Crawford, who was at that time married to Douglas Fairbanks Jr., fairly crackled with their passion both on and offscreen, and they became well-known as a couple in Hollywood. Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, fearful of the studio's reputation, threatened to terminate both their contracts.

For a while, they kept apart, and Gable shifted his attentions first to Loretta Young, whom he met on the set of The Call of the Wild in 1935, and then to Marion Davies, his co-star in Cain and Mabel in 1936.

Loretta Young

Loretta Young was one of Hollywood's biggest female stars, twice an Oscar winner, and a strict Catholic. When she became pregnant with Gable's baby in 1935 an elaborate subterfuge was concocted to circumvent the rigorous (and hypocritical) moral codes in force in Hollywood which would have meant the end of her career and Gable's .She went on 'vacation' with her mother in order to secretly give birth to the child. Gable simply received an unsigned telegram, stating only that the baby had arrived safely, and she was blonde and beautiful. On her return Loretta announced she had adopted the little girl who was raised as Judy Lewis, taking the surname of Loretta's second husband.

Gable came to visit Judy once at her home when she was a young teenager; she had no idea he was her biological father and for the whole of his life he never acknowledged her as his daughter. It was common knowledge in Hollywood that Judy was Gable's daughter and she actually first heard about it from friends at school. When she confronted her mother, Loretta promptly vomited, and finally confessed the truth.

Gable's career continued to surge onwards. His 1934 movie with Claudette Colbert, 'It Happened One Night' had swept the boards at the Academy Awards and Gable received the Best Actor Oscar. In October, 1935 Gable and Ria separated. He was on the crest of the Hollywood wave, vastly rich, the most famous movie actor in history and he simply didn't need her any more. His problems with Loretta were seemingly behind him and he had started a relationship which was to prove the most important of his life. He began to live with beautiful Hollywood actress Carole Lombard, his friend, lover and soulmate.

Carole Lombard

Gable first met Carole Lombard in 1925 when they were both working as extras on the set of 'Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'. They later starred together in 'No Man of Her Own' in 1932, but did not become romantically attached until 1936. They lived together for 3 years and then got married in March 1939 just 3 weeks after his divorce from Ria was finalised. Lombard, whom he called his 'little screwball', was lively, younger than him, foul-mouthed and irreverent. "I love Pappy," she once said, "even though he's not the greatest lay."

'Gone With the Wind' was released near the start of their wedded life. Gable's stock in Hollywood, already skyhigh, went stratospheric. He was immensely famous, immensely rich and it seemed he had been blessed by the Gods. For three years he lived an idyll with his wife who shared his enthusiasm for outdoor pusuits like hunting and fishing and who tolerated his philandering lifestyle which he was unwilling or unable to stop. He began an affair with Lana Turner, his co-star in 1942's 'Somewhere I'll Find You'.

Tragedy

In January, 1942, the plane in which Carole Lombard was traveling crashed into a mountain near Las Vegas. All on board were killed, including Lombard, her mother, and her MGM staff publicist Otto Winkler.

Gable was traumatised but returned to his and Lombard's empty house where he continued to live for the rest of his life. After a month he returned to the studio to complete 'Somewhere I'll Find You'. He began drinking heavily and to his friends he seemed to lose interest in life and was never the same man afterwards.

Although he was well over draft age he volunteered, seemingly as a death wish, for the Army Air Corps and saw active comabat as a tail-gunner in Europe in World War II. He was discharged in 1945 with the rank of Major and when he returned to the screen it was as a returning hero.

Return From WWII

Immediately after his discharge, Gable returned to his ranch to recuperate and it wasn't long before his eye started wandering again. He resumed a pre-war relationship with the MGM actress Virginia Grey and dated numerous other starlets. After Joan Crawford's third divorce in 1946, she and Gable resumed their affair and lived together for a short time.

Gable continued to make movies, averaging about one per year, but his post-war film career was mainly undistinguished and he never again repeated his astonishing pre-war successes, although for each of the nine years from 1947, he was in the top 10 of Hollywood money makers.

His performance in The Hucksters in 1947 was praised, and he followed it with a brief but very public affair with Paulette Goddard. In 1948, he dated, and is also believed to have proposed marriage to, Nancy Davis, the future Mrs. Ronald Reagan.

Lady Sylvia Ashley

Gable's fourth marriage was his most unsuccessful. Lady Sylvia Ashley was an English actress and model and had been married three times previously, including most recently to Douglas Fairbanks Sr.

They first met in the summer of 1949 when Gable attended a party with socialite Dolly O'Brien as his date but spent most of the evening talking and dancing with Sylvia. They were married in December of that year. Gable confided to friends that she was a "wildcat in the sack," but it didn't take long for him to tire of her extravagant ways.

She was constantly shopping for clothes, had her own personal maid and gave frequent handouts to her teenage nephew whom Gable disliked. She also liked to throw lavish formal dinner parties and attend Hollywood social events, none of which Gable liked. They grew more and more distant and Sylvia moved back to England. After nearly a year of separation, the divorce was finalised in April, 1952.

