Beautiful, vivacious blonde who made her screen debut at age 12 in Allan Dwan's "A Perfect Crime" (1921) and entered film full-time in 1925. Carole Lombard was first a Fox contract player in routine westerns and then became a comedienne in Mack Sennett two-reelers, where she honed her exquisite sense of timing. By 1930 Lombard was signed to a seven-year star contract at Paramount and was at first repeatedly cast in virginal ingenue roles (with such occasional refreshing exceptions as "Virtue" 1932). She displayed an energetic, knockabout comic talent in "Twentieth Century" (1934) and went on to become one of the screen's finest comediennes of the 1930s, showcasing her intelligence, uninhibited sexuality and daffy charm in a number of classic screwball comedies, notably "Hands Across the Table" (1935), "My Man Godfrey" (1936), "Nothing Sacred" (1937) and her swan song, the political black comedy "To Be or Not to Be" (1942).
Lombard proved to be an intense, highly effective, and, at her best, relaxed dramatic actress as well with her occasional forays into serious melodrama, especially in two 1939 films for John Cromwell, "In Name Only" and "Made for Each Other". Late in her career, in fact, she consciously tried to vary the image of the glamorous screwball by playing in drama more frequently, and, if not necessarily well-cast, had some fine moments in both George Stevens's "Vigil in the Night" and in Garson Kanin's film adaptation of Sidney Howard's "They Knew What They Wanted" (both 1940). Her glittering career (consisting of 42 talking pictures) was cut short in 1942 when she died in a plane crash after a successful defense bond fund-raising tour. Married to actors William Powell (1931-33) and Clark Gable (from 1939 until her death).
- Also Credited As:
Carol Lombard, Jane Alice Peters
- Born:
October 6, 1908 in Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Died:
January 16, 1942.
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Job Titles:
Actor, Comedian
Significant Others
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Companion: Robert Riskin. wrote Lombard's vehicle "Virtue" (1932); best known for his collaborations with director Frank Capra
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Companion: Russ Columbo. accidentally killed by a shotgun at age 26 on September 14, 1934; had been child prodigy
Education
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Cahuenga Grammar School, Los Angeles, California
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Virgil Intermediate School, Los Angeles, California
Milestones
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1914 Moved to Los Angeles with mother and brothers when parents separated
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1921 Spotted playing baseball in the street by director Allan Dwan who signed her to play a tomboy in her film debut, at age 12 in "A Perfect Crime"
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1925 Her face was disfigured in a car accident in which some glass was driven into her face; returned to screen after plastic surgery; small scar on one cheek remained; it generally was covered over with makeup and photographic retouching, but could be seen very occasionally throughout the rest of her career
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1925 Signed by Fox Film Corporation executive whom she met at a dinner and made first film under Fox contract, "Hearts and Spurs" (as Carol Lombard; surname was borrowed from her mother's friend Harry Lombard)
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1926 Returned to Fox where she found her contract had lapsed
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1927 Hired by Mack Sennett for a series (13) of two-reeler slapstick comedies with Sally Eilers and Daphne Pollard
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1928 Signed by director Paul Stein to a contract with Pathe; starred as lead in "Show Folks" with Eddie Quillan and Lina Basquette
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1930 Paramount's cast credits for "Safety in Numbers" accidentally spelled first name with an extra "e" at end; later publicity copy claimed that Lombard had been advised by a numerologist to change her name from Carol to Carole on the theory that the added "e" would bring her success; legally changed name to Carole Lombard in 1936
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1930 Signed to a seven-year star's contract by Paramount
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1934 Played breakthrough role opposite John Barrymore in the Howard Hawks comedy, "Twentieth Century"
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1936 Starred opposite William Powell in "My Man Godfrey"
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1939 Made several dramatic films in a row beginning with "Made for Each Other"
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1942 Had signed with Columbia to make "He Kissed the Bride" with Melvyn Douglas; Joan Crawford substituted after Lombard's death and film was retitled "They All Kissed the Bride"
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1942 Made final film, "To Be or Not to Be"
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1942 Transcontinental and Western air luxury liner (TWA) carrying Lombard, her mother and MGM publicist Otto Winkler among the 18 passengers crashed into Table Rock Mountain and burned thirty miles southwest of Las Vegas NV (January 16); Lombard was returning from Indianapolis IN where she had participated in a defense bond campaign and had sold more than $2 million worth of bonds
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1976 Portrayed by Jill Clayburgh in the film, "Gable and Lombard"
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Danced professionally at the Coconut Grove nightclub at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles
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Free-lanced for a number of studios
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Joined an amateur theater group, The Potboilers, while a teen
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Pathe contract lapsed; became a freelance player