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John Huston on working with Clark Gable in "The Misfits" (1961): "One of the myths attached to 'The Misfits' was that Clark Gable d!ed of a heart attack because of over-exertion in this film. That is utter nonsense. Toward the end of the picture there was a contest between Clark and the stallion the cowboys had captured. It looked like rough work, and it was, but it was the stunt men who were thrown around, not Clark. I got on well with Clark. I spent many hours with him in his trailer— thanks to Marilyn. He thought of himself as an actor, not a screen personality. He liked reminiscing about his early days in the theater—old-time actors’ talk. I saw very soon that Clark knew exactly what he was doing. Two or three times I thought I saw ways to improve his performance. I was mistaken. Each time I had him go back to his own way. He was nonplussed by Marilyn’s behavior. It was as though she’d revealed some horrid fact of life that just couldn’t be accepted in his scheme of things. Because I edit as I go along, Clark got to see the first cut of the film, and he was delighted. The picture was way over budget. It would cost about $4,000,000—and that was a lot of money in those days for a black- and-white film. Clark said, “Hell, John! If the studio is unhappy about the cost, I’ll buy this picture for four million dollars. I think it’s the best thing I've ever done. Now all I want is to see that kid of mine born!” That was on November 4, and he was due to become a father in February. It wasn’t to be. He suffered a heart attack on November 5 and died less than two weeks later. Because of Clark’s death and the tragedy of seeing Marilyn slowly destroying herself, my memories of 'The Misfits' are mostly melancholy. But there were some good moments, too." ("An Open Book", John Huston, 1980) P.S: Remembering the legendary American filmmaker John Huston on his 120th birthday!

In 1942, Clark Gable's wife, Carole Lombard, passed away in an airplane crash. He was emotionally and physically devastated, and decided to join the Army Air Force. Although he was beyond the draft age at the time the U.S. entered World War II, he enlisted as a private in the Army Air Force on Aug. 12, 1942, at Los Angeles. He attended the Officers' Candidate School at Miami Beach, Florida, and graduated as a second lieutenant on Oct. 28. He then attended aerial gunnery school and in February 1943, on personal orders from Gen. Hap Arnold, went to England to make a motion picture about aerial gunners in action. He was assigned to the 351st Bomb Group at Polebrook, and although neither ordered nor expected to do so, flew operational missions over Europe in B-17s to obtain the combat film footage he believed was required for producing the movie, titled "Combat America." Gable returned to the U.S. in October 1943 and was relieved from active duty as a major on June 12, 1944, at his own request, since he was over-age for combat. Because his motion picture production schedule made it impossible for him to fulfill his AAF Reserve officer duties, he resigned his commission on Sept. 26, 1947. Two years after the death of his wife, Clark joined Irene Dunne to launch the USS Carole Lombard, in honor of Carole and her dedication to her country. After leaving the military, Gable jumped back into acting and retained his star status. #oldhollywood #clarkgable #carolelombard