Clark Gable

Clark Gable was known to be a notorious womanizer. His first marriage was to his mentor Josephine Dillon who he married in 1924 and divorced in 1930. His second marriage to Maria Langham also ended in divorce.

In 1935, during the filming of ‘The Call of the Wild’, he impregnated the film's lead actress, Loretta Young. She hid the pregnancy from the public eye, gave birth in secret, and later presented her biological daughter to the world as her adopted child.

Gable tied the knot for the third time with Carole Lombard in 1939. She died in 1942 leaving him aggrieved. Another short-term marriage followed—he wed Sylvia Ashley in 1949 and divorced her in 1952.

William Clark Gable was born in Cadiz, Ohio, on February 1, 1901, to William Henry "Will" Gable and his wife Adeline. His father was an oil-well driller and farmer. His mother died when Clark was just a baby.

His father eventually remarried. His stepmother Jennie played the piano and gave lessons to Clark. She also raised him to be a well-dressed and well-groomed young man.

From a young age he was drawn towards language and persuaded his father to buy him a 72-volume set of ‘The World's Greatest Literature.’

As a 17 year old he saw the play ‘The Bird of Paradise’ which inspired him to become an actor.

He struggled for a few years, working in odd jobs before he found work with second-class theater companies. Along with his acting career he also worked as a necktie salesman in the Meier & Frank department store. There he met Laura Hope, an actress who encouraged him in pursuing an acting career.

Still a struggling actor, he became acquainted with a theater manager in Portland named Josephine Dillon, who was 17 years his senior. Dillon became his mentor and helped him in grooming himself for a career in films. She guided him in developing a better body posture and trained him gain a better resonance and tone in his voice. After a period of rigorous training, she helped him enter Hollywood.

He began his film career with roles in silent films and continued appearing in stage performances until he gained a strong foothold in the film industry. By 1930, he was beginning to gain popularity as a stage actor which led to film offers.

His first leading role was in ‘Dance, Fools, Dance’, with Joan Crawford in 1931. From here it did not take him long to establish himself as a much sought-after actor. He followed it up with ‘Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)’ with Greta Garbo, and ‘Possessed’ again with Joan Crawford, the same year.

His string of successes continued throughout the 1930s with movies like ‘It Happened One Night’ (1934) which won him an Academy award, and the epic film ‘Gone with the Wind’ (1939) which went on to be regarded as one of the best American films ever made.

The romantic comedy ‘It Happened One Night’ is counted among Clark Gable’s best known films. He played the role of a roguish reporter in the film who falls in love with a spoiled heiress. The film was a super hit and became the first to win all five major Academy Awards.

His iconic role of Rhett Butler in the epic ‘Gone with the Wind’ is unarguably his most famous role. Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War and Reconstruction era, the film was immensely popular, becoming the highest-earning film made up to that point. It is also placed in the top ten of the American Film Institute's list of top 100 American films.