William Clark Gable was Hollywood's greatest actor of the 30s. Gained worldwide fame thanks to the film "Gone with the Wind." He was a female sorcerer, had many marriages, lovers, but at the same time only two children. His life was filled with ups and downs, tenderness and cynicism. William Gable remained in the heart of Hollywood cinema forever.
Youth
William Clark Gable was born on February 1, 1901 in the village of Cadiz, Ohio, USA. His father was an oil driller, and his mother was a simple housewife, a native of Germany. Also, among the ancestors of William were not only Germans, but also Belgians. When Gable was six months old, he was baptized at the Roman Catholic Church in Dennison, Ohio. His mother died when he was ten months old, possibly from a brain tumor, although the official cause of death was given as an epileptic seizure. In April 1903, Gable’s father married a second time, but they did not have new children. Step-mother loved William with all his heart, gave a lot of care and taught him how to play the piano. Gable grew up as a shy boy, loved to repair cars with his father and read Shakespeare.
In 1917, when Gable was in high school, his father began financial difficulties and his family was forced to move to Ravenna, Ohio, to try himself in agriculture. Despite the fact that his father insisted that he work on the farm, Gable soon went to work for the company for the production of tires for cars and agricultural machinery "Firestone Tire and Rubber".
Career
At the age of 17, Clark Gable was inspired to become an actor after watching the play Bird of Paradise, but he could not start a real start until he turned 21, and he inherited some money. Also, his mentor Josephine Dillon helped him in this, which brought his appearance in order, taught him to keep his posture, paid for aligning his teeth and improved his speech skills.
Gable began his career as an “errand boy” in theater films, then began to play second roles and gradually moved up the career ladder. In 1931, Clark Gable received his first major role in the crime melodrama Freedom of the Soul, which won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Over the next three decades, he became a leading actor and starred in more than 60 films.
In 1934, Gable was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor in the movie Once Upon a Time and for his most famous role as Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind (1939). A few decades later, Gable said: "Whenever my career begins to fade, an overabundance of Gone With the Wind will revive my popularity and I will continue to be the lead actor for the rest of my life." Gable also found commercial success in films such as Red Dust (1932), Manhattan Melodrama (1934), San Francisco (1936), Saratoga (1937), Test Pilot (1938), "City Boom" (1940), "Hexters" (1947), "Homecoming" (1948) and "Misfits" (1961), which was his last appearance on the screen.
Personal life, love, family, children
At the beginning of his life, working in Astoria, Oregon, William Gable met and fell in love with a dark-haired young actress named Franz Dorfler. Their relationship was not bad, but Franz's parents insisted that she marry a little-known actor. In the end, she encouraged Gable to contact Broadway actress Josephine Dillon. Their relationship developed rapidly and in December 1924, Gable and Josephine were engaged. Despite this, Gable always claimed that the marriage was never completed. In the meantime, Franz Dorfler continued to love Gable and did not start a new relationship, although she realized that they could never be together.
Gable was a womanizer, a serial seducer and ruthlessly used his attractiveness for women, especially older women who held powerful positions on Broadway and Hollywood to get to the top.
Towards the end of the decade, his marriage to Josephine collapsed. He became famous on Broadway, but not in Hollywood, and he needed help in satisfying his ambitions. Again he found an older and wealthier woman. In 1930, he divorced Josephine and married the Texas lady Ria Franklin Prentiss Lucas Langham. He openly explained to Josephine that he wanted to marry Ria Langham, because she would help him achieve popularity and earn more money. So it happened
After which he calmly broke off relations with Riya. In the period from 1931 to 1937 he started a relationship with: Loretta Young, Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and Marion Davis. Loretta Young, for example, was one of Hollywood's most famous stars, twice an Oscar winner and a strict Catholic. When she became pregnant by Gable in 1935, a sophisticated trick was developed to circumvent the strict moral codes that put an end to her career and Gable's career. She went on a “vacation” with her mother to secretly give birth to a baby. As a result, Gable simply received an unsigned telegram, in which it was written that the birth was successful, a blond girl was born. Upon her return, Loretta announced that she had adopted a little girl named Judy Lewis, taking the name of Loretta's second husband. Judy did not know who her real dad was and Gable did not recognize her as his daughter all his life.
After ending his relationship with Loretta, Gable started a new affair with Hollywood actress Carol Lombard. They met for 3 years, and in 1939 they legalized their relationship. Everything was perfect and it was the most remarkable period of his life. Money, fame, a good relationship with his wife.
In January 1942, the plane Carol Lombard flew crashed into a mountain near Las Vegas. Everyone on board died, including Lombard and her mother. Gable was injured, but their common home returned, where he continued to live until the end of his life.
Gable’s fourth marriage was the most unsuccessful. Lady Sylvia Ashley was an English actress and model and was married three times earlier. They met at a party in 1949 and divorced in 1952.
In July 1955, he married Kathleen Williams Spikles' ex-girlfriend, who was previously married and became the stepfather of two children. He became more satisfied than ever after Carol Lombard's death.
