Gable: His Wives

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JOSEPHINE DILLON age 37 married Dec.18th 1924, Divorced 1929 (Mexico not recognised). Was a drama coach in Portland ,Oregon and was persuaded to take on Gable by Franz Dofler.. She created a new look and encouraged Gable in stage work and presence. She moved to Hollywood to open a new school and in 1924 sent for Gable. He was unable to find work on the stage and would not consider the movie industry. Marriage (in name only) was suggested to help finances, but the relationshiphas always been questionable, she said it was never consumated, he made no comment. Dillon endured his extra-marital flings and stood by him until 1929. She never gave up the name of Mrs Clark Gable and used it for publicity and sometimes as pressure on the Studio for money.

RIA LANGHAM age 47 married 1930 (not valid) second marriage 1931. Divorced 1939. Was a society aristocrat from New York, poised, educated, stylish and wealthy. She met Gable whilst he was on stage in New York .She introduced him to upper-class living, and her wealth allowed Gable to follow his stage career. She moved to California when Gable went into films and she entertained the movie echelon as she had the New York elite. She was kept in the background by the studios, who preferred their leading men to be single, and she was so much older than Gable. She tolerated his indiscretions until his affair with Joan Crawford. The Studio then tried to keep Ria and Gable together. They stayed married until 1939, although not living together.

CAROLE LOMBARD age 31 married Mar 1939, died (plane crash) Jan 1942. They first met on the 1932 film No Man of her Own, although they got on well, Gable showed no interest. She had made movies for Mack Sennett from the age of 16, and was tough, raunchy, strong-willed, sexy, sophisticated and well liked, devoid of temperament. Never considered a great actress, she was cast in the "dizzy blonde" roles. By 1934, she had made over 25 movies. Lombard and Gable started dating after the tragic death of Jean Harlow , they were together for 3 years, although Gable was still married to Ria Langham. The Studios were forced to clear up the position of their major stars after the publication of an article entitled "Hollywood's unmarried husbands and wives". Ria divorced Gable and he and Lombard were married in 1939. It was a happy marriage, they complimented each other, their only sadness was that they never had children. Lombard was unhappy about Gable and Lana Turner in the movie Honky Tonk, and when she took off on a War Bond tour in 1942, she was so anxious to get back to Gable, she flew instead of taking the train. The plane crashed near Las Vegas with no survivors, Lombard was only 34, Gable was devastated.

LADY SYLVIA ASHLEY age 38 married Dec 1949, divorced May 1951. She was blonde like Lombard, 10 years younger than Gable, twice divorced, once widowed, she had class, money, beauty, wit, intelligence, charm and guts, and determined to marry Gable. She was born in England and had been on the stage and done modelling, but had set her sights high. At 16, she married Lord Ashley, but 7 years later was involved with Douglas Fairbanks Snr. They married in 1937, but he died in 1939. Sylvia then married Lord Stanley Alderly (she loved a title) in 1944. They divorced in 1948, and in 1949, she met Gable. In a drunken binge in Dec 1949, he agreed to marry her. Whilst on honeymoon in Honolulu, they discovered how little they had in common. She was determined to get rid of any memory of Carole Lombard, she cleared out the house of furniture, friends, hobbies, even the servants. They tried to stay married until April 1951, when Gable asked for a divorce, this was granted in May. Sylvia reverted to her title of Lady Ashley.

KAY WILLIAMS SPRECKELS age 39 married July 1955, widowed Nov 1960, died 1983. First met Gable in 1944, but nothing came of this. She married millionaire Adolph Spreckels in 1947, had 2 children and divorced him in 1951. She saw Gable off and on, then they became a pair and married in 1955. She was very like Lombard in manner and temperament which suited Gable and he adored the step-children. They had a good life together although they both suffered ill-health. Sylvia devoted hereself to family life and they went everywhere together, even on location for films. During the making of The Misfits , she found out that she was pregnant, which was the one thing that Gable wanted most. Their son, John Clark Gable was born March 20th 1961 four months after his father's death. Kay Spreckels Gable never re-married and she died in 1983 of a heart attack. John Gable is a motor racing driver, is married and has one daughter. The family Clark Gable never knew..