Itinerary: Clark Gable

It could have turned out much differently for William Gable. He might neverhave stepped inside that theater in Akron, Ohio, and caught the acting bug as a teen. He might have struck it rich wildcatting for oil in Oklahoma. He might not have met (and married) his first acting teacher, who told him to use his middle name, Clark.

Born 100 years ago today in Cadiz, Ohio, Clark Gable became one of the biggest movie stars the world has ever known. He acted in 71 films and was called “the King” before Elvis Presley sang his first song. In films from “Red Dust” (1931) to “It Happened One Night” (1934), “Gone With the Wind” (1939) and finally “The Misfits” (1961), he defined American masculinity.

But he took success in stride. As he said about himself: “The King stuff is pure bull. I eat and drink and go to the bathroom like anybody else. I’m just a lucky slob from Ohio who happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

Friday

Gable had a hard time breaking into movies until about 1930, when rugged men became in demand. Though his narrow mustache later added a debonair touch, Gable was never a pretty boy. His big ears, in particular, cost him some early roles.

Pictures of Gable from all stages of life are on view at the Gable Century Exhibition, which opens to the public Friday at the new Cinema Arts Gallery (179 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. [310] 246-9333). Portraits by famed photographers, including Laszlo Willinger, George Hurrell and C.S. Bull, are among the 100 images on display through Feb. 20. This weekend, the gallery will also display Gable memorabilia, including Gable’s uniform from World War II, costumes from “Gone With the Wind” and other films, scripts, contracts, movie posters and lobby cards.

Saturday

Spend the day as Gable might have, first stopping by the house of his friend Will Rogers (Will Rogers State Park, 1501 Will Rogers State Park Road, off Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades; parking, $3. [310] 454-8212). Gable played polo with Rogers, Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper, Douglas Fairbanks, and others, until the movie studio MGM told him the game was too dangerous. They couldn’t risk an injury to their big star. Free tours of Rogers’ house are given on the half-hour from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.

Afterward, Rogers and his polo-playing pals would go for a drink at what became known as the Polo Lounge (Beverly Hills Hotel, 9641 Sunset Blvd., Beverly Hills. [310] 276-2251). Stroll by bungalow No. 4 before leaving; that’s where Gable reportedly met up with Carole Lombard, who was soon to be his third wife, before he had divorced wife No. 2.

Sunday

Gable’s romance with Lombard was the stuff of legend. It was hardly love at first sight, though. After they co-starred in the 1932 comedy “No Man of Her Own,” she gave him a ham with his picture on it. By 1939, however, they were married. You can drive past the House of Two Gables, as it is still known, at 4543 Tara Drive in Encino, now owned by Michael Milken. Lombard was killed in a 1942 plane crash returning from a tour to sell war bonds. Gable reportedly mourned her the rest of his life and despite being married twice more, was interred next to Lombard in the private Great Mausoleum in Glendale Forest Lawn Cemetery.

In the one-woman show Carole (Tiffany Theater, 8532 Sunset Blvd., L.A., Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. Ends Feb. 11. $18-$32. [310] 289-2999), Tara Walden, under the direction of John Purdy, tells the story of the queen of screwball comedy.