Actors
Clark Gable Net Worth
Clark Gable Net Worth 2023: Wiki Biography, Married, Family, Measurements, Height, Salary, Relationships
John Clark Gable net worth is
$100 Million
John Clark Gable Wiki Biography
Born William Clark Gable on the 1st February 1901, in Cadiz, Ohio USA, he was a legendary actor, best known to the world for appearing in such films as “Gone With The Wind” (1939), “It Happened One Night” (1934), and “Mutiny On The Bounty”, among others, all of which increased his net worth. Clark Gable passed away in November 1960.
Have you ever wondered how rich Clark Gable was, at the time of his death? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Clark Gable`s net worth was as high as $100 million, an amount he acquired through his appearances in films, but also, through his stage appearances.
Clark Gable Net Worth $100 Million
Clark was the son of William Henry Gable and his wife Adeline, who died when Clark was only ten months old. His father remarried, to Jennie Dunlap when Clark was two years old, and Jennie raised Clark as her son, and even taught him how to play piano. However, as he grew older, he became interested in brass instruments, and joined the men`s town band when he was only 13. Three years later, his father was near bankruptcy and Clark started working on a farm to help the family. Nevertheless, the following year his aspirations to become an actor began, after watching the play “Birds of Paradise”. He had worked several jobs in order to finance his acting career, and began by joining second-class theaters, and slowly building his way up in the acting scene. He then met Josephine Dillon, who became his acting coach; she then started paying for expenses, and the two moved to Hollywood.
Clark`s first appearances were brief roles in silent films, such as “The Merry Widow” (1925) and “The Johnstown Flood” (1926), among others. After these initial appearances, Clark still couldn`t land any major roles, and so focused on stage productions, finding engagements in the plays “Machinal”, and “The Last Mile”, after which he received a contract from MGM. Following minor roles in films “The Painted Desert” (1931), “Night Nurse” (1931), and “The Secret Six” (1931), Clark began to feature in more popular films, including “A Free Soul” (1931), “Dance, Fools, “Dance” (1932) alongside Joan Crawford, “Red Dust” (1932) with Jean Harlow, and “Hold Your Man” (1933) again with Jean Harlow. During the 1930s, Clark`s net worth rose immensely, from appearing in such blockbuster films as “It Happened One Night” (1934), “China Seas” (1935), “Call Of The Wild” (1935) alongside Loretta Young, “San Francisco” (1936), “Saratoga” (1937) in which he also starred with Jean Harlow, “Test Pilot” (1938) with Myrna Loy, and the role which marked his career, as Rhett Butler in “Gone With The Wind” (1939) with Vivien Leigh.
Clark continued successfully in the early 1940s, appearing in such films as “Boom Town” (1940), “Comrade X” (1940), and “Somewhere I`ll Find You” (1942), before joining the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942. He spent two years in Army, reaching the rank of Major and serving briefly with missions over Europe, and upon discharge he returned to acting.
Continuing where he left off, it was only a matter of time before Clark would make another successful appearance. In 1947 he starred with Ava Gardner in the film “The Hucksters”, and the following year appeared with Lana Turner in “Homecoming”. Before the 1950s, Clark had roles in “Command Decision” (1948), and “Any Number Can Play” (1949).
His first role in the new decade was in the film “Key To The City” (1950), in which he reunited with Loretta Young, followed by appearances in less successful films “To Please A Lady” (1950), “Lone Star” (1952), “Never Let Me Go” (1953), and “Soldier Of Fortune” (1955).
In the second half of the 1950s, his fame was restored by appearances in “Run Silent Run Deep” (1958), “Teacher`s Pet” (1958), “It Started In Naples” (1960), with Sophia Loren, and his last appearance before death, “The Misfits” (1961), with Marilyn Monroe.
Thanks to his career Clark received numerous prestigious awards, including the Academy Award in the category Best Actor in a Leading Role for his work on the film “It Happened One Night”, and two Academy Award nominations in the category Best Actor in a Leading Role, for the films “Mutiny On The Bounty”, and “Gone With The Wind”. Furthermore, Clark received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, for his achievement in motion pictures.
Regarding is personal life, Clark was married five times; his first wife was his acting teacher and manager Josephine Dillon,from 1924 to 1930. Next year, he married Maria Langham but they divorced in 1939. His third wife was Carole Lombard, and their marriage lasted from 1939 until 1942, when Carole died. Seven years later, he married Sylvia Ashley, and the two were married until 1952.
His last marriage was with Kay Williams, in 1955, and the two remained married until his death. She gave birth to his son, several months after his death.
Clark also had a daughter with actress Loretta Young, called Judy, however, Loretta hid her pregnancy from Clark and the media, and also stated that Clark had raped her.
Apart from his marriages, Clark also had several affairs, which included celebrities such as Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly, and Virginia Grey.
Clark suffered a heart attack on the 6th November 1960, and ten days later he died in a hospital bed, despite positive doctor`s prognosis. Clark`s resting place is at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California in the Great Mausoleum, Memorial Terrace, Sanctuary of Trust, Mausoleum Crypt 5868, besides Carole Lombard.