Shortly after the divorce Gable started filming 'Never Let Me Go' opposite Gene Tierney. She was one of his favorite actresses and he was very disappointed when she went to Europe and began a romance with Aly Khan. In 'Mogambo' in 1953 Gable's on-location affair with Grace Kelly ended after filming was completed.

Kathleen "Kay" Williams

In July 1955 he married a former girlfriend, Kathleen Williams Spreckles who had previously been married to sugar-refining heir Adolph B. Spreckels Jr., and became stepfather to her two children, Joan and Adolph ("Bunker") Spreckels III. He appeared to be more contented than he had ever been since the death of Carole Lombard.

Although Kay was quick to deny any similarities between herself and Carole, she was able to happily accompany him on his hunting expeditions, and unlike Sylvia, she did not try to change Carol's décor at the ranch. Gable enjoyed being a stepfather to her children and both he and Kay were delighted when she became pregnant in 1960. Gable's wandering eye at last seemed to have stopped wandering and he seemed to be entering a period of contented family life. But it was not to be.

Death, and Life

Gable learned the news of Kay's pregnancy whilst he was filming 'The Misfits', with Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift. Four days after completing the movie he suffered a major heart attack and was hospitalised. For most of his life he had been a heavy smoker and whisky drinker and it finally took its toll. Ten days later on 16 November 1960, he suffered another massive heart attack. He was dead within seconds and attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. He was aged 59 years.

His funeral was attended by more than 200 of Hollywood's finest and he was laid to rest, as he had requested, next to Carole Lombard.

Three months later on 20 March, 1961, Kay delivered Clark's son, John Clark Gable, at the same hospital Clark had died in earlier.

Gable's death marked also the end of Hollywood's Golden Age. He was an astonishing man who dominated the world of Hollywood like no-one else before or since. He was called the King, and the title died with him.

Comments

Drillingrilling@gmail.com on May 24, 2020:

Yeah Clark was a mans man he sure had his way with the fur and he could act . Tar Dey struck n 42 wife was kill n plane crash he never got over it.so he started putting the girls on the peg until he met a startlet that almost drain him of love juice ‘, so he marry once again was happy until he ran out love juice, crated a little tyke before his untimely death n 60 he was 59 he was a great person n life .

..but carol was the love of his life ,he never fully recover from the lost god bless your soul Clark you the man RIP. Be cool my main man the king of Hollywood you go boy you bad ha ha ha ha ...:) once again

Susannah ang on March 28, 2020:

Clark Gable was a scoundrel who used women without compuction .If he is ugly as sin, there will be no end of people who will denounce him as such and rightly so. Unfortunately in this world if you have a little talent with charm and good looks, public will see you as a god.

Donna Ross on March 15, 2020:

Any memorials to Clark Gable in his home town of Cadaz, Ohio ??

If so, please show. Thank you.

Sayso on March 08, 2020:

Was a DNA test ever done on Loretta Young's daughter? She doesn't look like him or her mother and I don't believe Gable is the father.

Barbsowards@yahoo.comin on January 21, 2019:

I have loved Clark Gable since i was five i am still crazy about him i loved carol lambard to i am 63 now i will die loven him i know he was like other people no e of us are perfect to many people expect actors to be saints there not i celebrate his birthday every year i have a Clark Gable day i must

Sherry Lipscomb on September 14, 2018:

The man was talented, very good looking, and did no worse than any other star in the same situation! I doubt even one of the women you named had to be "hogtied" and forced into his arms! And, i would love to know the sorce of this information, and why would you bring up dirt on a person dead 50+ years? Knowing that likely the whole of Hollywood, from beginning to end, could slip on these shoese, and wear them well! In all fairness, why choose one above the other to smear this long after the supposed deeds?

Neva S.Fenwick on August 06, 2018:

I love your Gable story...you didnt include his working in an oklahoma oil town..........he was a wonderful scoundrel...I LOVED HIM...I ALSO LOVED ROY ROGERS....AT 6.....

Margaret ppokorny on July 28, 2018:

ippokorny I think Clark's son looks like his mum and is handsome in his own right. The daughter looked more like him. None of his descendants hold a card to him in charisma or class though!

Alexis Kinsey on March 05, 2018:

Did Clark Gable become a Christian before he died

Steve Weiser on February 03, 2018:

Well being a huge Gable fan I knew all the details of this story and many more, One story that went around was that he had George Cukor fired from the set of Gone With the Wind, because Cukor knew of some embarrassing fling Gable had with William Haines , also that Gable, early on had a high pitched voice which required much work to get his voice deeper and louder.

Mark on December 17, 2017:

If only Gable hadn't smoked up to 80 cigarettes a day he would have been able to continue starring in films in the 1960s.

