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The New York Times
Clark Gable Exposed
In Sex-Obsessed Biography
By REUTERS from
nytimes.com on the Web, August 28, 2007
LOS ANGELES -- Clark Gable's
father taunted his son, calling him a "sissy." The young Gable responded
by fashioning a macho-stud demeanor and projecting dad's disgust onto the many
homosexuals he met and worked with. And author David Bret ("Joan Crawford:
Hollywood Martyr") makes it clear that quite a few gays and lesbians populated
Hollywood's soundstages and swimming pools.
The author tags virtually everyone who shows up here as straight, gay or
bisexual, the majority falling into the latter two categories. Like
previous accounts, this one alleges that early in his career Gable was "gay for
pay" and for career advancement.
He squired older women, some of them perhaps closet lesbians, and had close
personal, possibly sexual relationships with a number of openly gay men.
He was, as well, a serial seducer of women.
Bret's sourcing is unclear throughout; he qualifies most assertions about
Gable's sexuality with phrases like "it could be" and "it was alleged." As
for insight into the star's films and acting, look for it elsewhere. The
author lavishes far more care on the details of Hollywood's sexual roundelays
than on his flat summaries of Gable's films, including eight unnecessary pages
on the plot of "Gone With the Wind."
Then it's on to the actor's severe halitosis (repeatedly mentioned) and his
suffering from phimosis, an inability to retract the foreskin of his
uncircumcised penis. Neither problem kept Gable from scoring big time in
the bedroom. The image, craft and perhaps art that made Gable a huge star
for decades receive scant notice.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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