| Full Name | Clark Gable |
| Net Worth | $100 Million |
| Date Of Birth | February 1, 1901 Cadiz, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | November 16, 1960 (aged 59) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Height | 1.85 m |
| Profession | Actor |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Josephine Dillon, Maria Langham, Carole Lombard, Sylvia Ashley, Kay Williams |
| Children | Judy Lewis, John Clark Gable |
| Parents | William Henry Gable, Adeline Hershelman |
| IMDB | http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000022/ |
| Awards | Academy Award for Best Actor - Best Actor in a Leading Role (1935), Golden Laurel Award (1958, 3d place) |
| Nominations | Golden Globe Awards, Golden Boot Awards (2001), OFTA Film Hall of Fame (2005), Star on the Walk of Fame (1960) |
| Movies | “The Merry Widow” (1925), “The Plastic Agev” (1925), “Forbidden Paradise” (1924), “Johnstown Flood” (1926), “The Painted Desert” (1931), “Red Dust” (1932), “It Happened One Night” (1934), “Mutiny On The Bounty”, “Gone With The Wind”,“Run Silent Run Deep” (1958... |
| TV Shows | MGM: When the Lion Roars |
| # | Trademark |
|---|---|
| 1 | Oversized ears |
| 2 | Distinctive, powerful voice |
| 3 | Often played a virile, lovable rogue whose gruff facade only thinly masked a natural charm and goodness. |
| 4 | Pencil thin mustache that hugged his upper lip |
| Title | Salary |
|---|---|
| The Misfits (1961) | $750,000 + $58,000 for each week of overtime |
| Soldier of Fortune (1955) | $100,000 |
| Any Number Can Play (1949) | $241,250 |
| Strange Cargo (1940) | $7,500 /week |
| Gone with the Wind (1939) | $120,000 |
| Test Pilot (1938) | $4,000 /week |
| Dancing Lady (1933) | $2,500 /week |
| Hold Your Man (1933) | $2,000 /week |
| Strange Interlude (1932) | $2,000 /week |
| Polly of the Circus (1932) | $650 /week |
| Hell Divers (1931) | $650 /week |
| Susan Lenox | $650 /week |
| Sporting Blood (1931) | $650 /week |
| Night Nurse (1931) | $750 .00/week |
| A Free Soul (1931) | $650 /week |
| The Secret Six (1931) | $650 /week |
| Dance, Fools, Dance (1931) | $650 /week |
| The Painted Desert (1931) | $150 /week |
| Forbidden Paradise (1924) | $7 .50/day |
| # | Quote |
|---|---|
| 1 | When I came to town 25 years ago my six feet, two inches were considered pretty high up. But year by year they keep coming in - taller and taller. Today, it would appear than an actor under six feet is virtually a runt. (1955) |
| 2 | [on his preference for brothels] When it's over it's over. No questions, no tears, no farewell kisses. |
| 3 | [What he wants on his tombstone] "He was lucky and he knew it". |
| 4 | [on The Misfits (1961)] The title sums up this mess. [Arthur Miller, [Marilyn Monroe]and [Montgomery Clift]--they don't know what the hell they're doing. We don't belong in the same room together. |
| 5 | [on Carole Lombard] After we got married, I asked her what she wanted more than anything. We were looking over the property and she said, "I'd like manure for the bottom thirty." And she meant it, too. |
| 6 | [on playing Fletcher Christian in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)] The character is a pansy. And I'm not going to be seen wearing a pigtail and knickers. |
| 7 | It's a chain of accidents. When you step into Hollywood, you wind yourself into thousands of chains of accidents. If all of the thousands happen to come out exactly right - and the chance of that figures out to be one in eight million - then you'll be a star. |
| 8 | They see me as an ordinary guy, like a construction worker or the guy who delivers your piano. |
| 9 | I was pretty sore because they insisted on taping my ears back. One day, in a scene with [Greta Garbo], the tape snapped loose and one ear flapped in the breeze. That was the end of the taping. |
| 10 | [In 1932] I have been in show business for 12 years. They have known me in Hollywood but two. Yet as picture-making goes, two years is a long time. Nevertheless, my advice has never been asked about a part in a picture. I found out I was going into "Susan Lenox" in Del Monte. Read it in a paper. When I walked on the set one day, they told me I was going to play Red Dust (1932) in place of John Gilbert. I have never been consulted as to what part I would like to play. I am paid not to think. |
| 11 | ["Miami News" article 1939 on public reaction to Gone with the Wind (1939)] Damn it. I never conceived of this. When I rode through Atlanta's streets today it wasn't like an opening at Grauman's Chinese at Hollywood. It wasn't like anything I ever experienced in my life. It was almost too big for me to take. For the first time I actually realized I wasn't Clark Gable to Atlanta, but Rhett Butler [laughs] . . . and I hope to heaven when I leave here tomorrow night, after everybody has seen the picture, that I leave as Rhett Butler and not Clark Gable. |
| 12 | I was scared, when I discovered that I had been cast by the public. I felt that every reader would have a different idea as to how Rhett should be played on the screen, and I didn't see how I could please everybody. |
| 13 | I don't discuss women at all with anyone. There are good qualities in all women. Some may be lacking in some of these qualities and should have them. I'm liable to say so and hurt their feelings, and it wouldn't be meant that way at all. |
| 14 | Single men never have any problems. I suppose that the public builds some kind of idea from what they've seen of me on the screen. |
| 15 | The public interest in my playing Rhett [in Gone with the Wind (1939)] puzzled me. I was the only one, apparently, who didn't take it for granted that I would. I found myself trapped by a series of circumstances over which I had no control. It was a funny feeling. I think I know now how a fly must react after being caught in a spider's web. Scarlett doesn't always love Rhett. It's the first time that the girl isn't sure that she wants me from the minute she sets eyes on me. |
| 16 | If any child of mine becomes an actor I will turn in my grave. |
| 17 | Method actors are like hams. |
| 18 | When I die, don't let them make a circus out of it. |
| 19 | I don't want a lot of strangers looking down at my wrinkles and my big fat belly when I'm dead. |
| 20 | [in 1958] My days of playing the dashing lover are over. I'm no longer believable in those parts. There has been considerable talk about older guys wooing and winning leading ladies half their age. I don't think the public likes it, and I don't care for it myself. It's not realistic. Actresses that I started out with like Joan Crawford and Barbara Stanwyck have long since quit playing glamor girls and sweet young things. Now it's time I acted my age. Let's be honest. It's a character role, and I'll be playing more of them. There's a risk involved, of course. I have no idea if I can attain the success as a character actor as I did playing the dashing young lover, but it's a chance I have to take. Not everybody is able to do it. |
| 21 | I don't believe I'm king of anything, but I know why they like to think I am. I'm not much of an actor, but I'm not bad unless it's one of those things outside my comprehension. I work hard. I'm no Adonis, and I'm as American as the telephone poles I used to climb to make a living. So men don't get sore if their women folks like me on the screen. I'm one of them, they know it, so it's a compliment to them. They see me broke, in trouble, scared of things that go bump in the night, but I come out fighting. They see me making love to Jean Harlow or Claudette Colbert and they say, 'If he can do it, I can do it,' and figure it'll be fun to go home and to make love to their wives. |
| 22 | This power that I'm supposed to have over women was never noticed when I was a stage actor on Broadway. I don't know when I got it. And by God, I can't explain it. |
| 23 | I bring to a role everything I am, was and hope to be. |
