As many of you already know, Carole Lombard was nominated for Best Actress for My Man Godfrey (1936) but lost to Luise Rainer (The Great Ziegfeld).
Over the years many film critics and historians have cried UPSET and said that Lombard deserved to have won. A few have accused Louis B. Mayer of putting pressure on his peers to back up Luise Rainer. But was there foul play?
One journalist says YES.
In an article for The Times Online, John Harlow discusses a slew of negative stories that almost robbed Slumdog Millionaire of their Best Picture win: newspapers claiming the film was poverty porn, exploiting actors, and allegations of infidelity among them.
He also writes:
THE art of Oscar sliming has grown more sophisticated since the days when members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who vote on the Oscars, received telephone calls suggesting that Carole Lombard, a contender for best actress for the 1936 film My Man Godfrey, was an alcoholic. She would embarrass the Academy if she won the award, alleged the callers. Lombard, unfairly tainted, duly lost her one shot at Oscar glory.
First of all, this is the first time I have ever come across something like this before and have already asked the author for back-up.
Secondly, I may not have M.D. after my name but I am almost 100% positive Carole Lombard wasn’t an alcoholic. Not that there is anything wrong with being one mind you.
While we await for the author’s response, do any of you know any thing about this? I’m off to research myself and blow some steam.
DISCUSS!
So, a few weeks back I did a post saying how Carole with an “E” actually came before “Carol.” I said “more will be revealed” and more has. Meet CARROLL PETERS.
In a 1932 interview with The Oakland Tribune, Carole discusses working on A Perfect Crime and mentions: “It was shortly before this opportunity came along that I had my name changed. A numerologist, a friend of my mother’s, worked out my numbers because she knew how much I hated my name. I was Jane Alice Peters. I never felt like a Jane, and was pleased when I was presented with the name of Carole!”
“Jane seemed to me a girly sort of girl, who did girly things, and I was a tomboy of tomboys.”
I initially thought she must have been mistaken seeing as how she is credited as “Jane Peters” in the film. But after a little research it appears that once again I am in the doghouse.
Though she may have been credited as “Jane Peters,” trade publications and newspapers from 1921 carry a certain little photo still* with a caption that reads:
Scene from: “The Perfect Crime.” James Brown is surprised by a call from his little sister. Monte Blue as James Brown, Carroll Peters as little sister.”
Well I’ll be damned. Anyways, just for fun here is another one to throw in the ringer:
Carole’s parent’s “got together” at a wedding where Elizabeth was one of the bride’s maids and Frederick was the groom’s best man. The wedding was for a Mr. and Mrs. Lumbard.
Yup. Lumbard. NOT Lombard. (It’s not a typo, I checked- a lot).
I think I need some rest lol.
*The Photo Still above is merely a substitute for the one I was referring to. The copy I have is of horrendous quality made worse by my temporarily disabled scanner. I apologize.
For a long time us Carole fans have been led to believe that “Carole Lombard” was initially “Carol Lombard” until a misspelling or numerologist added an “e.” Holes started to appear from the start and with Lombard archivists such as Vincent Paterno, who pulled up census data and credits from Lombard’s Sennett films, such theories have been debunked. And now, here’s more to add to the matter:
On Feb.4, 1925 Lombard made her debut* in the Los Angeles Times which wrote, “Another lovely society girl has succumbled to the lure of the movies. She is Jane Peters, daughter of Miss Elizabeth Peters, society leader, living at North Wilton Place. Incidentally Miss Peters has taken the name of Carole Lombard.” (Society Girl Goes In Silent Drama, Los Angeles Times, February 4, 1925, A9)
From then until the fall of 1927, she was referred to in every article as “Carole Lombard,” “Carole Jane Peters,” and sometimes “Jane Peters” as well.
When she signed a contract with Mack Sennett in September 1927, that’s when things started to get confusing. On September 18, 1927 “Carol” first appeared and though some articles continued to refer to her as Carole, “Carol” quickly became the norm after that. (Occasionally an “e” would crop up in articles over the next few years.) Silly Sennett also had it spelled as “Carole” and “Carolle” a couple of times in the credits and promo ads.
It should also be noted that in some of the letters Lombard wrote during the time, for instance to Cecil de Mille after she was fired from Dynamite, she signed her name as “Carole Lombard.”
It wasn’t until September 4, 1930 that the “E” made an official comeback. When announcing Lombard’s Paramount Contract, the Los Angeles Times added, “This may have something to do with the new contract and it may not, but Miss Lombard has changed the spelling of her first name. Instead of Carol, it is now Carole. There has been as yet no official ruling on its pronunciation.” (Carole Lombard Wins Contract, Los Angeles Times, September 4, 1930)
In January 1931 numerology was thrown in by Photoplay which commented, “It used to be plain Carol, but after a visit to a numerologist she added a vowel.” (“News!-Views!-Gossip!-of Stars and Studios,” Photoplay, January 1931, p.43)
The bizarre part is that catalogs such as the Internet Movie Database have her credited as “Carol Lombard” during her tenure at Fox. This is not consistent though with articles, reviews, and advertisements featuring “Carole Lombard” in films such as Marriage and Transit and Hearts and Spurs. What gives?
