William Clark Gable
From the Hostetters To Hollywood
Vital Statistics
Birth February 1, 1901 • Cadiz, Harrison County, Ohio, USA
Death November 16, 1960 • West Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California, USA
Parents: Adeline Hershelman (1869–1901) and William Henry BILL Gable (1870–1948)
Burial - Forest Lawn Cemetery. Gable's, was buried beside is final wife, Kay and Carole Lombard
The Five Wives of Clark Gable
Josephine Dillon (m. 1924; div. 1930): A drama coach who helped Gable start his acting career.
Maria "Ria" Langham (m. 1931; div. 1939): A wealthy socialite, his second wife.
Carole Lombard (m. 1939; d. 1942): The acclaimed actress and his third wife, who died in a plane crash.
Sylvia Ashley (m. 1949; div. 1952): A British actress and socialite.
Kay Williams (m. 1955; his death 1960): A former actress; she was married to Gable at the time of his death and gave birth to his only legitimate son, John Clark Gable, in 1961.
The Clark Gable Connection:
Hollywood Hidden in the Family Tree
Daddy’s Favorite Family Story
Two things Daddy always told me growing up:
We were related to Clark Gable…
and somehow connected to Betsy Ross.
Now, in most families, stories like that get passed around at holidays somewhere between the mashed potatoes and the pie. Some turn out to be folklore. Some grow taller with every generation.
But this one?
Gram was actually telling the truth.
Well… mostly.
The Search for Clark Gable
It took me decades of digging through records, census pages, marriages, deaths, and enough family connections to make my eyes cross, but eventually I found the connection to Clark Gable.
Not exactly a direct blood relationship.
Not quite “close family.”
But definitely more than seven degrees of Kevin Bacon.
As it turns out, Clark Gable was the step-son of my father’s sixth cousin — on the Hostetter side of the family.
Genealogy people will understand why this discovery still counts as exciting.
Everyone else is probably blinking slowly right now.
Either way, the info-graphic below helps untangle the relationship before anyone develops a headache.
From Jersey City to Hollywood Royalty
And honestly, once you connect even loosely to Clark Gable, the entire Hollywood family tree starts sparkling like a movie premiere marquee.
Because with Clark Gable comes Carole Lombard, his glamorous wife and one of Hollywood’s brightest stars.
And before Carole married Clark, she had been married to William Powell.
And in old Hollywood, everybody knew everybody.
Suddenly one little family-tree branch starts brushing elbows with movie stars, studio legends, red carpets, and enough dramatic love stories to fill an entire Turner Classic Movies marathon.
Not bad for a bunch of people who mostly appear in my records wearing serious expressions and standing beside horse carts.
Rhett Butler in the Family?
Of course, to me, Clark Gable will always be Rhett Butler from Gone with the Wind.
The king of the pencil mustache.
The man who somehow looked elegant while being completely impossible.
And I have to admit, Daddy seemed just a tiny bit disappointed when I finally explained that the connection was through a step-relationship rather than a direct line.
Still, I think he would have been happy to know Gram wasn’t making it up after all.
That alone made the search worthwhile.
The Ongoing Mystery of Betsy Ross
Now the Betsy Ross connection?
That mystery remains unsolved.
There is one small complication: Betsy Ross was born Betsy Griscom, not Ross. So if there truly is a family connection, it would almost certainly have to come through one of her marriages into the Ross family rather than through her direct Griscom line.
In other words…
The investigation continues.
And honestly, that’s half the fun of genealogy anyway.
One answer simply leads to another mystery waiting around the corner.
