In the early 1930s, Joan Crawford was one of the brightest stars at MGM, and she had a reputation for getting what she wanted. When she spotted Clark Gable on the studio lot, she felt certain he would become a major star. She was right, and she made sure he was cast opposite her in their first film together. That decision set off one of the most passionate and longest-lasting romances in Hollywood history, though the public would not learn the full truth of it for decades.
By the time they met, both actors had already built formidable careers. Crawford was the second highest-grossing actress at MGM, behind only Marie Dressler. Gable had appeared in seventeen films but had not yet made a lasting impression on audiences. He had just divorced his first wife and was about to marry his second when he and Crawford appeared together in Dance, Fools, Dance in 1931.
Crawford did not think much of the movie, but there was no denying the chemistry between the two leads. She later described the moment their eyes met on set as feeling like an electric current passed through her body, and she admitted that if he had not held her by the shoulders, she would have dropped. Their affair began almost immediately. It was conducted largely on the MGM lot, with early morning and late-night meetings in Crawford’s trailer, a luxury that had been a wedding gift from her husband, actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Fairbanks later lamented that he had not even finished paying for the trailer yet, which made the betrayal sting even more. Still, he was hardly a faithful husband himself, chasing after actresses like Katharine Hepburn and carrying on his own flings. The marriage was headed for trouble regardless. Crawford was not shy about her sensuality, and it quickly became part of her reputation.
A friend of both actors once walked in on the couple locked in a passionate embrace behind a bandstand, with Crawford’s legs wrapped around Gable. Crawford simply looked up, said hello, and sent the friend flowers the next day with a note that read, “I bet you liked watching. ” Her uninhibited behavior extended beyond Gable, and later in the 1930s she developed a peculiar relationship with young actor Jackie Cooper, whom she bathed and powdered on multiple occasions, according to his own account. But it was Gable who truly drew her in.
Everyone at MGM, especially studio head Louis B. Mayer, noticed the spark between them. Mayer was eager to capitalize on it. When Laughing Sinners was already in production, Mayer replaced the original leading man with Gable, and the film became a hit.
Their next collaboration, Possessed, captured their attraction even more intensely. By then, their off-screen affair was deeply underway. There was a scene in the film where Crawford sings a song called “How Long Will It Last,” a choice that felt almost painfully ironic given what was happening between them in real life. Their romance soon became a problem for the studio.
Both Crawford and Gable were married to other people, and news of their affair began to spread. Mayer grew concerned that the scandal would damage his valuable stars. He tried sending Crawford and her husband on a long honeymoon to end the affair, but it did not work. He threatened to fire both of them if they did not stop.
He encouraged Gable, who was less famous at the time, to be seen publicly with his wife. Still, photographers caught the two couples double-dating, with Crawford and Gable finding ways to be together even as their spouses sat nearby. Furious, Mayer removed Gable from Crawford’s film Letty Lynton and replaced him with another actor. Crawford wanted Gable for the role, but the studio head initially refused, believing the affair would hurt her career.
Eventually, he gave in, because the public was hungry for another Crawford and Gable film and the pair made too much money together. Mayer understood the bottom line, and the studio’s rules about actor conduct ultimately forced Crawford and Gable to end their romance publicly, even if it did not end their bond. Crawford tried to cool the rumors. She later joked that she should have had “Property of MGM” tattooed on her, a wry reference to how the studio managed her personal life.
But even after they stepped back from the public eye, they remained close. Crawford later revealed that their affair lasted much longer than anyone knew, and that it was very serious. There were rumors they discussed marriage, but they never went through with it. Crawford said she did not think Gable would make a good husband.
She called him a great lover and a fine friend, but she imagined him an unfaithful husband. They had both been through complicated marriages, and they understood that they were too much alike. So they chose to stay close friends instead. Crawford’s marriage to Fairbanks ended in 1933.
By the time she made Dancing Lady, she had a new boyfriend, the educated and mature Franchot Tone. During the filming, she was romantically involved with both men at the same time. Her relationship with Gable had cooled, but her love for him had not vanished. She continued to work with him in films like Chained and Forsaking All Others, even as she prepared to marry Tone.
People wondered whether Tone could truly replace Gable in her heart, but it was a question she struggled with herself. Then Carol Lombard entered the picture. She and Gable had appeared together in No Man of Her Own, but their romance truly began when they ran into each other at a Beverly Hills ball several years later. Lombard became the love of Gable’s life.
He openly said that with her, everything was different. They married in 1939, after Gable divorced his second wife. Crawford could see his career soaring, especially when he landed the role of a lifetime in Gone with the Wind. Her own career was beginning to decline, and people said her films were no longer doing well.
She had wanted to star in Gone with the Wind herself, but she did not seriously pursue the role, choosing instead to work on The Women, a film that also became hugely popular. MGM decided to reunite Crawford and Gable one more time. It had been four years since they last worked together, and Gable was now the bigger star. There was a minor argument over whose name should appear first in the credits, but both delivered strong performances.
The film showed a different side of Crawford, dressed in elaborate costumes and makeup, and she did well. They remained friends, and Gable was deeply devoted to Lombard. Whatever tension existed between Crawford and Gable on set did not sever their connection. Tragedy struck on January 12, 1942, less than three years into Gable’s marriage.
Lombard died in a plane crash while on a tour to promote war bonds. Gable was shattered. In his grief, he turned to Crawford for comfort, and she was there for him. She later recalled holding him while he was drunk, crying like a baby, as though his life had ended.
In many ways, it had. Crawford stepped in to replace Lombard in Gable’s next film, They All Kissed the Bride, and donated her entire salary, $128,000, to the Red Cross, the organization that had located Lombard’s body after the crash. There were whispers that Crawford proposed to Gable in the aftermath, but instead, the grief-stricken actor enlisted in the Army Air Force, reportedly carrying a death wish. He survived the war and eventually remarried, but he never stopped mourning Lombard.
He died of a heart attack in 1960. Crawford was devastated. She said that when he died, she was so stunned she could not even cry. All she could do was remember the good times they had shared.
She admitted that even her last husband, Pepsi-Cola CEO Alfred Steele, could not replace the special place Gable held in her heart. She said she still wondered what would have happened if they had married, but she was glad they had not. What they had was too special, and when he died, a part of her died with him. When someone once asked Joan Crawford who the love of her life was, she answered without hesitation.
Clark Gable was the only man she ever loved. Their relationship was private, just between the two of them. They made eight films together, all at MGM, and though none of them reached classic status, there was no hotter on-screen couple in the pre-Code era. Their chemistry was undeniable because it was real.
In 1968, Crawford finally admitted the truth publicly. They had an affair, she said, a wonderful one, and it lasted longer than anyone knew.