| 24 | [on Jean Harlow] She didn't want to be famous. She wanted to be happy. |
| 25 | Types really don't matter. I have been accused of preferring blondes. But I have known some mighty attractive redheads, brunettes, and yes, women with grey hair. Age, height, weight haven't anything to do with glamour. |
| 26 | [on playing Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind (1939)] I discovered that Rhett was even harder to play than I had anticipated. With so much of Scarlett preceding his entrance, Rhett's scenes were all climaxes. There was a chance to build up to Scarlett, but Rhett represented drama and action every time he appeared. He didn't figure in any of the battle scenes, being a guy who hated war, amid he wasn't in the toughest of the siege of Atlanta shots. What I was fighting for was to hold my own in the first half of the picture--which is all Vivien's [Vivien Leigh]--because I felt that after the scene with the baby, Bonnie, Rhett could control the end of the film. That scene where Bonnie dies, and the scene where I strike Scarlett and she accidentally tumbles down stairs, thus losing her unborn child, were the two that worried me most. |
| 27 | [about Gary Cooper] Coop is a right guy, the kind you like to hunt and fish with and not talk about making movies. I laid it on him one time about his romance with Carole [Carole Lombard, Gable's wife] and he got pale as hell. She told me about it during a drunken argument we had. After that, Coop and I didn't hunt together so much and when we did, we kept an eye on each other. She used to throw him up to me in my face and that was hard to take, especially since I didn't know the whole truth until years later. I got to admit I was jealous. |
| 28 | I am intrigued by glamorous women . . . A vain woman is continually taking out a compact to repair her makeup. A glamorous woman knows she doesn't need to. |
| 29 | Every picture I make, every experience of my private life, every lesson I learn are the keys to my future. And I have faith in it. |
| 30 | [on Spencer Tracy] The guy's good. There's nobody in the business who can touch him, and you're a fool to try. And the bastard knows it, so don't fall for that humble stuff! |
| 31 | Everything Marilyn [Marilyn Monroe] does is different from any other woman, strange and exciting, from the way she talks to the way she uses that magnificent torso. |
| 32 | [on rumors he was dull in bed] I can't emote worth a damn. |
| 33 | I'm no actor and I never have been. What people see on the screen is me. |
| 34 | I hate a liar. Maybe because I'm such a good one myself, heh? Anyway, to find someone has told an out-and-out lie puts him on the other side of the fence from me for all time. |
| 35 | It is an extra dividend when you like the girl you've fallen in love with. |
| 36 | The things a man has to have are hope and confidence in himself against odds, and sometimes he needs somebody, his pal or his mother or his wife or God, to give him that confidence. He's got to have some inner standards worth fighting for or there won't be any way to bring him into conflict. And he must be ready to choose death before dishonor without making too much song and dance about it. That's all there is to it. |
| 37 | Hell, if I'd jumped on all the dames I'm supposed to have jumped on, I'd have had no time to go fishing. |
| 38 | [about The Misfits (1961)] This is the best picture I have made, and it's the only time I've been able to act. |
| 39 | Working with Marilyn Monroe on The Misfits (1961) nearly gave me a heart attack. I have never been happier when a film ended. |
| 40 | This "King" stuff is pure bullshit. I eat and sleep and go to the bathroom just like everybody else. There's no special light that shines inside me and makes me a star. I'm just a lucky slob from Ohio. I happened to be in the right place at the right time, and I had a lot of smart guys helping me--that's all. |
| 41 | [on his acting ability] I worked like a son of a bitch to learn a few tricks and I fight like a steer to avoid getting stuck with parts I can't play. |
| 42 | The only reason they come to see me is that I know that life is great - and they know I know it. |
| # | Fact |
|---|---|
| 1 | Recovering alcoholic Spencer Tracy tried to avoid Gable when he was trying to stay off drink, as Gable was always surrounded by alcohol. |
| 2 | Played the part of newspaper reporter in nine films, more than any other kind of role. |
| 3 | He was the second husband of Carole Lombard while his Manhattan Melodrama (1934) co-star William Powell was her first husband. |
| 4 | He declined an offer to make a film with Errol Flynn, as Flynn was eight years younger than him. |
| 5 | Gable was a chain smoker by the time he was sixteen. He was known to smoke 3 or 4 packs of cigarettes a day as an adult. |
| 6 | He appeared in three Best Picture Academy Award winners, the first two of which were in consecutive years: It Happened One Night (1934), Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and Gone with the Wind (1939). Wallis Clark also appeared in all three films. |
| 7 | Has appeared in five films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: It Happened One Night (1934), Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), San Francisco (1936), Test Pilot (1938) and Gone with the Wind (1939), and if confirmed his appearance in The Front Page (1931) the number goes to six films. Of those, It Happened One Night (1934) and Gone with the Wind (1939) are winners in the category. |
| 8 | Grandfather of Clark Gable III. |
| 9 | In the late 1940s MGM wanted to cast him alongside Angela Lansbury in a drama to be called "Angel's Flight" but Gable strongly disliked the storyline and the studio canceled the picture. |
| 10 | He was already good friends with Hattie McDaniel prior to their making Gone with the Wind (1939) together, and wanted her to play the part of "Mammy", but it was her coming fully dressed and nailing the part that got her the coveted role. When it came time for the premiere on December 15, 1939, producer David O. Selznick attempted to bring along McDaniel. MGM advised him not to because of Georgia's strict segregation laws, which would have prevented McDaniel from being at the same function, on an equal basis, with whites. Gable was so outraged he told MGM he would not attend the premiere unless she was allowed to attend, also. She eventually convinced him to attend without her. |
| 11 | Grandfather of Kayley Gable. |
| 12 | Had a fear of flying, and made all long journeys across America by train. |
| 13 | Watched very little television except boxing matches. |
| 14 | Although discharged from the US Army Air Force early in 1944, he refused to make another movie until the war had ended. |
| 15 | He was so disappointed by the critical and commercial failure of Adventure (1945) that he did not agree to make another film until more than a year had passed. Fortunately, The Hucksters (1947) proved to be a success and his performance was acclaimed. |
| 16 | Turned down Robert Mitchum's role in Home from the Hill (1960). |
| 17 | In 1949 he served as a pallbearer at the funeral of director Victor Fleming, whom he considered something of a father figure. |
| 18 | Died on the first birthday of his granddaughter, Maria. |
| 19 | His father always opposed his decision to become an actor, and even after Gable became a major star he still denounced acting as a "sissy" occupation. Gable became a Freemason in 1933 just to please his father. However, he showed no grief when his father died aged 78 from a heart attack on 4 August 1948, having outlived his three wives. |
| 20 | In order to hide that she and Gable had an illegitimate child, fearing that it would ruin both of their careers, Loretta Young secretly gave birth to her daughter Judy Lewis pretending she was vacationing in Europe. When she returned to Hollywood, she claimed that Judy was adopted. Gable met Judy only once when she was a teenager. |
