Carole Lombard was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood at the time that America entered
into World War II. Understandably, the actress was asked by the American government
to use her star power to help aid fundraising efforts for the war.
Carole was just a few years into her marriage with her second husband, Clark Gable, whom she
was madly in love with. Carole agreed to go on a war-bond tour to help raise money for the war
despite the fact that she wanted to stay home with Clark. Sadly,
this tour ended in tragedy and Carole would never see her husband again. Join Facts Verse
as we explore how Carole Lombard DEMANDED that she board the plane (her last mistake).
Carole Lombard and Clark Gable’s First Meeting
Some might think that Carole Lombard and Clark Gable met on the set of 1932’s No Man of Her Own,
but this isn’t actually the case! Instead, the two had met many years previously,
while neither had the star power that they were later going to. Carole and Clark’s first
meeting occurred when they were working as mere extras on the set of 1925’s Ben-Hur: A Tale of
the Christ. By the end of the 1930s, the pair would be two of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
Though Carole and Clark met many years previously, they didn’t end up tying the knot until 1939.
During the production of No Man of Her Own, both stars were married to other people. It wouldn’t
be until several years after the filming of the picture that the two would finally be available
to spark up a romance. Clark had been married twice previously, and both of these marriages
were loveless shams that the star maintained with older women in an effort to help his career.
After suffering through two loveless marriages with other women, Clark found
himself head over heels in love with the younger Carole Lombard.
The two tied the knot while Clark was on break from filming 1939’s Gone with the Wind.
They got married in Arizona and honeymooned at Clark’s ranch in Encino, California.
The two would then live there for the next several years before being torn apart by tragedy.
Carole and Clark Were a Hollywood Power Couple Not long into their marriage, Carole and Clark
made a memorable public appearance at the premiere of the aforementioned Gone with the
Wind in Atlanta, Georgia. Though the powerhouse celebrity couple was pretty much the only thing
on journalists’ minds that night, Clark was quick to point out that Gone with the Wind
author Margaret Mitchell was really the one who deserved the attention. Carole Lombard
and Clark Gable seemed to make the perfect Hollywood couple, but it wasn’t meant to last.
Towards the end of 1941, a little over two years into Carole and Clark’s marriage,
America was forced into World War II by Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor. Given that
Carole Lombard was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood at the time, the actress was
understandably asked by the American government to lend her star power to fundraising efforts.
In January of 1942, Carole Lombard began a small war-bond tour at the behest of
the American government. The tour took place mostly around the actress’s home state of Indiana,
and was incredibly successful in its fundraising efforts! The actress was able to raise $2 million,
which would be over $30 million today when adjusted for inflation.
Sadly, despite the tour’s success, tragedy would strike at its end.
Carole Lombard’s Tragic 1941 War-Bond Tour Clark Gable couldn’t accompany Carole on her
war-bond tour, as he was busy filming a picture with Lana Turner. Instead,
the star asked his close friend and publicist, Otto Winkler, to accompany his wife on the
journey. In addition to Otto Winkler, Carole’s mother also accompanied her on the war-bond
tour. Sadly, this good company wouldn’t be enough to keep tragedy from striking on the journey home.
Carole Lombard’s small war-bond tour across Indiana ended on January 15, 1942, with a
big dinner in Indianapolis. Like the rest of the tour, this dinner was largely successful. However,
tragedy would strike soon afterward. As was the tradition with war-bond tours,
Carole and her posse were going to be returning home from Indiana by train. At the time, trains
were considered a much safer and more reliable mode of travel than airplanes. Back in those days,
planes were far less predictable and had to make frequent stops for fuel.
If Carole Lombard had gone along with the plan to return home to Clark Gable by train,
the pair’s marriage may have been allowed to continue! However, as a result of Carole’s
insistence that she and her accompanying party return to California by plane,
Carole never ended up seeing her beloved husband again. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be
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Carole Was Killed by a Coin Toss Carole Lombard wanted to return home from her
war-bond tour in Indiana by airplane instead of by train because she wanted to return to her beloved
Clark Gable as fast as possible. The two were only a little over two years into their marriage
and were as madly in love as ever. Carole hadn’t wanted to go on the tour but had done so out of
a sense of responsibility for her country. As a powerhouse couple in Hollywood, Carole and Clark
knew they had to contribute to their country’s war effort in some way. Due to the fact that
Clark had entered into his 40s by the time, they felt that he was too old to enlist. Instead,
Carole decided to agree to the government’s plea to lend her star power for fundraising.
