Background and career
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 motion pictures across a variety of genres during a 37-year career, three decades of which he spent as a leading man. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Gable as the seventh-greatest male screen legend of classical Hollywood cinema.
Gable won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Frank Capra's It Happened One Night (1934) and earned nominations in the same category for portraying Fletcher Christian in Frank Lloyd's Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and Rhett Butler in Victor Fleming's Gone with the Wind (1939). For his comedic performances in George Seaton's Teacher's Pet (1958) and Walter Lang's But Not for Me (1959), Gable received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. His other notable films include William A. Wellman's Call of the Wild (1935), George Sidney's Key to the City (1950), and John Ford's Mogambo (1953). His final onscreen role was as an aging cowboy in John Huston's The Misfits (1961).
Gable was one of the most consistently bankable stars in the history of Hollywood, appearing 16 times on Quigley Publishing's annual Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll. He appeared opposite many of the most popular actresses of their time. He died of a heart attack in 1960 at age 59.
William Clark Gable was born on February 1, 1901, in Cadiz, Ohio, to William Henry "Will" Gable (1870–1948), an oil-well driller, and his wife Adeline (née Hershelman). 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.
How Clark Gable makes money
Gable was inspired to become an actor after seeing the play The Bird of Paradise at age 17, but he was unable to make a start in acting until he turned 21 and received his $300 inheritance (equivalent to $5,770 in 2025) from a Hershelman trust. After his failed screen test for Zanuck, Gable was signed in 1930 by MGM's Irving Thalberg for $650 per week (equivalent to approximately $13,761 in 2025).
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (2022-12-19), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