Chris. b on November 23, 2017:

Clark Gable is a good actor thank God he got all of what he deserved

Bernadette Zimmerman on September 13, 2017:

Im reading a book by Adriana Trigiani "all the stsrs in the heaven" Its a fiction novel & i was wondering how true some of the stuff about Clark Gable & Loretta Young. So i came across this. Thanks for your artical hub!

maria ferrell on July 01, 2017:

What astounds me most about Clark Gable, aside from his handsome swagger, cool walk, and his engaging presence, was his inner grace and beauty as a human being. I am so impressed with many humane acts of kindness from this wonderful star. I appreciated greatly, his comments when the prejudiced south and the studio that made Gone With the Wind did not want Hattie McDaniel to attend the premier in Atlanta. Mr. Gable was very forthcoming in declaring that Ms. McDaniel had been just as much apart of the movie as had the rest of the stars, and that if she could not attend, then he would not also. He only relented when Ms. McDaniel urged him to go. It is also my understanding that he continued to care for and financially support his first wife for the rest of her life. Whatever his sins might have been, the Bible says that kindness erases a multitude of sins. There will never be another Clark Gable.

Florence Gail on May 24, 2017:

This was all very interesting about Clark Gable and all the wives and lovers he had. I was not aware of the very earlier ones who "paid his way" for many things. There will never be another!

Great Actor and died much too young!

TALDEN on March 19, 2017:

Captured me for past two hour's.lol...Kidding,Although I did read slow with interest.Many thank's for taking the time,very well done.There is a comical motif with Mr.Gable,Got to admire that guy's trip through.Some people,their life burns like a dry match.It went up in a poof,but made a huge flash,and burnt the world's fingers.Elvis was A KING too..Same exact ailment..Have to Admire them both...

Rose on February 09, 2017:

Gable was a pig with big ears!!!!

trixiesavage40@gmail.com on December 18, 2016:

It's a ad to see how those like Clark Gable and others did anything it seems to make it in corrupt hollywood. Like Bob Hope and his wife knowing of his philandering yet stayed with him. Seems a corrupt lot and yet the public swoons over them.Sad.

McKenna Meyers on July 21, 2015:

I love reading the stories of old Hollywood and about the secrets the stars had to keep. It seems like Gable really hustled to become a star and wasn't shy about using women to do so. Voted up.

Ilona Erwin from Georgia on July 06, 2015:

you told Gable's interesting story well. I knew a few highlights, but you filled in the details to give a great outline of one of Hollywood's most memorable faces.

BERN1960 on February 07, 2011:

Such as interesting story about Clark Gable and his romances. Will be looking for more stories...

JF100707 on November 16, 2010:

I grew up with a Gable lookalike, my father was Gables double and my mum also had her sorrows to seek with my old dad. I personally have always loved Gables movies and when I see one, he always reminds me of my old and dearly loved dad.

Reader One on September 10, 2010:

Why does everyone think that Gables' relationship with Lombard was so different than those he had with his other wives? She served a different purpose, that's all. She brought him great publicity, a sense of youth and excitement. He was as unfaithful to her as he was to all his other wives. Gable was in love with himself. His grief was his guilt.

gunsock (author) from South Coast of England on May 08, 2010:

Many thanks William. Gable certainly got around. I suppose today's stars also live fascinating lives but the earlier stars always seem to me much more interesting and appealing.

William F Torpey from South Valley Stream, N.Y. on May 07, 2010:

Fascinating story, gunsock. It doesn't surprise me, but I wasn't aware of Clark Gable's many love interests. The amount of research you've done must be enormous. It's common knowledge, of course, that the Hollywood lifestyle is "fast," but it takes a lot of work to uncover the details.

gunsock (author) from South Coast of England on April 24, 2010:

Thank you Glimmer515. Gable's certainly a very interesting character.

Glimmer515 from Never Never Land on April 24, 2010:

What a well done hub! Beautiful life story!

gunsock (author) from South Coast of England on March 13, 2010:

Thanks for the kind comments entertianmentplus and fastfreta. I'm glad you enjoyed the hub.

Alfreta Sailor from Southern California on March 13, 2010:

Gunsock, this was a fascinating read, I could not stop reading until the end. You are a great storyteller. I'd read snippets of his live, now I feel I have the whole story. I never knew he had so many women in his life. I wonder now what happened to his children, and now perhaps grandchildren, who should by all accounts be famous by virtue of being related to him. Very good hub.

entertianmentplus from United States on March 13, 2010:

I enjoyed this hub.

gunsock (author) from South Coast of England on March 12, 2010:

Thanks IntimatEvolution. Glad you enjoyed it. That's why I love old Hollywood, there's so many larger than life characters and stories.

Julie Grimes from Columbia, MO USA on March 12, 2010:

Great article. I really enjoyed reading this alot!

gunsock (author) from South Coast of England on March 12, 2010:

Thank you Astra, yes Gable was an astonishing character who died far too young.

Cathy Nerujen from Edge of Reality and Known Space on March 12, 2010:

What a wonderful story and a sad way to go right in the prime of his wonderful life. This is a marvellous hub! Thankyou for this! A great read!