55. He Found Love Again
However, there was one bright light. In 1954, Gable reconnected with an old flame who had recently divorced her third husband. Her name was Kay Williams, and before long, they were off to the races. They eloped in Nevada, with just a few friends and family members present. This match was different from his other, ill-fated marriages—and he seemed happier, as he’d been with Lombard. However, happily ever after wasn’t in the cards.
56. He Wanted A Family
When the pair appeared together at one of his movie premieres in 1955, Williams was visibly pregnant—but sadly, tragedy struck and she miscarried soon after. Gable was a doting stepfather to her children, but he wanted one of his own, and they kept trying. Williams became pregnant again in 1960. Unfortunately, their bliss wasn’t meant to be.
57. He Floundered
After leaving MGM, Gable didn’t really give any truly remarkable performances—not totally his fault, as most of the movies he appeared in were middling. However, there was one notable exception. In 1960, Gable began working on The Misfits opposite Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift. The film would eventually reach icon status—but it was a long road to get there, and not everyone made it through.
58. It Was A Difficult Shoot
The Misfits was filmed in the desert in blistering heat, and despite his age, Gable insisted on doing his own stunts. On top of that, doctors had to constantly be on set to monitor Monroe, who was going through a divorce from the film’s scriptwriter, and Clift, who had heart problems. Somewhat ironically, they wouldn’t end up being the ones in need of a doctor.
59. He Fell Ill
Two days after completing filming on The Misfits, Clark Gable had a heart attack. Many had speculated that he’d been in ill health on the set, as his voice had drastically changed, and the insurance company had only approved his casting after he quit smoking and drinking for a week. Gable wound up in the hospital, with his devoted wife by his side. While Gable was already 59, no one could’ve predicted what happened next.
60. He Didn’t Make It
At first, Clark Gable’s condition seemed to be improving. One night, Williams left his side to get some sleep. A few hours later, a doctor woke her up to tell her the devastating news: Gable had passed on. He’d had a second heart attack, and his body simply couldn’t hold out. Williams was four months pregnant at the time.
In March of 1961, she gave birth to a boy, who she named John Clark—Gable’s only son, and one he never got to meet.
61. He Was With Her For Eternity
As per his wishes, Clark Gable was laid to rest alongside the love of his life, Carole Lombard. Over 200 people attended the funeral, including an honor guard, and Spencer Tracy and James Stewart attended. Soon, the tributes began to pour out—but there was a dark side to it all.
62. She Blamed Someone Else
Following Gable’s passing, gossip columnist Louella Parsons spread a series of vicious rumors about the star’s final days. Parsons claimed that Monroe had caused so many problems and delays on set that Gable had become enraged—flat out suggesting that the blonde bombshell was responsible for the star’s untimely end. This story couldn’t have been further from the truth.
63. He Had A Big Fan
Making The Misfits had been a living nightmare for Marilyn Monroe, but she had an important ally on set: Clark Gable. Monroe had been so nervous to meet the star, let alone act with him, that she’d had to take a tranquilizer to calm down the night before their first day. This made her late to set, and she immediately apologized to Gable. He graciously said: he simply said, "You're not late, honey," and led her aside to talk.
64. He Was A Gentleman Through And Through
For the rest of the shoot, Gable was always there to talk to her and help her through her difficult time. Sadly, the vicious gossip got to her, and she did wind up blaming herself for Gable’s loss. The Misfits would actually be the final film that either actor appeared in. Monroe passed on in 1962 after an overdose.
65. It Was Their Swan Song
While Gable didn’t live to see The Misfits become a success, there was one bright side to the horrible timing of his heart attack. Gable was able to see a rough cut of the film before he passed—and what he said about it was utterly heartbreaking. Screenwriter Arthur Miller reported that Gable said: "This is the best picture I have made, and it's the only time I've been able to act."
The Misfits, United Artists
66. He Had A Secret Love Child
Everyone in Hollywood knew Clark Gable was a womanizer—but after he passed, many of his darkest secrets came tumbling out. While making a film in the early 1930s, Gable had impregnated his co-star, Loretta Young. The studio covered it up, and Young went away for a few months, later pretending that she’d adopted the daughter she gave birth to. Gable never acknowledged the child. Young only told the girl about her true parentage after Gable had passed—but the story gets darker.
Wikimedia Commons, The New Movie Magazine
67. Their Allegations Are Horrific
Loretta Young passed in 2000, and her daughter with Gable, Judy Lewis, lost her life to cancer in 2014. It was then that Young’s granddaughter-in-law revealed the family’s most disturbing secret. She said that Young had told her that her tryst with Gable hadn’t been consensual—a secret she’d hidden for nearly her entire life. The family chose to remain silent until after Young and Lewis had been deceased.
68. She Was Rushing Home For A Sad Reason
When Carole Lombard perished in a horrific plane crash, Clark Gable was devastated—but few know that he may have played a dark role in her passing. At the time, Gable was filming a series of movies with starlet Lana Turner, and soon, the gossip columnists began to spread rumors that the two were having an affair. Fearing the worst, Lombard immediately made plans to fly home to Los Angeles, and Gable—but she never made it.
69. He Put Himself In Harm’s Way
After losing Lombard, Gable was utterly heartbroken, and since Lombard had been traveling to see him, he blamed himself. When the tormented actor enlisted to fight in WWII, many saw his eagerness to put himself in dangerous situations as a self-inflicted form of penance for his role in Lombard’s untimely death.
70. He Was The Once And Final King
During his lifetime, people regularly called Clark Gable the “King of Hollywood.” The title went to the grave with him. Many think that the Golden Age of Hollywood died with Gable too.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
