Do You Know What They Wanted?

Yes, they certainly knew what they wanted, and if you can't tell what they wanted from this picture then you'll just have to see They Knew What They Wanted ( 1940 ) to find out what they wanted, for we certainly don't know what they wanted. However, we would want whatever Carole Lombard and a 'stashed Charles Laughton had for lunch. Sure looks tasty!

Hollywood Home Tour - Clark Gable

"Here we come to one of the most famous of movie star homes - the ranch shared by Clark Gable and his wife Carole Lombard from 1939 -1942.... 

4525 Petitt Street, Encino

"The spacious nine-room white brick and wood ranch was nicknamed "The House of Two Gables" when the couple moved in. While Gable was off making Gone With the Wind, Lombard had the interior completely re-done in a beautiful Early American style, renovating two of the first-floor bedrooms into an office for Gable and a room to showcase his ever-growing firearm collection. Outside on the grounds were citrus groves, fields of oats and alfalfa, stables, a hen house, cow barn, and a pig-less pigsty. I'll pull up to the curb here, so you folks can get a better look at the place."

"Did Gable actually farm the property?" 

"Yes, he really did enjoy being on the ranch and especially loved to give reporters the grand tour of his mini-farm - it was 20 acres - often posing for photos on his tractor or milking cows for them. It was a peaceful respite away from the hustle of Hollywood for him"

"The house was the former residence of director Raoul Walsh. Clark Gable and Carole Lombard had previously visited the home and were admirers of the property, so when they got wind that it was up for sale in the fall of 1938, Carole put up $50,000 to purchase it. In March of 1939 the couple were married and moved in shortly after...however, this was only to be a temporary residence. The lovebirds were planning on starting a cattle ranch and were looking to purchase a large piece of land either in Arizona or Wyoming. Carole Lombard's death in an airplane crash put an abrupt end to their dream plans and, brokenhearted, Gable put the Encino ranch up for sale, not bearing to stay there any longer. A good friend of his, Al Menseco, convinced him to change his mind and while Gable was fighting overseas during WWII, he had the ranch kept running by a few house servants and a caretaker. After the war, the King again put it up on the market and pulled it off shortly thereafter. Gable currently lives on the ranch with his fifth wife, Kay Spreckles Gable. "

Up-to-date Note : In 1973, his wife Kay sold the ranch and it was subdivided into a housing development called Gable estates. Today, the house still stands although it sits on less than an acre of property. Click here to view images of the interior of the home at this great Carole Lombard website.