Clark Gable, in Pictures: Candid Images of the Actor's Life

209 Pages·2012·13.58 MB·English

by  Chrystopher J. Spicer

Clark Gable, in Pictures
ALSOBYCHRYSTOPHER J. SPICER
Clark Gable: Biography, Filmography,
Bibliography(McFarland, 2002)
BYMARTHACRAWFORDCANTARINI
ANDCHRYSTOPHERJ. SPICER
Fall Girl: My Life as a Western Stunt Double
(McFarland, 2010)
Clark Gable, in Pictures
Candid Images of the Actor’s Life
CHRYSTOPHER J. SPICER
8
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
Spicer, Chrystopher J.
Clark Gable, in pictures : candid images of
the actor’s life / Chrystopher J. Spicer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-4964-4
illustrated case binding : 60# alkaline paper
1. Gable, Clark, 1901–1960—Portraits. I. Title.
PN2287.G3S76 2012 791.4302'8092—dc23 [B] 2011033864
BRITISHLIBRARYCATALOGUINGDATAAREAVAILABLE
© 2012Chrystopher J. Spicer. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
On the front cover: Clark looks happy and relaxed
with both camera and prize, California, ¡934
(courtesy Carole Sampeck/Carole Lombard Archive)
Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
To my late friends,
Barry “Baz” Flanagan
with whom I went to the movies,
and
Cammie King (Bonnie Blue Butler) Conlon
who remembered the movies with me
8
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Preface 1
Early Life 5
Acting Life 23
Military Life 66
Recreational Life 89
Fast Life 106
Social Life 147
Married Life 162
Epilogue 185
Index 189
vii
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Acknowledgments
Many of these photographs did not come to this collection as 8 ¥ 10 black-and-white
glossies, sharply focused and clearly lit. Some were of considerable age and were probably
taken with a Box Brownie or vest-pocket Kodak, and they looked it. So, I would first like to
express my profound gratitude to my talented and very patient wife, Marci, who spent many
hours digitally restoring and enhancing many of these photographs in order for them to be
considered for publication.
I would also like to express my special gratitude to a group of people who sometimes
found themselves drawn into this project before they realized it to help me research information
that was otherwise geographically out of my reach: Carole Sempak of the Carole Lombard
Archive; Ken Harbour, historian for the 351st Bomb Group (Heavy) Association and co-
author of The 351st Bomb Group in WWII; Philip Hulse from the Argonaut III and his son
Alvin; Su Kim Chung, Manuscripts Librarian, Special Collections at the University of Nevada
Las Vegas Library; and Charles B. Wallace from the Harrison County Historical Society,
Cadiz, Ohio. I would also like to thank Nan Mattern and Jackie Rocchi from the Clark Gable
Foundation and Birth Home Museum in Cadiz, Ohio, for their friendship and ongoing
support over many years.
This remarkable collection of photographs would have been impossible to assemble with-
out the assistance and permission of the following people, and so for their contribution I
would like to express my gratitude to:
MUSEUMS, COLLECTIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS
At the 3 Dog Garage, Boyertown, Pennsylvania: general manager Chris Liebenberg and
William Andre sen from Andresen Advertising, Exton, Pennsylvania.
At the 91st Bomb Group Memorial Association: Jim Shepherd, president, and Gordon
Alton.
At the 303rd Bomb Group Memorial Association: Gary L. Moncur, historian.
At the AACA Museum, Hershey, Pennsylvania: Jeffrey Bliemeister, curator.
At the Addis Historical Society, Louisiana: Jocelyn Gauthreaux.
At the Akron Beacon-Journal, Akron, Ohio: Mark Price.
At the Akron-Summit County Public Library Special Collections, Ohio: Mary Plazo,
librarian.
At the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia: Berry Lowden Perkins, curatorial assistant.
ix