| 21 | His two step-children from wife Ria were George Anna "Jana" (b. circa 1913) and Alfred Lucas (b. circa 1919). |
| 22 | Met his second wife Ria when he was in a play. Her brother, Booth Franklin, brought her backstage and introduced them. |
| 23 | He separated from wife Maria ('Ria') in October, 1935. |
| 24 | On Easter weekend, 1935, Gable flew to Houston to give away step-daughter Jana in her marriage to Dr. Thomas Burke. |
| 25 | Gable and then future wife Carole Lombard first met in late 1924 while working as extras on the set of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925). They would make three films together as extras, Ben-Hur, The Johnstown Flood (1926) and The Plastic Age (1925) and star together in No Man of Her Own (1932), but not become romantically attached until 1936. |
| 26 | He was highly patriotic, a staunch anti-communist and a firm believer in military intervention. Among the political leaders he admired were President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Sir Winston Churchill and King George VI. Until John Wayne's stardom eclipsed Gable's in the late 1940s, many Americans thought of Gable as THE American star. |
| 27 | He liked westerns, and once expressed his regret that he didn't make more of them. |
| 28 | He disliked his most famous film Gone with the Wind (1939), which he regarded as "a woman's picture.". |
| 29 | Once named Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) as his favorite of his movies, despite the fact that he did not like his co-star Charles Laughton. He was also initially disappointed by the casting of Franchot Tone as Midshipman Byam since the two actors had been bitter rivals for the affections of Joan Crawford. However, during filming they became close friends. |
| 30 | As a teenager his voice was very high-pitched, however with vocal training he was able to lower it over time. His voice later proved a major asset in his climb to fame. |
| 31 | Despite his rising popularity, Gable balked at playing gangsters and overtly callous characters, and was therefore very pleased to be cast in Red Dust (1932), the film that set the seal on his stardom. |
| 32 | In order to expedite divorce from his second wife Ria so he could marry Carole Lombard, Gable paid his ex-wife a $500,000 settlement in 1939, nearly everything he had at the time. |
| 33 | Originally the image of Gable as an outdoors man was an invention of the studios, designed to bolster his masculine screen image during the early 1930s. However, he soon discovered that he enjoyed hunting, shooting and fishing, so the image swiftly became the reality. |
| 34 | Well known for his pipe smoking, sustaining at least two bowlfuls a day. To this day he still has pipes named after him. |
| 35 | In 1955, he formed a production company with Jane Russell and her husband Bob Waterfield, and they produced The King and Four Queens (1956), the star's one and only production. The stress of making the film took such a toll on his health that Gable decided not to produce again. |
| 36 | In the mid-1950s he started to receive television offers but rejected them outright, even though some of his peers, like his old flame Loretta Young, were flourishing in the new medium. |
| 37 | Director Howard Hawks had long intended to make Hatari! (1962) with Gable and John Wayne. However, by the time filming began Gable was already dead. |
| 38 | Contrary to popular belief, Gable did not perform his own stunts in The Misfits (1961). He was only used for the close ups while a stunt double stood in for him in the long shots. His heart attack was caused by his lifestyle - thirty years of heavy smoking and drinking, plus his increasing weight in later years. It is also believed his crash diet before filming began may have been a contributing factor. |
| 39 | 11/5/60: His heart attack happened when he was changing a tire on his jeep. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a close friend of Gable's, sent him a message of support wishing him a speedy recovery. |
| 40 | He was baptized as a Catholic, but raised as a Protestant. However, he did not practice any religion as an adult. |
| 41 | His private funeral service at the Church of the Recessional in Forest Lawn Park was attended by 200 mourners including Spencer Tracy, Robert Taylor, James Stewart, Norma Shearer, Ann Sothern, Marion Davies, Frank Capra, Robert Stack, Jack Oakie, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Van Johnson and Howard Strickling, Gable's longtime publicity man at MGM. There was no eulogy. The closed casket was adorned with yellow roses shaped like a crown, befitting the one-time King of Hollywood. |
| 42 | Turned down Cary Grant's role in The Philadelphia Story (1940) because he thought the film was too wordy. |
| 43 | 1999: The American Film Institute named Gable among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time, ranking at #7. |
| 44 | As head of the actors' division of the Hollywood Victory Committee, Gable sent his wife Carole Lombard on one of the first tours, in January 1942, to her home state of Indiana, where she sold $2 million worth of bonds. On the plane trip back to Hollywood the plane crashed, killing Lombard and her mother. Gable drank heavily for six months before enlisting as a private in the Army Air Corps. He served as a combat cameraman in Britain, rose to the rank of major, and eventually was furloughed to Fort Roach, as the First Motion Picture Unit headquarters came to be known. Gable's discharge papers were signed by Captain Ronald Reagan. |
| 45 | 1948: Proposed marriage to Nancy Reagan. |
| 46 | Proposed his headstone should read: "Back to silents." It was not used by his widow though. |
| 47 | 11/16/60: Gable sat up in his hospital bed while reading a magazine and suffered his fourth and final heart attack. He was dead within seconds and attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. |
| 48 | In the 1950s Gable joined Walt Disney, John Wayne, James Stewart and other politically conservative entertainers to "assist" the House Un-American Activities Committee in its efforts to find alleged Communist infiltration in the film industry. |
| 49 | 3/15/46: Was injured in a car crash at the traffic circle at Sunset Blvd. and Bristol Ave. in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood. According to a press release from MGM, Gable was driving east on Sunset Blvd. and had entered the south half of the traffic circle when he was struck by another car, whose driver apparently had become confused by the "round-about" and was driving in a westerly direction on the same arc of the circle. Gable drove his car over a curb to avoid hitting the the other car, and it struck a tree, throwing him against the steering wheel. He was treated at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital for a bruised chest and a cut on his right leg that required stitches. The driver of the other car drove away from the site without checking on Gable or reporting the accident. The hit-and-run accident gave rise to the urban legend that Gable had struck and killed a pedestrian while driving drunk, an incident that allegedly was covered up by MGM. Though reported in several biographies, there is no basis in fact for the allegations. |
