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Clark Gable
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=== 1901β1919: Family and upbringing === [[Image:Clark-Gable-Birth-Home-003.jpg|left|thumb|upright|125px|Gable's 1901 birthplace in Cadiz, Ohio]] William Clark Gable was born on February 1, 1901, in [[Cadiz, Ohio]], to William Henry "Will" Gable (1870β1948), an oil-well driller,<ref name="spicer"/><ref name="VND"/> and his wife Adeline ({{nΓ©e}} Hershelman). His father was a Protestant and his mother a Catholic. Gable was named William after his father, but he was almost always called Clark, and referred to as "the kid" by his father.<ref name="harris"/>{{Rp|1}} Gable was six months old when he was baptized at a Roman Catholic church in [[Dennison, Ohio]]. When he was ten months old, his mother died.<ref name="spicer"/> His father refused to raise him in the Catholic faith, which provoked criticism from the Hershelman family. Gable and his father were active in the [[Methodist]] church where his father was a Sunday School teacher.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/76089/clark-gable-by-warren-g-harris/9780307237149/excerpt | title=Excerpt from Clark Gable }}</ref> The dispute was resolved when his father agreed to allow him to spend time with his maternal uncle Charles Hershelman and his wife on their farm in [[Vernon Township, Pennsylvania]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Philip C. DiMare|title=Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1|isbn=978-1-59884-296-8|page=661|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=miascUWIa0UC&q=clark%20gable%20charles%20hershelman&pg=PA661|access-date=June 2, 2017|date=June 30, 2011|publisher=Abc-Clio }}</ref> In April 1903, Gable's father married Jennie Dunlap (1874β1920).<ref>[http://www.biography.com/people/clark-gable-9304376#early-life-and-career Clark Gable on Biography.com] Accessed August 5, 2016</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite book|last=Harris|first=Warren G.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfomDwAAQBAJ&q=jennie+dunlap+clark+gable&pg=PA4|title=Clark Gable: A Biography|date=September 1, 2010|publisher=Crown|isbn=978-0-307-55517-5|language=en}}</ref> Gable's stepmother raised the tall, shy child with a loud voice to be well-dressed and well-groomed. She played the piano and gave him lessons at home.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Todd E. Creason|title=Famous American Freemasons, Volume 2|isbn=978-0-557-07088-6|page=92|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ru2LAgAAQBAJ&q=clark%20gable%20step%20mother%20well%20groomed&pg=PA92|access-date=June 2, 2017|year=2009|publisher=Lulu.com }}</ref> He later took up brass instruments, becoming the only boy in the Hopedale Men's town band at age 13.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=csMDnRXe4vMC&q=clark+gable+education&pg=PA24|title=Clark Gable: Biography, Filmography, Bibliography|last=Spicer|first=Chrystopher J.|date=January 15, 2002|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-1124-5|language=en}}</ref> Gable was mechanically inclined and loved to repair cars with his father, who insisted that he engage in masculine activities such as hunting and hard physical work. Gable also loved literature; he would recite [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] among trusted company, particularly the [[Shakespeare's sonnets|sonnets]].<ref name=":0" /> His father had financial difficulties in 1917 and decided to try his hand at farming, and moved the family to [[Palmyra Township, Portage County, Ohio|Palmyra Township]], near [[Akron, Ohio]]. His father insisted that he work the farm, but Gable soon left to work in Akron for the [[Firestone Tire and Rubber Company]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NIKADwAAQBAJ&q=Gable+worked+in+Akron+for+the+Firestone+Tire+and+Rubber+Company&pg=PT71|title=Rockhaven Sanitarium: The Legacy of Agnes Richards|last=Jordan|first=Elisa|date=October 22, 2018|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-1-4396-6558-9|language=en}}</ref>
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