A database of performers in musicals seems an unlikely place to find the King of Hollywood. But William Clark Gable (1901-60) was a contract player and did what he was told–twice, in the case of musicals.
Gable became a stage actor at the age of 21, touring in stock companies. From 1923, he laboured in the fields of extra work in Hollywood, including a bit part dancing in Erich von Stroheim’s version of The Merry Widow (1925). In Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925), he played a Roman guard. He continued to do stage work during this period, spending time in New York.
In 1931, Gable undertook a range of supporting roles in Hollywood, with his appearance in Night Nurse (1931) bringing him particular attention, playing the villainous chauffeur, Nick. Immediately afterwards,MGM cast him opposite Greta Garbo in Susan Lenox (Her Rise and Fall) and Joan Crawford in Possessed (both 1931). The first true ‘Clark Gable’ picture was Red Dust (1932), with Jean Harlow, establishing him as MGM’s leading leading man.
Loaned out to Columbia as a punishment for being difficult, Gable won an Oscar for the hugely-popular It Happened One Night (1934), and was nominated again for playing Fletcher Christian in Mutiny on the Bounty(1935), a role he hated. In 1939, he was the people’s choice to play Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind (1939). He had by hen been dubbed ‘the King’ in a nationwide poll.
Shattered by the sudden death of his wife, Carole Lombard, Gable took time out from 1942 to 1944 to serve in the air force during the Second World War. After his return, his career never reached the same heights as previously, but he remained a star until his death aged 59. His final role was in John Huston’s film maudit The Misfits (1961).
Gable’s two musicals for MGM were Dancing Lady and San Francisco. In deference to his macho image, his characters were named Patch Gallagher and Blackie Norton.
