Dashing Facts About Clark Gable, The King Of Hollywood
Clark Gable didn’t become a five-times-married “King of Hollywood” without stepping on a few people on his way up. As the foremost leading man of Golden Age Hollywood, the world knows Gable best as Rhett Butler from Gone With the Wind. But to those close to him, his legacy was much more complicated. Was he a womanizer with a heart of gold? Or was his heart full of darkness? Frankly, my dear, here are suave facts about Clark Gable, the King of Hollywood.
1. Turmoil Filled His Early Years
Clark Gable’s entry into the world wasn’t exactly smooth. First, because of his doctor’s illegible handwriting, his birth certificate listed his gender as both male and female. Then just ten months after he was born, unspeakable tragedy struck his family. His mother passed on suddenly, leaving his family without a matriarch—and the heartbreaking loss stirred up a terrible conflict.
2. The Family Was Furious
Gable’s father was Protestant while his mother was Catholic. After she passed on, he refused to raise young Clark in the Catholic faith.
This infuriated her family, and they fought him on it, insisting that the boy spend time with his deceased mother’s family.
Eventually, Gable’s father relented—after all, he was otherwise occupied, trying to support the family and remarry so that his infant son would grow up with a mother.
Eventually, he succeeded, and remarried when Gable was two years old. His new stepmother would have a great impact on his life.
3. She Was A Huge Influence
If there’s one person in his life who could take credit for Clark Gable becoming the suave, debonair figure that the world came to love, it was his stepmother, Jennie Dunlap. She made sure that he was well-educated, well-dressed, and well-groomed.
She also shared with him her love for Shakespeare. On the other side, his father made sure to develop Gable’s interests in more “macho” pursuits like hunting and hard physical work. However, Gable had his eye on something else…
4. Misfortune Came For Them Again
Clark Gable discovered his passion for acting when he was just 17, but there were a number of stumbling blocks in his way. Not only was his family was going through a rough time financially, but there was also another heartbreaking tragedy around the corner. When Gable was 19, his beloved stepmother Jennie Dunlap passed on at the age of 46. Still just a teenager, he joined his father working in the oil field, but he knew he wanted more.
