Josephine Dillon
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Josephine Dillon (January 26, 1884 – November 11, 1971) was an American stage and film actress and acting teacher. She was
Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...
's patron, acting coach and first wife.


Early years and education

Born in
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
,
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, Dillon was one of six children of Judge Henry Clay Dillon. She was the younger sister of opera singer Enrica Clay Dillon. Dillon's father became a
district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...
in
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while her mother was a prominent socialite. Dillon was educated in the
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
public school system and in Europe. She later studied acting at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
.


Career

After graduating from Stanford in 1908, Dillon studied acting in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
for one year before returning to the United States to act on Broadway for actor Edward Everett Horton's stock company in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Dillon eventually decided to give up her career to teach acting. She relocated to
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
where she opened "the Little Theatre", an acting school attended by wealthy area students. It was at the Little Theatre that Dillon met a then unknown aspiring actor 17-years her junior named W. C. Gable, while she was working as a stage director for the Red Lantern Players. Initially, she was Gable's acting coach but the two began a romantic relationship after Dillon took a special interest in Gable. Dillon became his
patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
, paying to have his teeth fixed and hair styled. She guided him in building up his chronically undernourished body, and taught him better body control and posture. She spent considerable time training his naturally high-pitched voice, which Gable slowly managed to lower, and to gain better resonance and tone. As his speech habits improved, Gable's facial expressions became more natural and convincing. After the long period of rigorous training, Dillon eventually considered him ready to attempt a film career in Los Angeles. Dillon moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 1924 where she opened The Dillon Stock Company. Five months later, Gable joined her. They were married shortly thereafter on December 18, 1924. On the marriage license, Gable claimed he was 24 years old while Dillon claimed she was 34. Dillon continued to work with Gable on his acting and voice while he went to auditions. During this time, Gable followed Dillon's advice to use his middle name, " Clark", as his professional name. Over the next few years, Clark Gable's career gained momentum with stage and minor film roles. After appearing in the play ''Machinal'' in 1929 and shortly before he was signed with M-G-M, Gable asked Dillon for a divorce. Dillon later recalled that he had asked for a divorce several times before but she refused as she did not believe he meant it. She filed for legal separation on March 28, 1929. Their divorce became final on April 1, 1930. Two days later, Gable married wealthy socialite Maria Franklin Prentiss Lucas Langham, nicknamed "Rhea".


Later career

In 1940, Dillon began teaching acting at
Christian College A Christian college is an educational institution or part of an educational institute dedicated to the integration of Christianity, Christian faith and integration of faith and learning, learning in traditional academic fields. Unlike Bible colle ...
(later Columbia College) in
Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...
. That same year, she wrote ''Modern Acting''. The book describes in detail the training that she put Gable through over a six and a half year period. Upon returning to California, Dillon continued teaching acting. Her students included Bruce Cabot,
Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, silent screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...
, Donna Reed,
Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer, and Pin-up model, pin-up girl. She achieved fame in the 1940s as one of the top stars of the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of ...
and Linda Darnell. In 1944, she made her only two film appearances in bit roles in '' The Lady and the Monster'' and '' Men on Her Mind''. In the years following their divorce, Clark Gable became one of the most popular leading men of the era and would win an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
in 1934. He also went on to marry four more times. Gable rarely spoke publicly about his marriage to Dillon. In a statement issued by M-G-M in 1932, Gable denied rumors that he had married Dillon solely to further his career. He claimed he was motivated only by love and added that he "owed illona debt of gratitude" for guiding his early career. Dillon, who never remarried, refused to speak disparagingly about her famous ex-husband. She would only say the two were married "in name only", implying the marriage was not
consummated The consummation of a marriage, or simply consummation, is the first officially credited act of sexual intercourse following marriage. In many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, the definition usually refers to penile–vaginal p ...
. Dillon's cousin later said that Dillon "carried a torch up to her dying day for able That was her one and only real love." Throughout the 1950s and early 60s, Dillon continued to teach acting and lived in a small home in the
San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...
. In July 1956, '' Confidential'' magazine published a story claiming that Dillon was "down and out" and that Clark Gable refused to help her. Dillon denied the story was true and later testified against the editors of the magazine in a libel trial in August 1957. After the trial, Dillon lost many of her acting students due to the publicity. She nearly lost her home and later revealed that Gable had sent her money to avoid foreclosure. After Gable's death in November 1960, the press reported that his will stipulated that the remainder of Dillon's mortgage be paid in full by his estate.


Later years and death

Dillon continued working as an acting teacher until poor health forced her to retire in the mid-1960s. In the years following Gable's death, several biographies of the actor were published that mentioned his marriage to Dillon. She later reported that she regularly received abusive and insulting letters and telephone calls from Gable fans despite the fact that she never publicly disparaged him. On November 11, 1971, she died after a "lengthy illness" at a Rockhaven Sanitarium in
Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...
. She is interred at Calvary Cemetery in
East Los Angeles East Los Angeles (), or East L.A., is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) situated within Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, East Los Angeles is designated as ...
.


Filmography

*'' Men on Her Mind'' (1944) - Undetermined Role (uncredited) *'' The Lady and the Monster'' (1944) - Mary Lou's Grandmother (Last appearance)


Notes


References

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dillon, Josephine 1884 births 1971 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Denver American film actresses American stage actresses American theatre directors American women theatre directors Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Los Angeles) American drama teachers Actresses from Greater Los Angeles Stanford University alumni