Gable, Clark

Gable, Clark, 1901–60, American film actor, b. Cadiz, Ohio. He began his career in films in 1930 and soon after became a star. He won an Academy Award in 1934 for his brilliant comic performance in It Happened One Night. His best-remembered role was that of Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind (1940). For many years a leading box-office attraction, Gable was known to Hollywood as “the King” and was considered a symbol of the rugged and raffish American male. He made more than 65 films, the last of which was The Misfits (1960).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

• • Cite
  • Print