Clark Gable

William Clark Gable, born February 1, 1901, in Cadiz, Ohio, and died November 16, 1960, was an American actor known as the "King of Hollywood." Over 37 years, he starred in more than 60 films across many genres, spending three decades as a leading man. In 1999, the American Film Institute named him the seventh-greatest male screen legend of classical Hollywood cinema.

Gable won the Academy Award for Best Actor for *It Happened One Night* (1934), directed by Frank Capra. He earned Best Actor nominations for *Mutiny on the Bounty* (1935) as Fletcher Christian and *Gone with the Wind* (1939) as Rhett Butler. For his comedic roles in *Teacher's Pet* (1958) and *But Not for Me* (1959), he received Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. Other notable films include *Call of the Wild* (1935), *Key to the City* (1950), and *Mogambo* (1953). His final role was an aging cowboy in *The Misfits* (1961). He appeared 16 times on Quigley Publishing's annual Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll and frequently co-starred with top actresses of the era. He died of a heart attack at age 59.

Gable was born to William Henry "Will" Gable, an oil-well driller, and Adeline Hershelman. His father was Protestant, his mother Catholic. Named William after his father, he was almost always called Clark. He was baptized at six months in a Roman Catholic church in Dennison, Ohio. His mother died when he was ten months old. His father refused to raise him Catholic, causing family conflict, but allowed him to stay with his maternal uncle on a farm in Vernon Township, Pennsylvania. In April 1903, his father married Jennie Dunlap. His stepmother taught him piano and grooming; he later played brass instruments, joining the Hopedale Men's town band at 13. He loved repairing cars with his father and also enjoyed literature, reciting Shakespeare privately. In 1917, his father moved the family to Palmyra Township, Ohio, to farm, but Gable soon left to work at Firestone Tire and Rubber in Akron.

Inspired to act after seeing *The Bird of Paradise* at 17, Gable began pursuing acting at 21 with a $300 inheritance from a Hershelman trust. After his stepmother died in 1920, his father moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for oil work. Gable worked with him in oil fields before traveling to the Pacific Northwest. He performed in second-class stock companies, tent shows, and took odd jobs. In Portland, Oregon, he sold neckties at Meier & Frank, where stage actor Earle Larimore encouraged him to return to acting. Larimore introduced him to Franz Dorfler, and after an audition, Gable joined The Astoria Players. The group toured until bankruptcy, then Gable worked at Pacific Telephone while taking drama lessons.

His acting coach, Josephine Dillon, a theater manager, paid for dental work, hair styling, and body training. She helped lower his high-pitched voice, improve his speech, and make his expressions more natural. After extensive training, she deemed him ready for film.

In 1924, Gable and Dillon moved to Hollywood. Dillon became his manager and wife; she was 17 years older. He changed his stage name from W. C. Gable to Clark Gable and appeared as an extra in silent films such as *The Merry Widow* (1925), *The Plastic Age* (1925), and *Forbidden Paradise* (1924).