With her successful fundraising efforts for the war behind her,
Carole Lombard was ready to return home to her husband and relax.
Wanting to get home to Clark as fast as possible, Carole begged her handlers to allow her to return
home by plane instead of by train. Of course, this was against protocol. In addition,
Carole’s mother, as well as the accompanying Otto Winkler, were averse to air travel.
Carole begged for her accompanying party to agree to return from Indiana to California by plane,
and she was eventually able to convince them to agree to a coin toss that would
make the difficult decision for them. It was Carole who ended up winning the coin toss,
though this coin toss would sadly prove fatal for her and all of her companions.
The Details of Carole’s Tragic Death Tragically, the flight that Carole Lombard,
her mother, and Otto Winkler were on ended up crashing into the side of a mountain. All of the
passengers on the flight were killed. The crash occurred near Las Vegas, and Clark Gable rushed
to the city as soon as he heard the news of it. It seemed pretty obvious from the news that there
weren’t going to be any survivors, but Clark was holding out for a miracle. All hope came crashing
down for the star when Carole’s remains were found. Carole was dead, and the marriage was over.
Understandably, Clark Gable felt a massive amount of guilt after his third wife’s tragic death.
There were numerous factors that contributed to the star’s massive guilt,
including the fact that it had been his unwillingness to serve in the war
that had encouraged Carole to take part in her own fundraising
efforts in order to carry their social weight as a couple. While Carole was out touring Indiana to
raise money for America’s war effort, Clark was in Hollywood filming a picture with Lana Turner.
Not only that, but Clark also had extramarital relations with Lana during the picture’s filming.
In addition to all of these contributing factors to Clark’s guilt, there was also the fact that
Carole Lombard had been the actor’s prize after suffering through his two previous
marriages. Clark went to his deathbed claiming that Carole was the true love of his life,
despite the fact that he was married twice previously and twice afterward. Clark Gable
was married at the time of his death in 1960,
and his fifth and final wife had recently birthed the actor a son. Instead of choosing to be buried
with this wife upon his passing, the actor chose to be buried with third wife Carole Lombard.
Clark Becomes a Hero to Assuage His Guilt Clark had to finish filming his picture with
Lana Turner after the announcement of his third wife’s death, and then he went into a
period of binge drinking and isolation before reemerging with the news that he was going to
enlist in the United States Army Air Forces. The actor likely saw this act as a way to come
to terms with the guilt that he felt after the death of Carole. Unlike many stars that entered
the war effort around the time, Clark actually ended up seeing some combat as a fighter pilot.
It has been claimed that Clark flew on upwards of five combat missions during World War II.
In January of 1944, Clark Gable attended the christening of a new warship that was named
after Carole Lombard. The ship was named after the late actress to commemorate her
for her fundraising efforts, as well as to pay respects to her in the wake of her tragic death.
Clark returned home from the war a hero and quickly jumped back into his acting career.
As stated previously, Clark remarried twice after the death of Carole Lombard. Despite this,
the actor still chose to be buried with his third wife upon his 1960 passing. The actor passed away
of a heart attack shortly after the filming of The Misfits, which also starred Marilyn Monroe. Some
say that it was the stress of working with the oftentimes-tardy Marilyn that caused Clark to pass
away, though the actor was likely grateful for the opportunity to return to his life’s true love.
Though it was against protocol, Carole Lombard fatally insisted on returning home from her
1941 war-bond tour by airplane instead of by train. Now it’s time to hear from you:
did you know that Carole Lombard ended up losing her life as a result of
a coin toss and that Clark Gable entered into the United
States Army Air Forces in order to pay tribute to her and alleviate the guilt he felt for
her passing? As always, like this video to show your support, subscribe, and hit the notification
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