| 50 | 6/11/33: He was hospitalized for an infection of the gums the day before he was to begin shooting Dancing Lady (1933). He was hospitalized for several days, after which most of his teeth were extracted. Afterwards, he went on a vacation to Alaska and Canada with his wife, as it would take a couple of weeks for his gums to heal enough so he could be fitted for dentures. MGM shot around Gable until he returned and was fitted with a dental plate, but on July 30, after one day's shooting, the infection felled him again. In the days before antibiotics, the infection was so serious Gable's gall bladder was removed. Out another month, the film had to be shut down and went $150,000 over budget. MGM boss Louis B. Mayer docked Gable two weeks pay, which caused bad feelings between the studio and its top star. In order to teach him a lesson, Mayer lent him to Columbia Pictures, then a poverty-row studio, to make a comedy. The movie, Frank Capra's masterpiece It Happened One Night (1934), swept the Academy Awards the next year and brought Gable his only Oscar. |
| 51 | He was a conservative Republican, although his third wife Carole Lombard, a liberal Democrat, encouraged him to support President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal reforms. In February 1952 Gable addressed a televised rally at Madison Square Gardens in New York in support of the Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower, and a few days before his death he voted by post for Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election. |
| 52 | Gable became increasingly unhappy with the mediocre roles offered him by MGM as a mature actor. He refused to renew his contract with them in 1953 and proceeded to work independently. |
| 53 | During his time on Broadway Gable worked as a stage gigolo, performing stud services for such actresses as Pauline Frederick and Laura Hope Crews, who were considerably older than he. His much older first wife served as his first acting coach and paid for his false teeth. Later he married a woman seventeen years his senior, Texan heiress Maria Franklin Gable, who had underwritten his successful assault on Hollywood. |
| 54 | Attempted suicide using a high-powered motorbike following his wife Carole Lombard's death. |
| 55 | He was an early member of the right-wing Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals. |
| 56 | Discouraged by his failure to progress in films, Gable tried the stage and became an employable actor, first in stock and eventually on Broadway, without acquiring real fame. When he returned to Hollywood in 1930 for another try at movie acting, his rugged good looks, powerful voice and charisma made him an overnight sensation as the villainous Rance Brett in his first sound picture, The Painted Desert (1931). Gable exploded onto the screen in a dozen 1931 releases, in small parts at first, but he was an established star by the end of the year. Soon his success threatened to eclipse every other star, including his rival Gary Cooper. |
| 57 | Despite his dyslexia, Gable became an avid reader. He would never allow himself to be photographed reading on film sets, fearing it would undermine his macho screen image. |
| 58 | Although he was never crowned #1 at the Box Office in the Top 10 Poll of Money-Making Stars, as ranked by Quigley Publications' annual survey of movie exhibitors, he made the list a then-record 15 times from 1932 to 1949, and a 16th time in 1955. Gable, "The King", was ranked in the top four of Box Office stars every year from 1934 to 1939 (the "Golden Age" of Hollywood), ranking #2 in 1934 and 1936 through 1938, inclusive, when he was topped by Shirley Temple. After ranking #3 at the Box Office in 1940, he slumped to #10 in 1941, a position he also held in 1942 and 1943. After returning from the war, he took the #7 spot in the Box Office poll in 1947 and 1948, before again slumping to #10 in 1949. He made his last appearance in the Top 10 in 1955, when he again placed #10. |
| 59 | Some sources say he turned down the role of Colonel William Travis in The Alamo (1960) because he didn't want to be directed by John Wayne. However this seems unlikely, since Travis was 26 at the time of the battle, and Gable would have been 58 when the movie was filmed. |
| 60 | 1939: Part of Gable and Carole Lombard's honeymoon was spent at the Willows Inn in Palm Springs, CA. Today the Inn continues to operate and anyone can stay in the same room, which is largely unaltered since that time. |
| 61 | He is the second cousin of film producer Thomas R. Bond II, President of American Mutoscope & Biograph, a motion picture and entertainment company. |
| 62 | Although it is often claimed that Gable died as a result of Marilyn Monroe's behavior and performing his own stunts in The Misfits (1961), he was already in terrible health when filming began from years of excessive drinking and smoking more than three packs of cigarettes a day. |
| 63 | 11/6/60: Gable was devastated to learn of the unexpected death of his close friend Ward Bond from a heart attack. Shortly afterwards Gable himself suffered a massive heart attack, and died ten days later in the hospital. |
| 64 | At the time of his death, his gun collection was valued at half a million dollars. He had a special gun room in his house filled with gold-inlaid revolvers, shotguns and rifles. |
| 65 | When MGM remade Red Dust (1932) in 1953 as Mogambo (1953), Ava Gardner played the Jean Harlow part, Grace Kelly had the Mary Astor role, and Gable played his old part. Only Gable could fill Gable's shoes, even 21 years later. |
| 66 | 1938: In a poll of entertainment readers, he was overwhelmingly selected "King of Hollywood" and was officially crowned by columnist Ed Sullivan. |
| 67 | He served as a pallbearer and usher at Jean Harlow's funeral in 1937. |
| 68 | Gable's first screen test was made by director Mervyn LeRoy for Warner Bros. When studio head Jack L. Warner and production chief Darryl F. Zanuck saw the test they were furious at LeRoy for wasting their money on that big "ape" with those "huge floppy taxi-cab ears". Years later when Gable made it big, LeRoy used to tease Warner and say, "How would you like to have him and those huge floppy ears now?". |
| 69 | 1933: Underwent cosmetic surgery on his ears and teeth. |
| 70 | Had to have almost all of his teeth extracted in 1933 due to pyorrhea. The infection would have killed him had he not been rushed to a private hospital for treatment. |
| 71 | Gave his Oscar for It Happened One Night (1934) to a child who admired it, telling him it was the winning of the statue that had mattered, not owning it. The child returned the Oscar to the Gable family after Clark's death. |
| 72 | His father was of German, some Swiss-German, and distant Irish, ancestry. His mother was of half German and half Irish descent. |
| 73 | Prior to making The Misfits (1961), he crash-dieted from a bloated 230 lbs. to 195 lbs. Twice in the previous decade he had suffered seizures that might have been heart attacks; once, ten years earlier, while driving along a freeway he had chest pains so severe that he had to pull off the road and lie down on the ground until he felt well enough to continue on. |
| 74 | Military records on celebrities released by the Pentagon in 2005 reveal that Gable, upon enlistment, was described as a "motion picture specialist" and his weekly wage was listed as $7,500. A movie cameraman, Andrew J. McIntyre, enlisted along with Gable and trained with him, the documents showed. "In order to have something definite to describe and some tangible evidence of his experiences, it is proposed that there be enlisted his cameraman to be trained as an aerial gunner also who may make pictures of Gable in various theaters of operations," one Army memo said. |
| 75 | Is portrayed by James Brolin in Gable and Lombard (1976), Bruce Hughes and Shayne Greenman in Blonde (2001), Charles Unwin in Lucy (2003), Larry Pennell in Marilyn: The Untold Story (1980), Edward Winter in The Scarlett O'Hara War (1980), Boyd Holister in Grace Kelly (1983) and Gary Wayne in Malice in Wonderland (1985). |
| 76 | Is the subject of the song "Clark Gable" by The Postal Service. |
| 77 | Served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II making training films. Also trained as an aerial gunner, he flew 5 combat missions with the 8th Air Force's 351st Bombardment Group (Heavy) while making his films and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal. |
