Up for auction a RARE! "Clark Gable's patron" Josephine Dillon Hand Signed Sketch on 3X5 Card. This is one of the most sought after signatures of the "Golden Age" of movies and is EXTREMELY RARE! This item is authenticated By Todd
Mueller Autographs and comes with their certificate of authenticity.
ES-8535E
Josephine
Dillon (January 26, 1884 –
November 11, 1971) was an American stage and film actress and acting teacher.
She is best known as Clark
Gable's patron, acting coach and first wife. Born in Denver, Colorado, 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 Los Angeles while
her mother was a prominent socialite. Dillon was educated in the California public
school system and in Europe. She later studied acting at Stanford
University. After graduating from Stanford in 1908, Dillon studied
acting in Italy 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. Dillon
eventually decided to give up her career to teach acting. She relocated
to Portland,
Oregon 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, 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".