Breaking out in the 1932 film “Red Dust” in which he starred opposite Jean Harlow, Gable’s career began to soar. He landed coveted roles in “It Happened One Night” (1934) (for which he won an Oscar), “Call of the Wild” (1935), and “Mutiny on the Bounty” (1935). He acted masterfully in all of them. This led to Gable, now MGM’s top billing actor, to be given the role of Rhett Butler in the 1939 film adaption of the Margaret Mitchell novel “Gone with the Wind.” Still considered a cinematic masterpiece, this film might have been the last great role for Gable, as his films began to flounder a few years later.
Following a tragic plane crash in 1942 in which his wife, actress Carole Lombard (above), was killed, Gable was stricken with grief and began drinking heavily (per History). To rebuild himself, Gable joined the Army Air Corps later in 1942, serving three years during WWII and earning several decorations.
His film career was hard to recover in the post-war era. Though acting in just over 20 roles over the subsequent 15 years (per IMDb), none were of the same caliber as his MGM roles before the war. But opportunity knocked for Gable in 1960 when he was cast in the modern era western drama “The Misfits,” in which he would portray an over-the-hill cowboy who falls for a recently divorced woman. Though “The Misfits” was critically acclaimed and would have been a career saver for Gable, he didn’t live long after its release, dying of a heart attack.