| 78 | In some radio interviews at the end of his life, his voice has a haunting similarity to Walt Disney's. |
| 79 | Named the #7 greatest actor on The 50 Greatest Screen Legends List by the American Film Institute |
| 80 | He was voted the 21st Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine. |
| 81 | His widow, Kay Williams, was born August 7, 1917, and died in May of 1983. |
| 82 | His wife Sylvia Ashley was born Edith Louise Sylvia Hawkes in 1904. She was the widow of Douglas Fairbanks. Her first husband was Lord Anthony Ashley (they divorced November 28, 1934), her third was Lord Stanley of Alderney, and her fifth was Prince Dimitri Djordjadze (whom she married in 1954 and stayed married to until her death). She died June 29, 1977. Her grave stone refers to her as "Princess Sylvia Djordjadze." |
| 83 | 1952: His widow, Kay Williams, divorced her previous husband, Adolph Spreckels Jr., heir to the Spreckels Sugar fortune. In the divorce papers she alleged that he beat her with one of her slippers. |
| 84 | He worked as a lumberman in the Willamette Valley of Oregon in the early 1920s. After a couple of months of doing that, he quit, saying that "the work was too hard" and he would rather act instead. He then left to go to Hollywood, where he began his acting career. |
| 85 | Was Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's inspiration for half of Superman's alter ego name Clark Kent ("Kent" came from Kent Taylor). |
| 86 | He was voted the 8th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly. |
| 87 | He was seriously considered to play Tarzan in Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), but he was deemed an unknown and Johnny Weissmuller was chosen instead. |
| 88 | Inducted into the Lou Holtz/Upper Ohio Valley Hall of Fame in 2004. |
| 89 | Joined the Army Air Corps during the Second World War, and was commissioned an officer with service number 565390. Rose to the rank of captain and served primarily in Public Affairs, making training films and performing public relations visits to soldiers and airmen in Europe. |
| 90 | Cousin-in-law of William B. Hawks. |
| 91 | Gable was dyslexic, a fact which didn't emerge until several years after his death. |
| 92 | Grandfather of Clark Gable III, who's the first child of his son John Clark Gable and his ex-wife Tracy Yarro. Clark James was born on September 10, 1988 at a hefty 10 lbs. |
| 93 | Pictured on one of four 25¢ US commemorative postage stamps issued on 23 March 1990 honoring classic films released in 1939. The stamp features Gable and Vivien Leigh as Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind (1939). The other films honored were Beau Geste (1939), Stagecoach (1939) and The Wizard of Oz (1939). |
| 94 | Playing a cowboy in his last film, The Misfits (1961), which was also the final film for co-star Marilyn Monroe, the aging Gable diligently performed his own stunts, taking its toll on his already guarded health. He died from a heart attack before the film was released. |
| 95 | He disliked Greta Garbo, a feeling that was mutual. She thought his acting was wooden while he considered her a snob. |
| 96 | When he was born he was mistakenly listed as a female on his birth certificate. |
| 97 | So durable, he could play the same role in both an original (Red Dust (1932)) with Jean Harlow and Mary Astor, and its remake (Mogambo (1953)) with Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly. |
| 98 | When he was first cast in It Happened One Night (1934) opposite Claudette Colbert, he told director Frank Capra that he would give the role a shot, but if things weren't going well after a few days, he would leave the production. |
| 99 | 1942: He enlisted in the army in honor of his late wife, Carole Lombard. She had been killed in a plane crash while on tour selling war bonds. |
| 100 | Gable's first two wives - Josephine Dillon and Maria Franklin Gable (aka Ria Langham) - were 14 and 17 years older than he was, respectively. |
| 101 | It was at Gable's 36th birthday that Judy Garland sang "Dear Mr. Gable: You Made Me Love You." |
| 102 | 1995: Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#36). |
| 103 | Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, USA, in the Great Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Trust, on the left hand side, next to Carole Lombard. |
| 104 | 1970s: His Encino, CA, estate was subdivided and turned into a very upscale tract development called "Clark Gable Estates.". |
| 105 | Actress Judy Lewis is Clark's out-of-wedlock daughter by actress Loretta Young. The two had a romance during the filming of Call of the Wild (1935). |
| 106 | A few months after his death, his wife gave birth to John Clark Gable. John is into racing and has appeared in at least one film. |
| 107 | Adolf Hitler esteemed the film star above all other actors, and during the war offered a sizable reward to anyone who could capture and return Gable, who had enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was flying combat missions over Germany, unscathed to him. |
Actor
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Misfits | 1961 | Gay Langland | |
| It Started in Naples | 1960 | Michael Hamilton | |
| But Not for Me | 1959 | Russell 'Russ' Ward | |
| Teacher's Pet | 1958 | James Gannon | |
| Run Silent Run Deep | 1958 | Cmdr. 'Rich' Richardson | |
| Band of Angels | 1957 | Hamish Bond | |
| The King and Four Queens | 1956 | Dan Kehoe | |
| The Tall Men | 1955 | Colonel Ben Allison | |
| Soldier of Fortune | 1955 | Hank Lee | |
| Betrayed | 1954 | Col. Pieter Deventer | |
| Mogambo | 1953 | Victor Marswell | |
| Never Let Me Go | 1953 | Philip Sutherland | |
| Lone Star | 1952 | Devereaux Burke | |
| Callaway Went Thataway | 1951 | Clark Gable (uncredited) | |
| Across the Wide Missouri | 1951 | Flint Mitchell | |
| To Please a Lady | 1950 | Mike Brannan | |
| Key to the City | 1950 | Steve Fisk | |
| Any Number Can Play | 1949 | Charley Enley Kyng | |
| Command Decision | 1948 | Brigadier General K.C. 'Casey' Dennis | |
| Homecoming | 1948 | Col. Ulysses Delby 'Lee' Johnson (Dr. Johnson) | |
| The Hucksters | 1947 | Victor Albee Norman | |
| Adventure | 1945 | Harry Patterson | |
| Somewhere I'll Find You | 1942 | Jonathon 'Jonny' Davis | |
| Honky Tonk | 1941 | 'Candy' Johnson | |
| They Met in Bombay | 1941 | Gerald Meldrick | |
| Comrade X | 1940 | McKinley B. Thompson | |
| Boom Town | 1940 | Big John McMasters | |
| Strange Cargo | 1940 | Verne | |
| Gone with the Wind | 1939 | Rhett Butler - Visitor from Charleston | |
| Idiot's Delight | 1939 | Harry | |
| Too Hot to Handle | 1938 | Chris Hunter | |
| Test Pilot | 1938 | Jim Lane | |
| Saratoga | 1937 | Duke Bradley | |
| Parnell | 1937 | Parnell | |
| Love on the Run | 1936 | Michael Anthony | |
| Cain and Mabel | 1936 | Larry Cain | |
| San Francisco | 1936 | Blackie Norton | |
| Wife vs. Secretary | 1936 | Van | |
| Mutiny on the Bounty | 1935 | Christian | |
| Call of the Wild | 1935 | Jack Thornton | |
| China Seas | 1935 | Alan Gaskell | |
| After Office Hours | 1935 | James 'Jim' Branch | |
| Forsaking All Others | 1934 | Jeff Williams | |
| Chained | 1934 | Michael 'Mike' Bradley | |
| Manhattan Melodrama | 1934 | Blackie Gallagher | |
| Men in White | 1934 | Dr. Ferguson | |
| It Happened One Night | 1934 | Peter | |
| Dancing Lady | 1933 | Patch Gallagher | |
| Night Flight | 1933 | Jules Fabian | |
| Hold Your Man | 1933 | Eddie Hall | |
| The White Sister | 1933 | Giovanni Severi | |
| No Man of Her Own | 1932 | Jerry 'Babe' Stewart | |
| Red Dust | 1932 | Dennis Carson | |
| Strange Interlude | 1932 | Ned Darrell | |
| Polly of the Circus | 1932 | Reverend John Hartley | |
| The Christmas Party | 1931 | Short | Clark Gable (uncredited) |
| Possessed | 1931 | Mark Whitney | |
