Marilyn and Clark Gable

I think that would have been weird, to say the least.... A man who was her fantasy father figure, becoming her lover? Ick.

It also might have alienated the public from Marilyn, especially the female public. Clark Gable was married. She was already known/rumored to have had several affairs over the years with men who were married at the time: Johnny Hyde, Arthur Miller, JFK, RFK, Milton Green, Yves Montand.... I think she would have been loath to have yet another. She didn't need to have the reputation of a "home wrecker".

Lisibet--

Correct! Also, Gable's wife Kay, was expecting a child. It would not have been a good idea.

However, MM's image, as compared to the other glamor ladies was practically pristine. Only Hollywood insiders really knew about Johnny Hyde, and she had steadfastly refused to marry him, or to encourage him to leave his family. As she put it, "I loved him but I wasn't IN LOVE with him." Miller's wife was not devastated by his interest in MM, and stated so. It is significant that Marilyn remained close to all members of Miller's family even after the divorce. (There was no great "scandal" about MM stealing Miller. The news was that he might be a Communist and she could damage her career. And in fact, the momentum of her career did slow down!)

Not even the Montand affair could put Marilyn in the femme fatale category. Nothing was confirmed, the Montand/Signoret marriage didn't break up. The public looked at Monroe as the victim of an opportunistic man, a foreigner, taking advantage of her. As for JFK and RFK, those tales--along with so many others--did not emerge until well after her death, when she was unable to defend herself.

Lana, Rita, Liz, Ava were far more scandalous, romantically dramatic figures than MM, for all her "sexy" image. During the ten years of her stardom the public saw her dating Joe for two years, married to him for nine months, dating Miller, married to him for four years, and then single and not very exciting--maybe, the fan magazine speculated, she might re-marry DiMaggio. Her private life, so far as the public knew, in her lifetime, was really rather boring.

___Creepy, creepy. Aside from the great age difference, Gable was absolutely worn out, and not the most sought after lover even when young. If you could get past his foul dentures, you would be doing better than most. And, Joan Crawford, who had a long running affair was probably more of a deep friendship. And, lastly can we forget the love of his life Carol Lombard who said "one inch less, and he would have been the Queen of Hollywood ".

I'm sure Carol was joking lol