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A photo of Carole Lombard

Carole Lombard 1908 - 1942

Carole Lombard was born on October 6, 1908 in Fort Wayne, Indiana United States, and died at age 33 years old on January 16, 1942 in Potosi Mountain, Nevada. Carole Lombard was buried on January 20, 1942 at Forest Lawn 1712 S Glendale Ave, in Glendale, Los Angeles County, CA.
Carole Lombard
Jane Alice Peters
October 6, 1908
Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States
January 16, 1942
Potosi Mountain, Nevada, United States
Female
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Carole Lombard's History: 1908 - 1942

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  • Introduction

    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. 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, Lombard began to move towards more serious roles at the end of the decade. 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 on board TWA Flight 3 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.
  • 10/6
    1908

    Birthday

    October 6, 1908
    Birthdate
    Fort Wayne, Indiana United States
    Birthplace
  • Military Service

    In December 1943, the United States Maritime Commission announced that a Liberty ship named after Carole Lombard would be launched. Gable attended the launch of the SS Carole Lombard on January 15, 1944, the two-year anniversary of Lombard's record-breaking war bond drive. The ship was involved in rescuing hundreds of survivors from sunken ships in the Pacific and returning them to safety.In the wake of her death at age 33, the Army offered to conduct a military funeral to honor the first star to give her life while aiding the war effort. They were refused and her wishes were carried out as specified. However, a World War II Liberty Ship was christened in her honor. She is interred next to Gable and to her mother, Elizabeth Peters.
  • Professional Career

