Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1963)

show from the Hollywood Bowl. Just before he went on the air, he phoned the boy and said, “When I finished my number I’m going to walk up to the camera and wink. And nobody in the world will know what it’s for except you and me. That wink is for you.’ “After the show, Jerry phoned to ask his young friend how he’d enjoyed the secret signal. The voice that answered was not a familiar one. Jerry asked to speak to the boy. The woman hesitated slightly before she said no, he couldn’t. So Jerry asked for the boy’s mother. “ ‘I’m sorry, Mr. Lewis,’ she said, ‘but — my sister can’t talk to anyone — not even you. Her boy — just died.’ “Jerry was stunned, silent. “ ‘Mr. Lewis,’ the aunt said, and her voice broke, ‘it was as if you said goodbye to him. He was watching the show, and he was so happy when you gave him the secret wink — then he lay back on his pillow and closed his eyes. And that was it.’ ” So now I knew some of the things Jerry had done to fight muscular dystrophy. And I was beginning to have an inkling of what drove him to give it so much of himself. If I could talk to someone who knew him very well. I might know if my theory was right. Luckily I had some assignments in Hollywood, so I dropped by Paramount Pictures to talk to Jack Keller. Jack has handled Jerry’s publicity for many years. “I keep telling him that more publicity would help his work for dystrophy,” Keller said, “but he won’t say any more than he’s told you. It’s a thing with him.” “Do you know what got him interested in dystrophy?” I asked. “Yes,” he said. “But he’s asked me not to tell. So I’m sorry, but I can’t.” JOHN CLARK GABLE Continued from page 25 any boy. When lie’s the son of a famous man, it’s even harder— bringing up Junior can turn into a nightmare. The boy can suffer miserably from the relentless and merciless comparison between him and his dad, while he’s struggling desperately for an identity of his own. And when he’s the son of a famous man who has died — when there is only his widowed mother to raise him — the pressure on that mother can be enormous. But it is nothing to the pressure that will eventually be brought to bear on the son. If he is not allowed the freedom to mature along the lines of his own personality, he grows up a tragic figure. “There goes Mr. Great Man’s son,” everyone will say. Never “There goes a boy who’s making out all right on his own.” It is this kind of future that Kay Gable is determined will not overwhelm John Clark Gable. Clark Gable himself planned to avoid it for his son at all costs. This is why he was not christened Clark Gable, Jr. Even before he was born, his future The Lashette Company Natick, Massachusetts “Will you tell me this much?” I asked. “Has anybody in his family ever had dystrophy?” “No — nobody ever has,” he said firmly. “Did he perhaps get into the work for publicity, and then realize what a wonderful cause it was and stay with it?” “Absolutely not. There’re hundreds of easier ways for him to get favorable publicity.” “I thought as much,” I said. “Now let me tell you what I’ve really come to believe. I think Jerry’s got the feeling that he won’t live too long — because of his heart scare and other things. I think that’s why he feels he has to hurry if he’s going to get everything done that he wants to do — both in his career and in his work for dystrophy. “And finally. I think he believes the only way to keep his life is to give it away — just as he implied when I saw him talking to those volunteers in the Bronx. By giving pieces of his life to everyone he meets — whether it’s just by telling a joke, or making a funny face or working twenty-one hours a day for dystrophy — by doing this, he feels that maybe he'll live on in their lives. Or, if they don’t have too long to live, in their spirits. And as for those who wont live too long — the muscular dystrophy children — he identifies with them completely. Like them, lie’s a little lost kid who’ll never grow up.” “Well?” Keller asked. “Well, what?” I asked. “What are you standing around waiting for? You’re the only one who’s figured out the true story for himself, without being told. I think you’re entitled to write it.” And that’s why I have. — James Gregory See Jerry in “It’s Only Money,” Par. was considered. He will be known as John C. Gable. He is never referred to as “Junior.” Yet he will know before very long just who he is. And if Kay has her way, while young John will feel a fine, justifiable pride and admiration for his father, he will never feel that his dad was a man with whom he must compete for the rest of his life. This will not be an easy accomplishment for Kay. It would be virtually impossible for some widows. But Kay already knows the task that lies ahead is difficult, and to attain her goal this remarkable woman is ready to make any sacrifice. A house of happiness To complicate the problems of rearing young John, there is the bitter-sweet memory of his birth — a great blessing in the wake of a great tragedy. And in so many other ways, John Clark unknowingly keeps the memory and spirit of his father bright, alive and undiminished. In her deepest bereavement, Kay found the courage to say, “I will have Clark’s baby and I will take care of Clark’s home and I will see to it that it is never anything but a house full of happiness.” And so it is. 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