Clark Gable (1901-1960): Trained in stock companies for ten years, Gable arrived in Hollywood able to play anything, but his brutal good looks almost cast him permanently as a villain. He became a huge romantic star before anyone realized that he could play comedy, which won him an Academy Award.® He achieved superstardom by playing the hero who always gets the girl at the fadeout. Gable, know as The King of Hollywood, once said: “They see me as an ordinary guy, like a construction worker or the guy that delivers your piano.”