    Carole Lombard Born October 6, 1908 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA Died January 16, 1942 in Potosi Mountain, Nevada, USA (airplane crash) Birth Name Jane Alice Peters Nicknames The Profane Angel The Hoosier Tornado The Queen of Screwball Comedy Height 5' 6" (1.68 m) Carole Lombard was born Jane Alice Peters in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on October 6, 1908. Her parents divorced in 1916 and her mother took the family on a trip out West. While there they decided to settle down in the Los Angeles area. After being spotted playing baseball in the street with the neighborhood boys by a film director, Carole was signed to a one-picture contract in 1921 when she was 12. The film in question was A Perfect Crime (1921). Although she tried for other acting jobs, she would not be seen onscreen again for four years. She returned to a normal life, going to school and participating in athletics, excelling in track and field. By age 15 she had had enough of school, though, and quit. She joined a theater troupe and played in several stage shows, which were for the most part nothing to write home about. In 1925 she passed a screen test and was signed to a contract with Fox Films. Her first role as a Fox player was Hearts and Spurs (1925), in which she had the lead. Right after that film she appeared in a western called Durand of the Bad Lands (1925). She rounded out 1925 in the comedy Marriage in Transit (1925) (she also appeared in a number of two-reel shorts). In 1926 Carole was seriously injured in an automobile accident that resulted in the left side of her face being scarred. Once she had recovered, Fox canceled her contract. She did find work in a number of shorts during 1928 (13 of them, many for slapstick comedy director Mack Sennett), but did go back for a one-time shot with Fox called Me, Gangster (1928). By now the film industry was moving from the silent era to "talkies". While some stars' careers ended because of heavy accents, poor diction or a voice unsuitable to sound, Carole's light, breezy, sexy voice enabled her to transition smoothly during this period. Her first sound film was High Voltage (1929) at Pathe (her new studio) in 1929. In 1931 she was teamed with William Powell in Man of the World (1931). She and Powell hit it off and soon married, but the marriage didn't work out and they divorced in 1933. No Man of Her Own (1932) put Carole opposite Clark Gable for the first and only time (they married seven years later in 1939). By now she was with Paramount Pictures and was one of its top stars. However, it was Twentieth Century (1934) that showed her true comedic talents and proved to the world what a fine actress she really was. In 1936 Carole received her only Oscar nomination for Best Actress for My Man Godfrey (1936). She was superb as ditzy heiress Irene Bullock. Unfortunately, the coveted award went to Luise Rainer in The Great Ziegfeld (1936), which also won for Best Picture. Carole was now putting out about one film a year of her own choosing, because she wanted whatever role she picked to be a good one. She was adept at picking just the right part, which wasn't surprising as she was smart enough to see through the good-ol'-boy syndrome of the studio moguls. She commanded and received what was one of the top salaries in the business - at one time it was reported she was making $35,000 a week. She made but one film in 1941, Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941). Her last film was in 1942, when she played Maria Tura opposite Jack Benny in To Be or Not to Be (1942). Tragically, she didn't live to see its release. The film was completed in 1941 just at the time the US entered World War II, and was subsequently held back for release until 1942. Meanwhile, Carole went home to Indiana for a war bond rally. On January 16, 1942, Carole, her mother, and 20 other people were flying back to California when the plane went down outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. All aboard perished. The highly acclaimed actress was dead at the age of 33 and few have been able to match her talents since. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson Born in Indiana, she was eight years old when her parents divorced, and her mother took her and her two older brothers to L.A. to start a new life. At age twelve she was spotted playing baseball in the street by director Allan Dwan who cast her as a tom-boy in "A Perfect Crime". Bitten by the movie bug, she went on to amateur theatre, small and then larger roles in Fox westerns and comedies. In 1926, an auto accident scarred the left side of her face, which was repaired by plastic surgery. After recuperating, she went to Max Sennett and made 13 two-reelers in 18 months. This was followed by full-length features at Pathe and then Paramount, where she became one of Hollywood's highest paid stars. In her personal life, she became noted for her coarse language, practical jokes, lavish parties and her genuine concern for all people, down to the lowliest crew members. She was returning from a War bond drive in her home state of Indiana, when her plane crashed outside of Las Vegas in 1942, killing her and her mother and 20 other passengers. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Herman Seifer < [contact link]> Carole Lombard, the 5' 6" beauty was a comedy hit during the 1930s and 1940s. Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on October 6, 1908 under the name of Jane Alice Peters, young Jane Alice loved the Friday night movie night with her family and would perform the previous night's show in the morning. Her mother and her father divorced in October of 1914. Jane Alice, her two older brothers, and their mother, Elizabeth Knight Peters moved to Los Angeles. When she was 12 she had a small part in a silent film called a Perfect Crime. An executive in 1925 from FOX PICTURES asked her to do a screen test, which was a success, but the film, which was to be her first spy film, Marriage in Transit (1925), wasn't. Carole Lombard, the actress, was born. In early 1927 she was tested by the Mack Sennet Studio, who put her under contract, only this time it was a comedy, not a spy film. Lombard became the top comedienne at the studio as she molded herself into the comedy life. Paul Stei, a Pathe director, saw her in a Sennet comedy and immediately put her under contract for $150 a week. Several films later she took a side step when director, Cecil B. DeMille called for her and then changed his mind. When she left Pathe in 1930 at the age of 18 she returned to FOX. She soon signed with Paramount for $300 a week but after 6 years was earning the sum of $35,000 a week! In October 1930 she met William Powell and then eight months later they were married on the day of June 26, 1931. Carole age 23 and William age 39 were married for 23 months but divorced in 1933. They stayed friends and film partners. In 1937 in My Man Godfrey (1936) (with Powell) earned her an Academy Award Nomination. There was a new person now, the crowned King of Hollywood" Clark Gable. They had made one movie together No Man of Her Own (1932) in 1932. They were married, in March 1939, after Gable was separated from his wife Rhea Langham. They bought and lived in a 20 acre ranch in San Fernando Valley. They weren't Hollywood Socialites; they weren't glamorous; they wanted a simple life out of Hollywood's bright lights. They nick named each other Ma and Pa and were role modeled as the ideal marriage. Tragedy struck on a war bond tour that Carole and her mother were on. The plane they were traveling in (TWA Flight #3) crashed. Her last words, in her home state of Indiana, to all the people were just before boarding the plane, "Before I say goodbye to you all - come on - join me in a big cheer- V for victory!" All 22 passengers died in the crash.
  • Personal Life & Family