As they say, More Will Be Revealed. . .
*Carole Lombard appeared in the society pages of the Los Angeles Times in 1924 as “Jane Peters”
Earlier we mentioned that post-No Man of Her Own and pre-Mayfair Ball, Carole Lombard and Clark Gable saw quite a bit of each other. We showed one picture of the two in 1933 and now here is another one:
May 26, 1935–Original caption: Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, Ricardo Cortez and top Clark Gable at a party at Ricardo Cortez’s home.
I’ve had this photo for some time but since it lacked the caption I just assumed it was when the two were already dating. Anyways, Carole was seeing Bob Riskin at the time and Clark was enjoying being estranged from wife #2. Technically, it would still be another nine months or so before the two heat things up at the Mayfair Ball (January 25, 1936).
I don’t know about you all but I’m keeping track of these middle age encounters and they are adding up. For all we know these two kids may have been already begun dating on the down-low and simply chose the Mayfair Ball as a “coming out.” It’s not that crazy is it?
Think Brad and Angelina before they were Brangelina. There was that period of time when the two kept their distance. First Brad had to say adieu to Jen, then there was that period of grace, and one day Brangelina publicly appeared.
Ofcourse, the circumstances are different but I think it is important to keep an open mind. How many times have we heard and read that the Mayfair Ball was the first time they met since No Man of Her Own? And that’s not true. All I am saying is contempt prior to investigation my friends.
My hunch is: they had a good friendship, it slowly grew into something much more, and one day (maybe the ball) they decided to do something about it. What are all your theories?
So, how many of you recall reading about the encounters of Carole Lombard and little Cammie King who played Bonnie Blue Butler in Gone With The Wind? Almost every book on Gable or Lombard has some reference.
Jean Garceau, who was Lombard’s secretary at the time, wrote in 1961: “The pony scene where Bonnie is thrown from her horse was shot in Pasadena and Carole and I went out to watch the takes. Clark brought Cammie over to see us. ‘This is my real sweetheart,’ he told Carole, and she pretended to be very jealous.” (Gable: A Pictorial Biography, pg.56)
Well that’s just sweet and dandy except it NEVER happened.
I contacted Ms. Cammie King for an interview for the biography I am writing on Carole and here’s what she had to say:
“Carla, I was 5 years old and barely remember Gable. Did not know Carole Lombard.”
When I asked about the above statement by Mrs. Garceau she replied:
“The pony scene was shot on the sound stage at Selznick studios. Truly.”
And guess what? SHE’S RIGHT. Rhett teaching Bonnie to ride a pony and Bonnie’s last ride were filmed at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios – 10202 W. Washington Blvd. in Culver City. The only scene that was filmed in Pasadena was Twelve Oaks’ Garden. Click here for all locations
Okay some of you may be thinking, what is the big deal? Well, for someone who is trying to assign meaning to Carole’s life accurately it is a VERY big deal. But really, it serves as a reminder to me that every account on Carole, even from those closest like Ms.Garceau, must be cross-referenced and verified for accuracy. Every single one. (The sound you hear is Carole DUH-ing me from the heavens)
Lets face it, “To err is human, to forgive is divine.” Shit, I make mistakes all the time.
The real point I want to make is that the bio I am writing is very fact-based (Crazy I know!). Carole led an interesting and exciting life as it is and there is no need to fluff or juice it up. So if you find yourself wondering why some previous accounts that you’ve read elsewhere are left out know this: a) it never happened b) if it did-there is no record or reliable sources that can verify it.
Oh and FYI: Joan Fontaine and Doris Day never met her either and anyone who says or writes otherwise is blowing smoke up your a$$!
There has been much ado about the height of Miss Lombard. Figures go from 5’2 to as high as 5’6 depending on who you ask. I mentioned earlier I am in the midst of writing a bio on Carole Lombard (which FYI is almost done!) and among some of the hundreds of documents I’ve rummaged through I came across this:
An application for a new drivers license Carole Lombard filled out on March 25, 1937. (Apparently the first was stolen)
Among many things, she lists her height as 5’5 1/2.
Now, I tell you why I am inclined to believe this. Look at what she wrote down for her year of birth: October 6, 1908 aka THE RIGHT YEAR! Not 1909 or 1910 as she’d occasionally right down on some documents (ahem marriage license) but the correct year of birth. The weight she gives, 112 lbs, is also consistent with figures given by her secretaries and dressmakers. Travis Banton himself listed her height as 5’5 1/2.
And there you have it.
Ok, I’ll admit I’m bummed. I was secretly praying for a 5’4 ala moi ; )
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