Clark Gable was called the "King of Hollywood" for most of his long career, until his death in 1960. He was one of the first male sex symbols in film. Gable was so popular, he nearly destroyed a clothing industry: After he appeared without an undershirt in his Oscar-winning role in It Happened One Night (1934), men everywhere stopped wearing undershirts, paralyzing the industry for a time.

Gable first became a sensation in the film A Free Soul (1931), and remained a star until his death. When David O. Selznick (1902–1965) decided to film the Civil War (1861–65) novel, Gone with the Wind (1939; see entry under 1930s—Film and Theater in volume 2), the American public demanded no one but Gable to play the role of Rhett Butler. Gable's last film was with Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962; see entry under 1950s—Film and Theater in volume 3) in The Misfits in 1960. He died...