Clark Gable's Lessons from the 'College of Hard Knocks

In June 1959, Clark Gable was on his way to Italy with his wife, Kay, and her kids, Joan and Adolph “Bunker” Spreckels, ready to film It Started in Naples (1960). Even while he was gearing up for another movie, Clark never took a break from being the devoted stepfather. Kay fondly remembered how involved Clark was when it came to planning the kids’ futures, particularly their education. One evening, during one of those classic family conversations about prep schools and colleges, Joan asked Clark where he went to school. With that trademark smirk of his, Clark told her, “The college of hard knocks,” which was just about as Gable-esque as you could get. Fast forward a few days, and Joan, being the smart and curious kid she was, went straight to her teacher and asked about this mysterious institution. She came home proudly declaring that, according to her teacher, no such college existed. You can just picture Clark, his iconic squint and raised eyebrow in full effect, looking at Joan with that warm, fatherly smile. He took her hand and gently broke the truth to her, “I don’t like to contradict your teacher, Joan, but I’m afraid someday you’ll find out there is.” It’s a perfect little window into the man behind the screen, a tough guy with a heart of gold, who truly embodied the lessons of the school of life. By the time Clark was heading off to Italy to shoot It Started in Naples, he was a seasoned Hollywood veteran, having starred in over 60 films, including timeless classics like Gone with the Wind (1939) and It Happened One Night (1934). What most people don’t know is that Gable didn’t have an easy rise to the top. Before he was “The King of Hollywood,” he actually did attend a few real schools before dropping out at 16 to work in a tire factory. His journey to stardom was anything but typical, full of hard knocks, exactly like he told Joan.