    Actress, comedienne
  • 01/16
    1942

    Death

    January 16, 1942
    Death date
    Died in a plane crash.
    Cause of death
    Potosi Mountain, Nevada United States
    Death location
  • 01/20
    1942

    Gravesite & Burial

    January 20, 1942
    Funeral date
    Forest Lawn 1712 S Glendale Ave, in Glendale, Los Angeles County, California 91205, United States
    Burial location
  • Obituary

    Carole Lombard Carole Lombard Famous memorial ORIGINAL NAME Jane Alice Peters BIRTH 6 Oct 1908 Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana, USA DEATH 16 Jan 1942 (aged 33) Clark County, Nevada, USA BURIAL Forest Lawn Memorial Park Glendale, Los Angeles County, California, USA Show Map PLOT Great Mausoleum, Memorial Terrace, Sanctuary of Trust, Mausoleum Crypt 5874 Actress. Born Jane Alice Peters in Fort Wayne, Indiana, one of three children, her parents separated, and, with her mother, she moved to California. Her career spanned from the silent era to "talkies." An auto accident almost ended her life as well as her acting career by inflicting serious scars on her face. Undaunted, she was able to cover the blemishes with the heavy use of cosmetics. She received her only Oscar nomination for Best Actress in "My Man Godfrey." "No Man Of Her Own" put her opposite Clark Gable for the first and only time, but their marriage was still seven years away when they became the ideal Hollywood couple known for their success in the film industry. She did not see her final movie "To Be Or Not To Be" released. With World War II raging in 1942, Clark Gable journeyed to Nevada to join a search party seeking the wreckage of a TWA twin-engine DC-3 airliner flying from Indianapolis to Los Angeles. Aboard were 22 passengers including Carole Lombard and her mother. She had ended a war bond drive just before boarding. There were no survivors. The blonde film star of the 1930s, best remembered for her "Screw Ball comedies," was gone. Clark Gable rode on the train that carried the bodies of his wife and mother-in-law back to Los Angeles. She had left specific instructions for her burial in the event of death. Clark Gable purchased three crypts at Forest Lawn Cemetery, one for Carole, one for her mother, and a reserve for himself. She mandated a swift, direct interment in a mausoleum crypt at Forest Lawn with only her immediate family present. In the wake of her death at age 33, the Army offered to conduct a military funeral to honor the first star to give her life while aiding the war effort. They were refused and her wishes were carried out as specified. However, a World War II Liberty Ship was christened in her honor. She is interred next to Gable and to her mother, Elizabeth Peters. Family Members Both Parents Frederick and Elizabeth Peters Frederick Christian Peters 1875–1935 Elizabeth Peters - Elizabeth Knight Peters 1876–1942 Spouses William Powell 1892–1984 (m. 1931) Clark Gable 1901–1960 (m. 1939) Siblings Frederic Peters - Brother Frederic Charles Peters 1902–1979 John Peters - Brother John Stuart Peters 1905–1956
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10 Memories, Stories & Photos about Carole

Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard
A beautiful montage by Robert Dockery.
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Felix Young
Felix Young
A photo of Felix Young lower right at a tennis match in California. Carole Lombard and Clark Gable sit behind him.
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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In Remembrance~ After closing his renown nightclub Cafe Trocadero located on the Sunset Strip, Mr. Young along with Charles Morrison was to successfully open and manage the Mocambo, beginning in January of 1941. Felix Young was the first to give legendary Lena Horne her professional break by booking her in 1942 at his third nightclub on the Strip, the Little Troc. Eventually Mr. Young was to return to New York and managed other thriving high-end restaurants. [Born: 2.10.1898-4.1975]
Clark gable and Carole Lombard.
Clark gable and Carole Lombard.
True Love. Buried side by side.
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Carole Lombard.
Carole Lombard.
Posing with a pillow.
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Carole Lombard in costume.
Carole Lombard in costume.
Restored.
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard
With blue eyes.
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Carole Lombard's Family Tree & Friends

Carole Lombard's Family Tree

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Friendships

Carole's Friends

Friends of Carole Friends can be as close as family. Add Carole's family friends, and her friends from childhood through adulthood.
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5 Followers & Sources
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