In the 1930's and 40's that title belonged to Clark Gable, who just had a birthday Feb 1st. I know that as a result of visiting groovyvic's website, Fiddle Dee Dee. (http://groovyvic.mu.nu/)
He was best known for his role as Rhett Butler in "Gone With The Wind", the most popular movie ever made. Hard to believe he didn't win an Oscar for it, but instead, won one for "It Happened One Night". His studio had loaned him out to teach him a lesson and he showed them by winning an Oscar!
Two of the best known lines were:
Tomorrow is another day...by Scarlett, and
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn, spoken by Rhett.
Those were strong words for that time. Of course, it's nothing compared to the language used in today's movies!
I've always been a fan of GWTW and when our local renovated Alabama Theatre (http://alabamatheatre.com/ - be sure to take a tour) put it on their schedule several years ago, I took my daughter to see it. It was fun seeing it in a beautiful theatre, on a big screen--and we even got to be entertained by the mighty Wutlitzer while we waitied!
Clark's third wife, Carole Lombard, was killed in a small plane crash while selling war bonds and he was so devasted he joined the Army Air Corp and flew five combat missions as an observer-gunner with B-17 Flying Fortresses (1943), earning the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
He had a daughter, Judy, with Loretta Young after she became pregnant while making, "Call of the Wild"--obvious joke alert! heh Loretta went to Europe to hide the pregnancy and came home with her 'adopted' daughter, who would look amazingly like her parents!
His fifth wife, Kay, would give him what he longed for...a son. Unfortunately, John Clark Gable was born four months after Clark's death in 1960.
After a military funeral, Clark was buried beside Carole Lombard in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
'Oh, Rhett, where shall I go, what shall I do?'
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Don't forget that on the Mogambo set, Clark had a tryst with Grace Kelly!
ReplyDeleteAnd there was Joan Crawford, who once said Gable was the best lover she ever had.
And Gable's grandparents are buried in Meadville, PA, a town not far from where I grew up.
I always liked him in whatever he did! Also a veteran to boot!! pretty good in my book!!
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