Editing Clark Gable (section)

=== 1924–1930: Stage and silent films ===
[[File:Machinal-Johann-Gable-1928-crop.jpg|thumb|alt=A young woman in a slip dress is kneeling on a bed while smiling at the young man clasping her hands, who is laying in a prone position in a dress shirt and pants and is smiling back.|In 1928's ''[[Machinal]]'' with [[Zita Johann]], Gable was lauded as "young, vigorous, and brutally masculine" by one critic.]]
Gable and Dillon traveled to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] in 1924. Dillon became his manager and also his wife; she was 17 years his senior.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Brett L. Abrams|title=Hollywood Bohemians: Transgressive Sexuality and the Selling of the Movieland Dream|isbn=978-0-7864-8247-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UV0b2o-XTq4C&q=clark%20gable%20Josephine%20Dillon%20wife%20manager&pg=PA72|access-date=June 2, 2017|date=November 21, 2014|publisher=McFarland }}</ref> He changed his stage name from W. C. Gable to Clark Gable<ref name="harris"/>{{Rp|29}} and appeared as an [[Extra (acting)|extra]] in such silent films as [[Erich von Stroheim]]'s ''[[The Merry Widow (1925 film)|The Merry Widow]]'' (1925), ''[[The Plastic Age (film)|The Plastic Age]]'' (1925) starring [[Clara Bow]], and ''[[Forbidden Paradise]]'' (1924) starring [[Pola Negri]]. He appeared in a series of two-reel comedies called ''The Pacemakers'' and in Fox's ''[[The Johnstown Flood (1926 film)|The Johnstown Flood]]'' (1926). He also appeared as a bit player in a series of shorts.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Anthony Slide|title=Hollywood Unknowns: A History of Extras, Bit Players, and Stand-Ins|isbn=978-1-61703-475-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-caBwAAQBAJ&q=clark%20gable%20bit%20player&pg=PA13|access-date=June 2, 2017|date=September 5, 2012|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi }}</ref> However, he was not offered any major film roles, so he returned to the stage in ''What Price Glory?'' (1925).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hjvqp_Y2VL4C&q=acting+coach+Josephine+Dillon+was+a+theater+manager+in+Portland&pg=PA27|title=Clark Gable, in Pictures: Candid Images of the Actor's Life|last=Spicer|first=Chrystopher J.|date=October 14, 2011|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-8714-1|language=en}}</ref>

He became lifelong friends with [[Lionel Barrymore]], who initially scolded Gable for what he deemed amateurish acting but nevertheless urged him to pursue a stage career.<ref name="harris"/>{{Rp|36}}<ref>{{cite web| url = http://asp6new.alexanderstreet.com/atho/atho.detail.people.aspx?personcode=per0015952| title = Clark Gable – ''North American Theatre Online''}}</ref> During the 1927–28 theater season, he acted with the Laskin Brothers Stock Company in [[Houston]], Texas; while there, he played many roles, gained considerable experience, and became a local matinee idol.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.papercitymag.com/home-design/clark-gable-houston-house-demolished-413-hyde-townhomes/|title=Legendary Actor's Old Montrose Home Completely Demolished: Another Historic Bungalow is Gone with the Wind, Making Way for Townhomes|date=August 1, 2018|website=PaperCity Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=October 11, 2019}}</ref> He then moved to New York City, where Dillon sought work for him on Broadway. He received good reviews in ''[[Machinal]]'' (1928), with one critic describing him as "young, vigorous, and brutally masculine".<ref name="harris"/>{{Rp|49}}

Gable and Dillon separated, filing for divorce in March 1929, while he began working on the play ''Hawk Island'' in New York which ran for 24 performances.<ref name ="spicer"/>{{Rp|56–57}} In April 1930, Gable's divorce became final, and a few days later he married Texas [[socialite]] Maria Franklin Prentiss Lucas Langham, nicknamed "Ria". After moving to California, they were married again in 1931, possibly due to differences in state legal requirements.