From Lucky Slob to "The King of Hollywood" and Glamour God

Flip through any free newspaper in London now and you'll see the advertisement to the left for a photo exhibition in the National Portrait Gallery.  It still amazes me how influential Ohioans were in Old Hollywood especially since we're not typically considered synonymous with glamour nowadays despite being the home of Victoria's Secret.  Many of the early movie moguls and stars came from Ohio roots, which undoubtedly includes 'The King of Hollywood'  Mr. Clark Gable.  I have always cringed when I hear lines from Gone with the Wind being recited and because of that I was reluctant to appreciate 'The King'.  Yet, if you ever catch It Happened One Night, for which he won an Oscar, you'll find a whole different creature, a witty and charming fellow, who apparently was much like Gable himself.

Born in Cadiz, Ohio, on February 1, 1901, William Clark Gable lived and attended school in Hopedale from 1903 to 1917.  After several years as a stage actor, he went to Hollywood, where he made sixty-seven movies in a remarkable career that spanned four decades.  In 1942, following his wife Carole Lombard's death, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and was off the screen for three years while flying combat missions in Europe.  Although he was forever changed by the loss of Lombard, he always remained the man that women wanted to be with and the man that other men wanted to be.....incredibly masculine and utterly charming.

“All this ‘King’ stuff is pure bullshit. I eat and sleep and go to the bathroom just like anyone else. I’m just a lucky slob from Ohio who happened to be in the right place at the right time.”-- Clark Gable

Biography.com Article & Documentary

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