4. Clark Gable : "The King of Hollywood" -2.

05/04/2017.

1. Life and career -1.

1.1 Early life

I.
William Clark Gable was born in Cadiz, Ohio, to William Henry "Will" Gable (1870–1948), an oil-well driller, and his wife, Adeline (née Hershelman; 1869–1901).

Gable was named William after his father, but even in childhood, he was almost always called Clark or sometimes Billy.

He was mistakenly listed as a female on his birth certificate.

Among Gable's ancestors were Pennsylvania Dutch (German), Rhinelanders, and Bavarians.

When he was six months old, his mother had him baptized as a Roman Catholic.

She died when he was ten months old, possibly from a brain tumor.

Will Gable refused to raise his son Catholic, provoking criticism from Adeline's side of the family.

The dispute was resolved when Will Gable agreed to allow his son to spend time with his maternal uncle, Charles Hershelman, and his wife on their farm in Vernon Township, Pennsylvania.


II.
In April 1903, Gable's father married Jennie Dunlap (1874–1919), whose family came from the small neighboring town of Hopedale.

The marriage produced no children.

Gable was a tall, shy child with a loud voice.

His stepmother raised him to be well-dressed and well-groomed.

Jennie played the piano and gave her stepson lessons at home.

Later he took up brass instruments.

At 13, he was the only boy in the men's town band.

He was very mechanically inclined and loved to strip down and repair cars with his father.

Though his father insisted on Gable doing "manly" things, like hunting and hard physical work, Gable loved language.

Among trusted company, he would recite Shakespeare, particularly the sonnets.

Will Gable agreed to buy a 72-volume set of The World's Greatest Literature to improve his son's education, but claimed he never saw his son use it.

In 1917, when Gable was in high school, his father had financial difficulties.

Will decided to settle his debts and try his hand at farming, and the family moved to Ravenna, Ohio, near Akron.

Despite his father's insistence that he work the farm, Gable soon left to work in Akron for the Firestone Tire and Rubber Co.

Next : 2. Early career :

To be continued ...