Often referred to as the "King of Hollywood", [ 2 ] he had roles in more than 60 films in a variety of genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades of which was as a leading man. He was named the seventh greatest male movie star of classic American cinema by the American Film Institute.
He was further Oscar-nominated for his roles as Fletcher Christian in the drama Mutiny on the Bounty , and Rhett Butler in the historical romance drama Gone with the Wind His final on-screen role was as an aging cowboy in The Misfits Gable was one of the most consistent box-office performers in the history of Hollywood, appearing on Quigley Publishing's annual Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll sixteen times. He appeared opposite many of the most popular actresses of their time.
Gable died of a heart attack in at the age of His father was a Protestant and his mother a Catholic. Gable was named William after his father, but he was almost always called Clark, and referred to as "the kid" by his father. When he was ten months old, his mother died. Gable and his father were active in the Methodist church where his father was a Sunday School teacher. Gable's stepmother raised the tall, shy child with a loud voice to be well-dressed and well-groomed.
She played the piano and gave him lessons at home. Gable also loved literature; he would recite Shakespeare among trusted company, particularly the sonnets. His father had financial difficulties in and decided to try his hand at farming, and moved the family to Palmyra Township , near Akron, Ohio.
His father insisted that he work the farm, but Gable soon left to work in Akron for the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. He worked with his father for some time wildcatting and sludge removing in the oil fields of Oklahoma before traveling to the Pacific Northwest. Gable toured in second-class stock companies, finding work with traveling tent shows , lumber mills, and other odd jobs. Gable and Dorfler moved to Astoria, Oregon , touring with the group until its bankruptcy, and then moved back to Portland where Gable obtained a day job with Pacific Telephone and started receiving dramatic lessons in the evening.
