This Day in Indie History: Clark Gable

by MovieMaker Staff | Published January 31, 2007

Clark Gable, the “King of Hollywood,” was born in Ohio this day in 1901. Like many actors of his time, Gable first found his niche acting in Broadway productions. It was only after his first sound feature, 1931â€™s The Painted Desert, that the actor signed with Metro, completing 12 movies with them in his first year alone. His career highlights ranged from It Happened One Night to Mutiny on the Bounty and romantic comedies with Jean Harlow including Red Dust and Saratoga. In 1939 the debonair actor married actress Carole Lombard (with whom he had acted in No Man Of Her Own). Just three years later she died in a plane crash. The loss moved Gable to leave show business and serve in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He eventually returned to film but without the same success. In 1960 he passed away from a heart attack after over-exerting himself on the set of John Hustonâ€™s The Misfits.

Filmstar Factoid: Along with fellow Hollywood giants Walt Disney, James Stewart and John Wayne, Gable assisted Senator Joseph McCarthy’s infamous House Un-American Activities Committee in exposing alleged communists said to be working in Tinseltown.