Biography & Filmography Real Name: William Clark Gable Date of birth: February 1, 1901 Place of birth: Cadiz, Ohio Date of death: November 16, 1960 Place of death: Los Angeles, California Cause of death: Heart attack Spouses: Kay Spreckels (11 July 1955 - 16 November 1960) (his death) Sylvia Ashley (20 December 1949 - 21 April 1952) (divorced) Carole Lombard (29 March 1939 - 16 January 1942) (her death) Ria Langham (19 June 1931 - 4 March 1939) (divorced) Josephine Dillon (13 December 1924 - 1 April 1930) (divorced) Children: John Clark Gable born after his father's death on March 20, 1961. Judy Lewis is Gable's illegitimate daughter by actress Loretta Young. She was born November 6, 1935. Nicknames: Gabe, The King Salary for Gone With the Wind: $120,000 Height: 6'1" Quotes: On his acting ability: "I worked like a son of a bitch to learn a few tricks and I fight like a steer to avoid getting stuck with parts I can't play." "The only reason they come to see me is that I know that life is great -- and they know I know it." David O. Selznick: "Oh, Gable has enemies all right, but they all like him!" A former girlfriend: "Of course, Clark never really married anyone. A number of women married him; he just went along for the gag." Mini-bio He lost his mother when he was ten months old. He quit high school and went to work in an Akron tire factory. Gable decided to become an actor after seeing the play "The Bird of Paradise". He toured in stock companies, worked oil fields and sold ties. In 1924 he reached Hollywood with the help of Portland, Oregon theatre manager Josephine Dillon, who was his acting coach and first wife, 12 years his senior. Lionel Barrymore suggested to MGM's Irving Thalberg that Gable be screen tested after seeing him in the play "The Last Mile". when Thalberg viewed the screen test he said, "Look at those big, bat-like ears! Forget it, Lionel!". MGM eventually hired him. His on screen sparks with Jean Harlow in Red Dust (1932) made him MGM's most important star. As punishment for refusing an assignment; he was loaned out to Columbia where he won a Best Actor Oscar for It Happened One Night (IHON) (1934). He was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Fletcher Christian in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind (1939). When his third wife Carole Lombard died in a plane crash in 1942 while returning from a War Bond drive, a grief-stricken Gable joined the Army Air Corps. When he returned from his service in WWII his first movie, Adventure (1945), was promoted with the slogan, "Gable's Back and Garson's Got Him!". However, the film didn't grab the attention of the critics. MGM eventually regarded his salary as excessive and did not renew his contract. He made a series of lackluster films, (for the most part), through the rest of the '40's and '50's. He delighted in his 1955 marriage to Kay Spreckels and loved playing the role of "Pa" to her two children from a previous marriage. He announced during filming of The Misfits (1961) that he was to become a father. He died of a heart attack without ever seeing his son, John Clark Gable, who was born four months after his death. He was laid to rest beside Carole Lombard at Forest Lawn Cemetery. Filmography: 1. Misfits, The (1961) -- Gay Langland 2. It Started in Naples (1960) -- Michael Hamilton 3. But Not for Me (1959) -- Russ Ward 4. Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) -- Commander Richardson 5. Teacher's Pet (1958) -- James Gannon 6. Band of Angels (1957) -- Hamish Bond 7. King and Four Queens, The (1956) -- Dan Kehoe 8. Soldier of Fortune (1955) -- Hank Lee 9. Tall Men, The (1955) -- Ben Allison 10. Betrayed (1954) -- Col. Pieter Deventer 11. Never Let Me Go (1953) -- Philip Sutherland 12. Mogambo (1953) -- Victor Marswell 13. Callaway Went Thataway (1951) -- Cameo 14. Across the Wide Missouri (1951) -- Flint Mitchell 15. Lone Star (1951) -- Devereaux Burke 16. Key to the City (1950) -- Steve Fisk 17. To Please a Lady (1950) -- Mike Brannan 18. Any Number Can Play (1949) -- Charley Enley Kyng 19. Command Decision (1948) -- General K. C. "Casey" Dennis 20. Homecoming (1948) -- Ulysses Delby Johnson 21. Hucksters, The (1947) -- Victor Albee Norman 22. Adventure (1945) -- Harry Patterson 23. Combat America (1943) -- Himself/Narrator 24. Show Business at War (1943) -- Himself 25. Wings Up (1943) (voice) -- Narrator 26. Somewhere I'll Find You (1942) -- Jonny Davis 27. Honky Tonk (1941) -- 'Candy' Johnson 28. They Met in Bombay (1941) -- Gerald Meldrick 29. You Can't Fool a Camera (1941) (uncredited) -- Himself 30. Boom Town (1940) -- Big John McMasters 31. Strange Cargo (1940) -- Verne 32. Comrade X (1940) -- McKinley B. Thompson 33. Gone with the Wind (1939) -- Rhett Butler 34. Idiot's Delight (1939) -- Harry Van 35. Test Pilot (1938) -- Jim Lane 36. Too Hot to Handle (1938) -- Chris Hunter 37. Saratoga (1937) -- Duke Bradley 38. Parnell (1937) -- Charles Stewart Parnell 39. Love on the Run (1936) -- Michael Anthony 40. San Francisco (1936) -- Blackie Norton 41. Wife vs. Secretary (1936) -- Van Stanhope 42. Cain and Mabel (1936) -- Larry Cain 43. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) -- Fletcher Christian 44. China Seas (1935) -- Captain Alan Gaskell 45. After Office Hours (1935) -- Jim Branch 46. Call of the Wild, The (1935) -- Jack Thornton 47. Forsaking All Others (1934) -- Jeff Williams 48. Chained (1934) -- Michael 'Mike' Bradley 49. Manhattan Melodrama (1934) -- Blackie Gallagher 50. It Happened One Night (1934) -- Peter Warne 51. Men in White (1934) -- Dr. Ferguson 52. Hold Your Man (1933) -- Eddie Hall 53. Dancing Lady (1933) -- Patch Gallagher 54. Night Flight (1933) -- Jules 55. White Sister, The (1933) -- Lieutenant Giovanni Severi 56. Red Dust (1932) -- Dennis Carson 57. Polly of the Circus (1932) -- Reverend John Hartley 58. Hell Divers (1932) -- Steve 59. No Man of Her Own (1932) -- Babe Stewart 60. Screen Snapshots (1932) 61. Strange Interlude (1932) -- Ned Darrell 62. Secret Six, The (1931) -- Carl Luckner 63. Sporting Blood (1931) -- Rid Riddell 64. Free Soul, A (1931) -- Ace Wilfong 65. Dance, Fools, Dance (1931) -- Jake Luva 66. Painted Desert, The (1931) -- Rance Brett 67. Christmas Story, A (1931) 68. Christmas, Party, The (1931) (uncredited) -- Himself 69. Easiest Way, The (1931) -- Nick Feliki 70. Finger Points, The (1931) -- Louis Blanco 71. Laughing Sinners (1931) -- Carl 72. Night Nurse (1931) -- Nick 73. Possessed (1931) -- Mark Whitney 74. Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise) (1931) -- Rodney 75. North Star (1926) -- Archie West 76. Plastic Age, The (1925) -- Athlete 77. Merry Widow, The (1925) (uncredited) -- Extra 78. Declassée (1925) (uncredited) -- Extra 79. Pacemakers, The (1925) 80. Forbidden Paradise (1924) (uncredited) -- Extra 81. White Man (1924) -- Lady Andrea's Brother Support freedom Help support Meredy's Place by shopping here. CLICK HERE to search for Clark Gable merchandise This site is purely a fan tribute to Clark Gable and is not endorsed by his estate. © Meredy - all rights reserved. Many thanks to Jeff Fain and Uwe Reber for the permission to use their portraits. DISCLAIMER: The information presented here was collected from publicly aired and published sources. All materials are used without permission of their creators (who legally hold their respective copyrights). Where known, all articles and photos include credit information. Should any specific materials presented herein be considered in violation of copyright laws, the holder of the copyright should and the offending material will be promptly removed.