A Bad Dream

What happened to Clark Gable after the death of Carole Lombard in January 1942? Many say that Clark was never the same. In honor of Carole, he volunteered for the Army Air Corps in August of that year, rising to the rank of Captain and earning the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was discharged in 1945. Visibly aged, he returned to the screen that year to much fanfare. He continued making films through the late 1940's, but his career never regained its previous status. In 1949, he married Lady Sylvia Ashley, but the marriage was ill fated. They divorced in 1952. In 1954, he parted ways with MGM, his home studio for over twenty years. Around that time, he reconnected with a former flame, Kay Williams. They married in 1955. Finally content in his personal life, he continued making films through the late 1950's. His final film appearance was in the drama The Misfits, costarring Marilyn Monroe (also her final film appearance). Clark died of a heart attack at a Los Angeles hospital on November 16, 1960, ten days after filming was completed. He was 59 years old. He was laid to rest next to Carole in Forest Lawn Cemetery. Kay gave birth to his only son at the same hospital four months later.