Why Clark Gable loved Carole Lombard 'until the day he died'
Maddison Leach
Clark Gable was one of the biggest stars of his era and a massive name during the 'Golden Age' of Hollywood...
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Clark Gable was one of the biggest stars of his era and a massive name during the 'Golden Age' of Hollywood.

He maintained his star status until the day he died on November 16, 1960, days after he finished filming The Misfits with Marilyn Monroe.

Throughout his acting career, Gable could have had his pick of the leading ladies and A-list actresses he starred alongside – and he did, at times.

But ask anyone who knew the star and they'll say that he loved one woman "until the day he died"; Carole Lombard.

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But tragedy stole her from him when their lives should have been happiest, and Gable reportedly carried the heartache to his grave.

The pair had met in 1932 when they starred together in No Man of Her Own, and Lombard was an up-and-coming star.

Sparks didn't fly then, and both were married, but when they reunited at a Hollywood ball in 1936 and both were free agents, something changed.

They reportedly spent all night flirting and even went home together, marking the start of a Hollywood romance that had fans swooning.

Gable was smitten, once saying of Lombard: "You can trust that little screwball with your life or your hopes or your weaknesses, and she wouldn't even know how to think about letting you down."

They eloped in 1939 and began married life, buying a California ranch to raise animals between film shoots and Hollywood engagements.

Their romance should have been picture-perfect, but in 1941 America joined WWII and Hollywood stars like Gable and Lombard joined the war effort.

And in January of 1942, Lombard set off on a journey that would end in tragedy for them both.

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She embarked on a War Bond Tour around the US and raised millions for the effort, with plans to return home to Gable on January 15.

But Lombard boarded TWA Flight 3, a commercial plane, in the hopes of getting home to him sooner, a move that sealed her fate.

What followed was the 'Mystery of Flight 3', and though it's unclear what exactly went wrong, the aircraft flew directly into the side of Mount Potosi in Las Vegas.

The crash killed all 22 passengers, including Lombard, and the news quickly made it back to Gable, who was devastated.

He rushed to Las Vegas "hoping for a miracle", but didn't find one.

Instead, he recovered his wife's body after hiking the 2,300 metre peak to find the wreckage, however officials stopped him at the site.

They had found Lombard's body among many others just ahead.

"Search and rescue found a hair clip that Gable had given her for Christmas, with a few strands of her blonde hair still attached," Michelle Morgan, author of Carole Lombard: Twentieth-Century Star, told the Daily Express.

She was buried at a cemetery near her and Gable's home, while her widower husband fell into despair.

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In a single month he lost almost 10 kilos, but insisted on returning to his acting career even as he battled the heartache.

"He was never the same", wrote American actress Esther Williams. "He had been devastated by Carole's death."

Later, he joined the Army Air Corps and "told friends he didn't care if he lived or died."

Though Gable would go on to survive the war and continue his film career, even remarrying, the impact of Lombard's death never left the star.

He died aged 59 on November 16, 1960 from a heart attack and was buried in the same California cemetery as Lombard, laid to rest by her side almost 20 years after her tragic death.

Their deaths were separated by almost two decades, but Gable "loved her until the day he died".