Jane Alice Peters

Everything Carole Lombard est. 2017

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Carole with protégée, Margaret Tallichet, c. ₁₉₃₈.

Carole always had a fondness for helping people, whether it be serving chocolate at a benefit in Los Angeles to support French Orphans at the age of ₁₀, to spotting a beautiful stenographer working in the Paramount Publicity Department in the mid-₃₀s.

Carole’s first known protégée was a little boy that went by the name of Alex. He arrived into Hollywood from South Carolina. Alex wanted to star in movies but the only role he managed to acquire was holding George Raft’s make-up tray. When Carole ran into him one day at the studio and heard his high-pitched, Southern dialect - she decided to sponsor him right away.

Every morning, Alex would knock on Carole’s dressing room door and ask with his Southern accent, “You don’t suppose I could get you something this morning, do you, Miss Lombard?” and as a gag, whenever Carole would respond to his question; he would trip up over himself and fall into the furniture. Carole loved him, laughed at his comedic style and spoke back at him with a replica of his own accent. Though he never made it as a big star in Hollywood, it’s said that Carole managed to score him a couple of small parts in films throughout the ₁₉₃₀s.

Carole’s next endeavour would come from her butler, Phil. She thought Phil was the best of butlers and one day, he opened up to Carole about his dream to travel the world. A few months post the mention of the dream, Carole heard of a rich family that were looking for a servant to take on their trip around the world. Though Carole was sure she would never find another like Phil, she encouraged him to go for the opportunity, to which he did.

The story of Margaret Tallichet (pictured with Carole above) is quite a sweet one. Margaret won a beauty contest in her home-state, Texas. She travelled to Hollywood to get into the film business, though she didn’t quite make it into working in-front of the camera, she worked in the Paramount Publicity Department as a stenographer. When Margaret brought reporter, Boyd Martin, to Carole’s dressing-room for an interview; Margaret remembered that instead of focussing on the reporter trying to conduct an interview, Carole was staring at Margaret the entire time.

Carole thought straight away that Margaret had potential, she called her agent, Zeppo Marx and Adolph Zuckor, president of Paramount Pictures to enquire about appointments on behalf of Margaret. Carole encouraged Zuckor to give her a part-time acting contract whilst still working as a stenographer in the Publicity Department.

Carole arranged for Margaret to take lessons with the Paramount dramatic coach. She even had her own hairdresser, Loretta Francell style Margaret’s hair for her, Carole even invited Margaret round to her home for dinners and parties. Margaret is mostly known for her film Stranger on the Third Floor ₍₁₉₄₀₎, which she starred in with Peter Lorre.

Margaret married William Wyler, director at Goldwyn Pictures in ₁₉₃₈ and retired from acting in ₁₉₄₁.

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The only photograph we currently have of both Carole and Jean Harlow together. Taken during a radio broadcast with Walter Winchell, Russ Columbo and Jimmy Fidler, ₁₉₃₄.

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FOX, (1921 — 1930)

A Perfect Crime (1921) ∙ Marriage in Transit (1925) ∙ Hearts and Spurs (1925) ∙ Durand of the Badlands (1935) ∙ The Road to Glory (1926) ∙ The Arizona Kid (1930)

SENNETT AND PATHÉ, (1927 — 1929)

Smith’s Pony (1927) ∙ The Girl From Everywhere (1927) ∙ Run, Girl, Run (1928) pt. 1 / pt. 2 ∙ The Beach Club (1928) ∙ The Best Man (1928) ∙ The Swim Princess (1928) ∙ The Bicycle Flirt (1928) ∙ The Girl From Nowhere (1928) ∙ His Unlucky Night (1928) ∙ The Campus Vamp (1928) ∙ The Campus Carmen (1928) ∙ Power (1928) ∙ Matchmaking Mamma (1929) ∙ Show Folks (1929) ∙ Ned McCobb’s Daughter (1928) ∙ High Voltage (1929) ∙ Big News (1929)

PARAMOUNT, (1930 — 1937)

Safety in Numbers (1930) ∙ Fast and Loose (1930) ∙ It Pays to Advertise (1931) ∙ Man of the World (1931) ∙ Ladies’ Man (1931) ∙ Up Pops the Devil (1931) ∙ I Take This Woman (1931) ∙ No One Man (1932) ∙ Sinners in the Sun (1932) ∙ No Man of Her Own (1932) ∙ From Hell to Heaven (1933) ∙ Supernatural (1933) ∙ The Eagle and the Hawk (1933) ∙ White Woman (1933) ∙ Bolero (1934) ∙ We’re Not Dressing (1934) ∙ Now and Forever (1934) ∙ Rumba (1935) ∙ Hands Across the Table (1935)  ∙ The Princess Comes Across (1936) ∙ Swing High, Swing Low (1937) ∙  True Confession (1937)

COLUMBIA, (1932 — 1934)

Virtue (1932) ∙ No More Orchids (1932) ∙ Brief Moment (1933) ∙ Twentieth Century (1934) ∙ Lady By Choice (1934)

METRO-GOLDWYN MAYER, (1934)

The Gay Bride (1934)

UNIVERSAL, (1936)

Love Before Breakfast (1936) ∙ My Man Godfrey (1936)

UNITED ARTISTS, (1937 — 1942)

My Best Girl (1927) ∙ Nothing Sacred (1937) ∙ Made for Each Other (1939) ∙ To Be or Not to Be (1942)

WARNER BROS., (1938)

Fools for Scandal (1938)

RKO RADIO (1939 — 1941)

In Name Only (1939) ∙ Vigil in the Night (1940) ∙ They Knew What They Wanted (1940) ∙ Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941)

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From my own collection: Carole attempts to purchase dinner with gag money that has her face on it, ₁₉₃₃.

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Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery are visited by Mischa Auer on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, ₁₉₄₁.

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c. ₁₉₃₁.

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Celebrating the marriage of Carole Lombard and Clark Gable which took place on this day in ₁₉₃₉.

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Carole wishes you a very Merry Christmas in this archive footage from ₁₉₃₈.

The ₄th image shows a hand-made, personalized plaque that Carole and Clark gifted their friend and secretary, Jean Garceau on the Christmas of ₁₉₄₁.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it!

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Carole photographed by Edwin Bower Hesser in ₁₉₂₈.

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Carole photographed by Alex Kahle, ₁₉₃₉.

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On the Paramount lot, Carole sits with Bing Crosby and James Cagney, ₁₉₃₃.

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Carole as Mabel in The Bicycle Flirt ₍₁₉₂₈₎, seen here with Dot Farley, Billy Bevan and Vernon Dent.

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Carole with Ruth Hiatt and Leota Winters in a publicity photograph for Mack Sennett that was used for the Christmas of ₁₉₂₇.

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c. ₁₉₃₅.

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‘Carol’ Lombard on the set of one of her first films, Marriage in Transit ₍₁₉₂₅₎.

With Lew Cody, Edmund Lowe and R. William Neil in ₁₉₂₅.

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Carole wears the Pathé logo on her sweater, c. ₁₉₂₉.

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A week before the filming of To Be or Not To Be ₍₁₉₄₂₎, Ernst Lubitsch called a script rehearsal session for the cast of the film. 

Carole, looking her usual cheerful self, is accompanied by director, Ernst Lubitsch, Jack Benny, Robert Stack and various other cast & crew members, ₁₉₄₁.