Clark Gable was a famous American movie star in the 1930s, known for his rugged features and starring in films such as It Happened One Night and Gone with the Wind. He had a difficult upbringing and worked in menial jobs before pursuing an acting career. After struggling to break into Hollywood, he finally caught his break in the 1930s and became a Hollywood star. He is most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind and is remembered as a kind and gentle man who had a loyal following. He died in 1960.
Clark Gable was a popular American movie star in the 1930s, starring in It Happened One Night and Gone with the Wind, among many other films. His rugged features are well known and embody the type of protagonist that began to capture the public imagination in the 1930s and war years. Clark Gable is often regarded as one of the greatest movie stars of all time and still has a loyal following thanks to the many famous films he starred in.
Clark Gable was born William Clark Gable in Ohio in 1901. His mother died before he was one year old and Clark Gable found himself in the care of relatives for several years before his father, an oil driller, came to take him back, after he remarried . In high school, Clark Gable dropped out to work for a tire factory and became interested in an acting career. Jennie Dunlap, his stepmother, encouraged Clark Gable to pursue his dreams and clearly played a large part in his young life. As Clark Gable began to explore his newfound interest in the stage, his stepmother died and he found himself back at home.
Clark Gable’s father did not approve of a career in acting and Clark Gable found himself working in the oil fields alongside his father, a job he despised. He worked in the oil fields for almost four years, until he received an inheritance from his grandfather at the age of 21 and decided to start his own business. He worked in a variety of menial jobs before attempting once again to build an acting career, moving to Hollywood in the early 1920s.
Clark Gable’s first attempt to break into Hollywood was unsuccessful. His features weren’t the kind that popularized a leading man in the 1920s, and he found himself routinely passed over for film roles. Frustrated, he moved to New York to pursue roles on Broadway, where he also struggled. Dividing his time between California and New York, Gable battled for stage roles and finally caught his break in the 1930s when he starred in The Last Mile, a Los Angeles stage production. He caught the attention of casting agents and was taken by Pathe Studios.
In just a few months, Clark Gable went from a man who struggled to find stage roles to a Hollywood star, starring in 12 feature films by 1931. In 1934, he appeared in It Happened One Night, for which he won the as best actor Oscar. In 1935, he took the part of Fletcher Christian in Mutiny of the Bounty, another very popular film.
Clark Gable is probably most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind which was produced in 1939. He was crowned King of Hollywood and entered into his third marriage, to Carole Lombard. His previous two marriages had been largely out of convenience, but evidence seems to suggest that Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were genuinely in love and likely would have remained married had she not died in a plane crash in 1942.
In honor of his late wife, Clark Gable enlisted in the Army in 1942. He flew several bombing missions over Germany and won numerous medals, being honorably discharged in 1944. He returned to Hollywood, but never quite achieved his former popularity. He made a handful of films before he died in 1960, shortly after making The Misfits.
Clark Gable is remembered as a kind and gentle man who spent much of his life looking for a stable, loving relationship and family. He is still regarded as one of the best actors of all time and is a vital part of Hollywood history.
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