What was Clark Gable’s Net Worth and Salary?
Clark Gable, an American actor, had a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death in 1960, which amounts to $100 million in today’s dollars.
He was a Hollywood legend and starred in classic films such as “Gone with the Wind,” “Mutiny on the Bounty,” and “The Misfits.” Gable frequently starred opposite top actresses like Joan Crawford, Myrna Loy, and Lana Turner.
The American Film Institute named Gable the 7th greatest male actor of all time, and he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
Gable was married five times and had two children. He passed away on November 16, 1960, at the age of 59 from a coronary thrombosis.
Clark Gable’s Earnings
During his peak, Clark Gable earned between $50,000 and $75,000 per movie, which is equivalent to earning $1 – $1.5 million per movie today. In an average year, he made approximately $200,000 in total income. He appeared on Quigley Publishing’s Annual top Ten Money Making Stars list 16 times and had a net worth of $100 million in today’s dollars.
For his role in 1939’s “Gone with the Wind,” Gable earned a salary of $117,917, which is equivalent to earning $2,437,860 in today’s dollars.
Clark Gable’s High Earnings in the 1940s
By the early 1940s, Clark Gable was among the highest-paid individuals in America, earning a total income of $357,500 in 1941. Adjusted for inflation, that amount equals $7,240,250 in today’s dollars. Gable was the second highest-earning citizen that year, with only studio executive Louis B. Mayer earning more due to a one-time $500,000 bonus.
Early Life of Clark Gable
Clark Gable, born William Clark Gable in 1901 in Cadiz, Ohio, lost his mother at just ten months old and was raised by his father and stepmother. He learned music from his stepmother and enjoyed repairing cars and hunting with his father. The family later moved to a farm near Akron, Ohio.
Clark Gable’s Early Life and Career
After his stepmother’s death in 1920, Clark Gable moved with his father to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and worked in the oil industry. He later traveled to the Pacific Northwest, taking on various odd jobs and touring with stock companies. In Portland, Oregon, he met theater manager Josephine Dillon, who became his acting coach and eventually his wife. Dillon helped Gable improve his physical appearance and trained him for his future film career.
Early Career
Clark Gable moved to Hollywood in 1924 with his friend Dillon. He appeared as an extra in silent films such as “Forbidden Paradise,” “The Plastic Age,” and “The Merry Widow.” However, he failed to land any major roles and returned to the stage, performing with the Laskin Brothers Stock Company in Houston, Texas. He then moved to New York City and acted in the plays “Machinal” and “Hawk Island” on Broadway.
Clark Gable’s Rise to Stardom
In 1930, Clark Gable signed a contract with Pathé Pictures and appeared in his first sound film, “The Painted Desert.” He then signed with Warner Bros. and appeared in “Night Nurse” alongside Barbara Stanwyck before finally settling at MGM.
At MGM, Gable starred in “The Secret Six,” “Hell Divers,” and “Dance, Fools, Dance” with Joan Crawford, which launched him to leading man status. He continued to rise to fame with roles in “Laughing Sinners,” “A Free Soul,” “Susan Lennox,” “Possessed,” “Polly of the Circus,” and “Strange Interlude.”
Gable’s most famous early role was in “Red Dust” opposite Jean Harlow and Mary Astor. He also starred in “Night Flight,” “Men in White,” and “Hold Your Man.”
Clark Gable’s Acting Career
Clark Gable gave one of his most acclaimed performances in 1934, starring opposite Claudette Colbert in Frank Capra’s romantic comedy “It Happened One Night.” He had another huge hit in 1935 with “Mutiny on the Bounty,” for which he earned his second Academy Award nomination. In 1939, Gable appeared in his most famous and iconic role: Rhett Butler in the epic historical romance “Gone with the Wind.” Following “Gone with the Wind,” Gable starred in such films as “Idiot’s Delight,” “Strange Cargo,” “Boom Town,” “Honky Tonk,” and “Somewhere I’ll Find You.”
His career was then disrupted by World War II and his enlistment in the US Army Air Forces. After the war ended, he resumed his Hollywood acting career with the romantic drama “Adventure.” Later in the decade, he starred in a number of films for Paramount including “Teacher’s Pet” and “It Started in Naples.” Gable’s final film, “The Misfits,” was released posthumously in 1961.
Clark Gable’s Marriages and Death
Clark Gable was married a total of five times and had several other romantic relationships. His first wife was Josephine Dillon, whom he was married to from 1924 until their divorce in 1930. He then married Texas socialite Maria Langham in 1931, but they divorced in 1939. Just days after the divorce, Gable married actress Carole Lombard, with whom he had a happy relationship until her death in 1942 in an airplane crash.
Later in the decade, Gable married Sylvia Ashley, a British actress and model, but they divorced in 1952. Three years later, he wed actress Kay Williams, with whom he had his only son, John. Gable also had a daughter named Judy with actress Loretta Young in the 1930s.
In late 1960, Gable suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized. A little over a week later, he had another heart attack and passed away at the age of 59. Gable is interred at Glendale’s Forest Lawn Memorial Park next to his third wife Carole Lombard.
Clark Gable’s Encino Property
In 1939, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard purchased a 20-acre property with a 7,100 square foot mansion located in Encino for $50,000, which is equivalent to $1 million today. The property was fenced-in for privacy and security, and they also maintained a barn for cows, chickens, and pigs. Additionally, they planted citrus trees on the property.