| Hell Divers | 1931 | Steve Nelson | |
| Susan Lenox | 1931 | Rodney Spencer | |
| Sporting Blood | 1931 | Warren 'Rid' Riddell | |
| Night Nurse | 1931 | Nick | |
| A Free Soul | 1931 | Ace Wilfong | |
| Laughing Sinners | 1931 | Carl Loomis | |
| The Secret 6 | 1931 | Carl Luckner | |
| The Finger Points | 1931 | Louis J. Blanco | |
| Dance, Fools, Dance | 1931 | Jake Luva | |
| The Easiest Way | 1931 | Nick | |
| The Painted Desert | 1931 | Rance Brett | |
| Du Barry, Woman of Passion | 1930 | Extra (voice, uncredited) | |
| One Minute to Play | 1926 | Extra (uncredited) | |
| The Johnstown Flood | 1926 | Townsman Standing at Bar in Saloon (uncredited) | |
| North Star | 1925 | Archie West | |
| Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ | 1925 | Roman Guard (uncredited) | |
| The Plastic Age | 1925 | Athlete (uncredited) | |
| The Merry Widow | 1925 | Ballroom Dancer (uncredited) | |
| What Price Gloria? | 1925 | Short | Minor Role (uncredited) |
| The Merry Kiddo | 1925 | Short | Minor Role (uncredited) |
| Déclassé | 1925 | Extra (uncredited) | |
| The Pacemakers | 1925 | Short | Minor Role (uncredited) |
| Forbidden Paradise | 1924 | Soldier in Czarina's guard (uncredited) | |
| White Man | 1924 | Lady Andrea's Brother | |
| Fighting Blood | 1923 | Minor Role (uncredited) |
Soundtrack
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| That's Entertainment! | 1974 | Documentary performer: "Puttin' On the Ritz" 1929 - uncredited | |
| The Hucksters | 1947 | performer: "Over There" - uncredited | |
| Comrade X | 1940 | lyrics: "Funiculi, Funicula" 1880 - uncredited / performer: "Funiculi, Funicula" 1880 - uncredited | |
| Boom Town | 1940 | performer: "Polly Wolly Doodle" - uncredited | |
| Idiot's Delight | 1939 | performer: "By the Light of the Silvery Moon", "Puttin' on the Ritz", "Boola Boola", "Abide with Me", "The Fountain in the Park" - uncredited | |
| Test Pilot | 1938 | performer: "The Prisoner's Song If I Had the Wings of an Angel" 1924, "Chicago That Toddlin' Town" 1922 - uncredited | |
| Saratoga | 1937 | "The Horse with the Dreamy Eyes" 1937, uncredited / performer: "The Horse with the Dreamy Eyes" 1937 - uncredited | |
| Love on the Run | 1936 | performer: "She'll be Comin' 'Round the Mountain", "String Quintet In E, Op. 13 No. 5: Minuet" - uncredited | |
| Wife vs. Secretary | 1936 | performer: "Thank You for a Lovely Evening" 1934, "She Was Poor But She Was Honest" 1930, "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile!" 1915 - uncredited | |
| It Happened One Night | 1934 | performer: "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" - uncredited |
Producer
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combat America | 1943 | Documentary producer - as Major Clark Gable |
Self
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Love, Marilyn | 2012 | Documentary | Gay Langland (uncredited) |
| Project XX | 1963 | TV Series documentary | Homemovie footage |
| The 30th Annual Academy Awards | 1958 | TV Special | Himself - Co-Presenter: Writing Awards |
| A Star Is Born World Premiere | 1954 | TV Short | Himself - in crowd (uncredited) |
| The 26th Annual Academy Awards | 1954 | TV Special | Himself - Audience Member |
| The Ed Sullivan Show | 1953 | TV Series | Himself |
| Screen Actors | 1950 | Documentary short | Himself (uncredited) |
| Combat America | 1943 | Documentary | Himself / Narrator |
| Screen Snapshots Series 23, No. 1: Hollywood in Uniform | 1943 | Documentary short | Himself |
| Wings Up | 1943 | Documentary short | Narrator |
| Show-Business at War | 1943 | Documentary short | Himself (uncredited) |
| You Can't Fool a Camera | 1941 | Documentary short | Himself |
| Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 9 | 1939 | Documentary short | Himself, Horse Show Attendee |
| Hollywood Hobbies | 1939 | Short | Himself (uncredited) |
| Hollywood Goes to Town | 1938 | Short documentary | Himself |
| Another Romance of Celluloid | 1938 | Documentary short | Himself (uncredited) |
| The Romance of Celluloid | 1937 | Short | Himself |
| Hollywood Party | 1937 | Short | Himself (uncredited) |
| The Candid Camera Story (Very Candid) of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures 1937 Convention | 1937 | Documentary short | Himself (uncredited) |
| Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 3 | 1936 | Documentary short | Himself - Observer |
| Screen Snapshots Series 15, No. 8 | 1936 | Documentary short | Himself |
| Behind the Scenes of Cain and Mabel | 1936 | Documentary short | Himself / Larry Cain |
| Starlit Days at the Lido | 1935 | Short | Himself |
| Hollywood Hobbies | 1935 | Documentary short | Himself |
| Screen Snapshots, Series 14, No. 1 | 1934 | Documentary short | Himself |
| Hollywood on Parade No. B-13 | 1934 | Short | Himself |
| Hollywood on Parade No. A-9 | 1933 | Short | Himself (uncredited) |
| Screen Snapshots | 1932/I | Documentary short | Himself |
| Jackie Cooper's Birthday Party | 1931 | Documentary short | Himself |
Archive Footage
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trifles of Importance | 1940 | Short | Himself (uncredited) |
| Hollywood: Style Center of the World | 1940 | Documentary short | Himself |
| Cavalcade of the Academy Awards | 1940 | Documentary short | |
| Northward, Ho! | 1940 | Documentary short | Himself (uncredited) |
| Land of Liberty | 1939 | Blackie Norton (edited from 'San Francisco') | |
| Hollywood on Parade No. A-6 | 1933 | Short | Himself (uncredited) |
| Les couples mythiques du cinéma | 2017 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn | 2016 | Documentary | |
| Sinatra: All or Nothing at All | 2015 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| Le Fossoyeur de Films | 2015 | TV Mini-Series documentary | |
| Welcome to the Basement | 2015 | TV Series | Peter |
| One Rogue Reporter | 2014 | Documentary | Peter (uncredited) |
| The First Motion Picture Unit: When Hollywood Went to War | 2014 | Documentary | Himself |
| And the Oscar Goes To... | 2014 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Mansome | 2012 | Documentary | Himself |
| Nazi Titanic | 2012 | TV Movie documentary | Himself (uncredited) |
| Love, Hate & Propaganda: The Cold War | 2011 | TV Series documentary | Rhett Butler in 'Gone with the Wind' |
| Stars of the Silver Screen | 2011 | TV Series | Himself |
| 20 to 1 | 2010 | TV Series documentary | Rhett Butler |
| Smash His Camera | 2010 | Documentary | Himself |
| Der Klang Hollywoods - Max Steiner & seine Erben | 2009 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Hollywood sul Tevere | 2009 | Documentary | Himself |
| 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year | 2009 | TV Movie documentary | |
| The Yellow Brick Road and Beyond | 2009 | Video documentary | Himself |
| John le Carré | 2008 | Video documentary short | |
| Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence | 2008 | TV Series | Gay Langland in 'The Misfits' |
| Spisok korabley | 2008 | Documentary | |
| Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood | 2008 | TV Movie documentary | Various Roles |
| Gable and Crawford | 2008 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| The Fallen Vampire | 2007 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project | 2007 | Documentary | Commander Richardson |
| The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk | 2007 | Video documentary | McKinley B. Thompson |
| Today Tonight | 2007 | TV Series | Rhett Butler |
| City Confidential | 2007 | TV Series documentary | Peter Warne |
| Girl 27 | 2007 | Documentary | Himself |
| War Stories with Oliver North | 2005-2006 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Corazón de... | 2005-2006 | TV Series | |
| 50 y más | 2005 | TV Movie | |
| Garbo | 2005 | Documentary uncredited | |
| Irving Thalberg: Prince of Hollywood | 2005 | TV Movie documentary | |
