Carole Lombard
Born
October 6, 1908
Died
January 16, 1942 (33 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA
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
The Love Story of Jean Harlow and William Powell
2023
Normandie ne partira pas ce soir
2021
Carole Lombard
Herself
2016
William Powell: A True Gentleman
2005
That's Entertainment! III
(archive footage)
1994
Anthony Quinn: An Original
Self (archive footage)
1990
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Self (archive footage)
1988
Hollywood's Hidden Secrets
(archive footage)
1987
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(archive footage)
1984
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983
Showbiz Goes to War
(archive footage)
1982
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
Self (archive footage)
1982
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Self (archive footage)
1975
Gable: The King Remembered
Herself (archive footage)
1975
Dear Mr. Gable
(archive footage)
1968
The Big Parade of Comedy
Mary Magiz in 'The Gay Bride' (archive footage)
1964
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
'Nothing Sacred' (archive footage) (uncredited)
1961
The Golden Age of Comedy
archive footage
1957
Yesterday and Today
(archive footage)
1953
To Be or Not to Be
Maria Tura
1942
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
Self (archive footage)
1942
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Ann
1941
They Knew What They Wanted
Amy Peters
1940
Vigil in the Night
Anne Lee
1940
In Name Only
Julie Eden
1939
Made for Each Other
Jane Mason
1939
Breakdowns of 1938
Kay Winters (archive footage) (uncredited)
1938
Hollywood Goes to Town
Self
1938
Fools for Scandal
Kay Winters
1938
True Confession
Helen Bartlett
1937
Nothing Sacred
Hazel Flagg
1937
Swing High, Swing Low
Maggie King
1937
My Man Godfrey
Irene Bullock
1936
The Princess Comes Across
Princess Olga / Wanda Nash
1936
Love Before Breakfast
Kay Colby
1936
The Fashion Side of Hollywood
Self
1935
Hands Across the Table
Regi Allen
1935
Rumba
Diana Harrison
1935
The Gay Bride
Mary Magiz
1934
Lady by Choice
Alabam Lee
1934
Now and Forever
Toni Carstairs Day
1934
Twentieth Century
Lily Garland, formerly Mildred Plotka
1934
We're Not Dressing
Doris Worthington
1934
Bolero
Helen Hathaway
1934
White Woman
Judith Denning
1933
Brief Moment
Abby Fane Deane
1933
The Eagle and the Hawk
The Beautiful Lady
1933
Supernatural
Roma Courtney
1933
From Hell to Heaven
Colly Tanner
1933
No Man of Her Own
Connie Randall
1932
No More Orchids
Annie Holt
1932
Virtue
Mae
1932
Sinners in the Sun
Doris Blake
1932
No One Man
Penelope 'Nep' Newbold
1932
I Take This Woman
Kay Dowling
1931
Up Pops the Devil
Anne Merrick
1931
Ladies' Man
Rachel Fendley
1931
Man of the World
Mary Kendall
1931
It Pays to Advertise
Mary Grayson
1931
Fast and Loose
Alice O'Neil
1930
Safety in Numbers
Pauline
1930
The Arizona Kid
Virginia Hoyt
1930
The Racketeer
Rhoda Philbrooke
1929
Big News
Margaret Banks
1929
High Voltage
Billie ("Phyllis")
1929
Don't Get Jealous
Girl at Shoeshine Stand (uncredited)
1929
Matchmaking Mamma
Phyllis (as Carol Lombard)
1929
Ned McCobb's Daughter
Jennie
1928
The Campus Vamp
Carole (as Carol Lombard)
1928
Hubby's Weekend Trip
Minor Role (uncredited)
1928
Show Folks
Cleo (as Carol Lombard)
1928
Me, Gangster
Blonde Rosie
1928
Motorboat Mamas
Automobile Passenger (uncredited)
1928
Motorboat Mamas
Automobile Passenger
1928
Power
Another Dame (as Carol Lombard)
1928
The Campus Carmen
Carole
1928
Smith's Restaurant
Minor Role (uncredited)
1928
His Unlucky Night
Peggy - Telephone Operator
1928
The Girl from Nowhere
Miss Boyle - Dress Shop Owner
1928
The Divine Sinner
Millie Claudert
1928
The Bicycle Flirt
Mabel - the Wife's Sister
1928
The Swim Princess
Trudy - the Swim Star
1928
The Best Man
Wedding Guest (uncredited)
1928
Smith's Army Life
Clarence's Wife
1928
The Beach Club
Jump Rope Girl on Beach
1928
Run, Girl, Run
Norma Nurmi
1928
The Girl from Everywhere
Vera Veranda - Miss Anybody
1927
My Best Girl
Flirty Blonde Salesgirl (uncredited)
1927
Gold Digger of Weepah
Fortune Teller (uncredited)
1927
Smith's Pony
Lillian Saunders
1927
The Fighting Eagle
(unconfirmed)
1927
The Johnstown Flood
Gloria's Bridesmaid (uncredited)
1926
The Road to Glory
Bit Part (as Carol Lombard)
1926
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Slave Girl (uncredited)
1925
The Plastic Age
Co-ed (uncredited)
1925
Durand of the Bad Lands
Ellen Boyd
1925
Pretty Ladies
Showgirl (uncredited)
1925
Hearts and Spurs
Sybil Estabrook
1925
Gold and the Girl
1925
Marriage in Transit
Celia Hathaway
1925
Dick Turpin
Crowd Extra (uncredited)
1925
Gold Heels
Bit (uncredited)
1924
A Perfect Crime
Griggs' Kid Sister (as Jane Peters)
1921