Carole Lombard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters, October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American film actress. She was particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s. She was the highest-paid star in Hollywood in the late 1930s. She was the third wife of actor Clark Gable.
Lombard was born into a wealthy family in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but was raised in Los Angeles by her single mother. At 12, she was recruited by the film director Allan Dwan and made her screen debut in A Perfect Crime (1921). Eager to become an actress, she signed a contract with the Fox Film Corporation at age 16, but mainly played bit parts. She was dropped by Fox after a car accident left a scar on her face. Lombard appeared in 15 short comedies for Mack Sennett between 1927 and 1929, and then began appearing in feature films such as High Voltage and The Racketeer. After a successful appearance in The Arizona Kid (1930), she was signed to a contract with Paramount Pictures.
Paramount quickly began casting Lombard as a leading lady, primarily in drama films. Her profile increased when she married William Powell in 1931, but the couple divorced after two years. A turning point in Lombard's career came when she starred in Howard Hawks' pioneering screwball comedy Twentieth Century (1934). The actress found her niche in this genre, and continued to appear in films such as Hands Across the Table (1935) (forming a popular partnership with Fred MacMurray), My Man Godfrey (1936), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and Nothing Sacred (1937). At this time, Lombard married "the King of Hollywood", Clark Gable, and the supercouple gained much attention from the media. Keen to win an Oscar, at the end of the decade, Lombard began to move towards more serious roles. Unsuccessful in this aim, she returned to comedy in Alfred Hitchcock's Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) and Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be (1942)—her final film role.
Lombard's career was cut short when she died at the age of 33 in an airplane crash on Mount Potosi, Nevada while returning from a war bond tour. Today, she is remembered as one of the definitive actresses of the screwball comedy genre and American comedy, and ranks among the American Film Institute's greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema.
Known for
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Self (archive footage)
The Eagle and the Hawk
The Beautiful Lady
Made for Each Other
Jane Mason
To Be or Not to Be
Maria Tura
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Ann
My Man Godfrey
Irene Bullock
The Plastic Age
Co-ed (uncredited)
Swing High, Swing Low
Maggie King
From Hell to Heaven
Colly Tanner
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Slave Girl (uncredited)
Death In Hollywood
(archive footage)
The Racketeer
Rhoda Philbrooke
The Golden Age of Comedy
archive footage
True Confession
Helen Bartlett
In Name Only
Julie Eden
Twentieth Century
Lily Garland, formerly Mildred Plotka
Nothing Sacred
Hazel Flagg
Now and Forever
Toni Carstairs Day
Showbiz Goes to War
(archive footage)
Hands Across the Table
Regi Allen
That's Entertainment! III
(archive footage)
Hollywood Goes to Town
Self
Supernatural
Roma Courtney
No Man of Her Own
Connie Randall
White Woman
Judith Denning
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(archive footage)
We're Not Dressing
Doris Worthington
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Pretty Ladies
Showgirl (uncredited)
Brief Moment
Abby Fane Deane
They Knew What They Wanted
Amy Peters
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Self (archive footage)
The Big Parade of Comedy
Mary Magiz in 'The Gay Bride' (archive footage)
Up Pops the Devil
Anne Merrick
Big News
Margaret Banks
Dick Turpin
Crowd Extra (uncredited)
Dear Mr. Gable
(archive footage)
It Pays to Advertise
Mary Grayson
Anthony Quinn: An Original
Self (archive footage)
Love Before Breakfast
Kay Colby
Virtue
Mae
Man of the World
Mary Kendall
Sinners in the Sun
Doris Blake
The Campus Vamp
Carole (as Carol Lombard)
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
Self (archive footage)
Matchmaking Mamma
Phyllis (as Carol Lombard)
Breakdowns of 1938
Kay Winters (archive footage) (uncredited)
Me, Gangster
Blonde Rosie
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
'Nothing Sacred' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Vigil in the Night
Anne Lee
My Best Girl
Flirty Blonde Salesgirl (uncredited)
Show Folks
Cleo (as Carol Lombard)
Bolero
Helen Hathaway
The Princess Comes Across
Princess Olga / Wanda Nash
Rumba
Diana Harrison
I Take This Woman
Kay Dowling
The Johnstown Flood
Gloria's Bridesmaid (uncredited)
No More Orchids
Annie Holt
The Campus Carmen
Carole
Lady by Choice
Alabam Lee
Normandie ne partira pas ce soir
No One Man
Penelope 'Nep' Newbold
Fast and Loose
Alice O'Neil
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
Self (archive footage)
The Fighting Eagle
(unconfirmed)
The Girl from Everywhere
Vera Veranda - Miss Anybody
The Gay Bride
Mary Magiz
The Road to Glory
Bit Part (as Carol Lombard)
Run, Girl, Run
Norma Nurmi
Marriage in Transit
Celia Hathaway
Fools for Scandal
Kay Winters
Ladies' Man
Rachel Fendley
The Divine Sinner
Millie Claudert
High Voltage
Billie ("Phyllis")
The Swim Princess
Trudy - the Swim Star
Safety in Numbers
Pauline
Gold Heels
Bit (uncredited)
His Unlucky Night
Peggy - Telephone Operator
Motorboat Mamas
Automobile Passenger (uncredited)
Motorboat Mamas
Automobile Passenger
Don't Get Jealous
Girl at Shoeshine Stand (uncredited)
The Bicycle Flirt
Mabel - the Wife's Sister
William Powell: A True Gentleman
Hollywood's Hidden Secrets
(archive footage)
The Fashion Side of Hollywood
Self
Power
Another Dame (as Carol Lombard)
Hearts and Spurs
Sybil Estabrook
Hubby's Weekend Trip
Minor Role (uncredited)
The Girl from Nowhere
Miss Boyle - Dress Shop Owner
The Beach Club
Jump Rope Girl on Beach
Smith's Army Life
Clarence's Wife
The Arizona Kid
Virginia Hoyt
The Best Man
Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Gold and the Girl
Yesterday and Today
(archive footage)
Gold Digger of Weepah
Fortune Teller (uncredited)
Carole Lombard
Herself
Ned McCobb's Daughter
Jennie
Smith's Pony
Lillian Saunders
A Perfect Crime
Griggs' Kid Sister (as Jane Peters)
Gable: The King Remembered
Herself (archive footage)
Smith's Restaurant
Minor Role (uncredited)
The Love Story of Jean Harlow and William Powell
Durand of the Bad Lands
Ellen Boyd