| Robert Capa, l'homme qui voulait croire à sa légende | 2004 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Unsere Besten | 2004 | TV Series | Rhett Butler |
| American Masters | 2004 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Somebody's Daughter, Somebody's Son | 2004 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Checking Out: Grand Hotel | 2004 | Video documentary short | Himself - At the premiere |
| Clark Gable and Carole Lombard | 2003 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Seabiscuit: Racing Through History | 2003 | Video documentary short | Himself (uncredited) |
| The People's Hollywood | 2003 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| The True Story of Seabiscuit | 2003 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Biography | 1995-2003 | TV Series documentary | Himself / Hamish Bond / Jack Thornton |
| Complicated Women | 2003 | TV Movie documentary | Himself (uncredited) |
| Great Performances | 2002 | TV Series | Himself |
| Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel | 2001 | TV Movie documentary | Rhett Butler in "Gone With the Wind" |
| Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs | 2000 | TV Movie documentary | |
| ABC 2000: The Millennium | 1999 | TV Special documentary | |
| The Rat Pack | 1999 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| The Lady with the Torch | 1999 | Documentary | Himself |
| Film Breaks | 1999 | TV Series documentary | |
| The 20th Century: A Moving Visual History | 1999 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American Dream | 1998 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults | 1997 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Judy Garland's Hollywood | 1997 | Video documentary | |
| Sobbin' Women: The Making of 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' | 1997 | TV Short documentary | Himself |
| Hollywood Commandos | 1997 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| We Remember Marilyn | 1996 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Legends of Entertainment Video | 1995 | Video documentary | Himself |
| The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies | 1995 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Sprockets | 1995 | TV Series | Rance Brett |
| 100 Years at the Movies | 1994 | TV Short documentary | Himself |
| That's Entertainment! III | 1994 | Documentary | Performer in Clip from 'Dancing Lady' (uncredited) |
| La classe américaine | 1993 | TV Movie | L'Acteur |
| Murderers, Mobsters and Madmen: Hollywood Police Blotter | 1992 | Video documentary | Himself |
| MGM: When the Lion Roars | 1992 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| Here's Looking at You, Warner Bros. | 1991 | TV Movie documentary | Himself - Screen Test |
| The Geraldo Rivera Show | 1991 | TV Series | Himself |
| Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home to | 1991 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Hollywood on Parade | 1990 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Murphy Brown | 1989 | TV Series | Himself / opening credits |
| Hollywood Sex Symbols | 1988 | Video documentary short | |
| The 1950's: Music, Memories & Milestones | 1988 | Video documentary | Himself |
| The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind | 1988 | TV Movie documentary | Himself - Cast Member in 'Gone with the Wind' |
| Cinema Paradiso | 1988 | Ace Wilfong (uncredited) | |
| Entertaining the Troops | 1988 | Documentary | Himself |
| John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick | 1988 | Documentary | Himself (uncredited) |
| Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend | 1987 | Documentary | Gay Langland |
| The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn | 1986 | TV Special documentary | Himself |
| America Censored | 1985 | TV Movie documentary | Rhett Butler |
| The Moviemakers | 1985 | TV Series | Himself |
| Going Hollywood: The '30s | 1984 | Documentary | |
| Showbiz Goes to War | 1982 | TV Movie | |
| Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter | 1982 | TV Movie documentary | Actor - 'It Happened One Night' (uncredited) |
| Bob Hope's Overseas Christmas Tours: Around the World with the Troops - 1941-1972 | 1980 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Arthur Miller on Home Ground | 1979 | TV Movie documentary | |
| That's Hollywood | 1978 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| America at the Movies | 1976 | Documentary | Peter Warne Blackie Norton |
| That's Entertainment, Part II | 1976 | Documentary | Clips from 'Gone with the Wind' & 'Strange Cargo' etc. |
| Hooray for Hollywood | 1975 | Documentary | Himself |
| Brother Can You Spare a Dime | 1975 | Documentary | Himself |
| Gable: The King Remembered | 1975 | TV Movie documentary | Himself / Various Characters |
| That's Entertainment! | 1974 | Documentary | Clip from 'Idiot's Delight' |
| Just One More Time | 1974 | Short | Himself (uncredited) |
| The Dick Cavett Show | 1971-1972 | TV Series | Peter Warne from film IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT / Himself |
| Hollywood: The Dream Factory | 1972 | TV Movie documentary | Himself - film clips (uncredited) |
| The Great Radio Comedians | 1972 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Hollywood: The Selznick Years | 1969 | TV Movie documentary | Actor 'Gone with the Wind' (uncredited) |
| The Happy Ending | 1969 | Himself - actor in 'Susan Lenox' (uncredited) | |
| Dear Mr. Gable | 1968 | Documentary | |
| The Legend of Marilyn Monroe | 1966 | Documentary | Himself (uncredited) |
| Hollywood My Home Town | 1965 | Documentary | Himself |
| Inside Daisy Clover | 1965 | Himself (uncredited) | |
| Verifica incerta - Disperse Exclamatory Phase | 1965 | Documentary short | |
| The Love Goddesses | 1965 | Documentary | Himself |
| The Big Parade of Comedy | 1964 | Documentary | Eddie in 'Hold Your Man' |
| Hollywood and the Stars | 1964 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Judy Garland Show | 1964 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Ed Sullivan Show | 1955-1963 | TV Series | Himself / Gay Langland |
| The Courtship of Eddie's Father | 1963 | Himself - Actor in Clip from 'Mogambo' (uncredited) | |
| Hollywood: The Great Stars | 1963 | TV Movie documentary | Actor 'The Misfits' (uncredited) |
| Hollywood Without Make-Up | 1963 | Documentary | Himself |
| The James Dean Story | 1957 | Documentary | Himself - 'Giant' premiere footage (uncredited) |
| MGM Parade | 1955 | TV Series | Fletcher Christian |
| When the Talkies Were Young | 1955 | Short | Nick (uncredited) |
| Screen Snapshots: Memories in Uniform | 1954 | Documentary short | Himself |
| The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Story | 1951 | Documentary | |
| Some of the Best: Twenty-Five Years of Motion Picture Leadership | 1949 | Documentary short | Himself (uncredited) |
| Some of the Best | 1943 | Documentary | Blackie Norton in San Francisco / Christian in Mutiny on the Bounty / Big John McMasters in Boom Town (uncredited) |
| The Miracle of Sound | 1940 | Documentary short | Himself |
Won Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Star on the Walk of Fame | Walk of Fame | Motion Picture | On 8 February 1960. At 1608 Vine Street. |
| 1935 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Actor in a Leading Role | It Happened One Night (1934) |
Nominated Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy | But Not for Me (1959) |
| 1940 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Gone with the Wind (1939) |
| 1936 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) |
Known for movies
It Happened One Night (1934)
as Peter
Gone with the Wind (1939)
as Rhett Butler - Visitor from Charleston
The Misfits (1961)
as Gay Langland
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
as Christian
