Carole Lombard

Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters; October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard 23rd on its list of the greatest female stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema.

Lombard was born into a wealthy family in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but was raised in Los Angeles by her single mother. At 12, she was recruited by director Allan Dwan and made her screen debut in A Perfect Crime (1921). She signed a contract with the Fox Film Corporation at age 16, but mainly played bit parts and was dropped after a year. Her career came close to ending shortly before her 19th birthday when a shattered windshield from a car accident left a scar on her face, but she overcame this challenge and appeared in 15 short comedies for Mack Sennett from 1927 to 1929, and then began appearing in feature films such as High Voltage (1929) and The Racketeer (1929). After a successful appearance in The Arizona Kid (1930), she was signed to a contract by Paramount Pictures.

Paramount quickly began casting Lombard as a leading lady, primarily in drama films. Her profile increased when she married William Powell in 1931, but the couple divorced amicably after two years. A turning point in Lombard's career came when she starred in Howard Hawks's pioneering screwball comedy Twentieth Century (1934). The actress found her niche in this genre, and continued to appear in films such as Hands Across the Table (1935, forming a popular partnership with Fred MacMurray); My Man Godfrey (1936), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and co-starring with Powell; and Nothing Sacred (1937). At this time, Lombard married Clark Gable, and the supercouple gained much attention from the media. Keen to win an Oscar, Lombard began to move toward serious roles at the end of the decade. Unsuccessful in this aim, she returned to comedy in Alfred Hitchcock's Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) and Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be (1942), her final film role.

Lombard died at the age of 33 in the crash of TWA Flight 3 on Mount Potosi, Nevada, while returning from a war bond tour. She was one of the definitive actresses of the screwball comedy genre and American comedy and an icon of American cinema.

Lombard was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on October 6, 1908, at 704 Rockhill Street. Christened Jane Alice Peters, she was the third child and only daughter of Frederic Christian Peters and Elizabeth Jayne "Bessie" (Knight) Peters. Her two older brothers, with whom she was close all her life, were Frederic Charles and John Stuart. Lombard's parents both came from wealthy families, and biographer Robert Matzen called her early years her "silver spoon period". Her parents' marriage was strained, and in October 1914, her mother took the children and moved to Los Angeles. Although the couple did not divorce, the separation was permanent. Her father's continued financial support allowed the family to live comfortably, and they settled into an apartment near Venice Boulevard.

At Virgil Junior High School, Lombard participated in tennis, volleyball, and swimming, and won trophies in athletics. At the age of 12, her passion for sports landed Lombard her first screen role. While playing baseball, she caught the attention of film director Allan Dwan, who later recalled seeing "a cute-looking little tomboy... out there knocking the hell out of the other kids, playing better baseball than they were. And I needed someone of her type for this picture." With the encouragement of her mother, Lombard took a small role in the melodrama A Perfect Crime (1921). She was on set for two days, playing the sister of Monte Blue. Dwan later said "She ate it up."

Though A Perfect Crime was not widely distributed, the experience spurred Lombard and her mother to audition for more film work, but she was unsuccessful. While appearing as the queen of Fairfax High School's May Day Carnival at the age of 15, Lombard was scouted by an employee of Charlie Chaplin and offered a screen test to appear in The Gold Rush (1925). Lombard did not win the role, but her test was seen by the Vitagraph Film Company, which expressed interest in signing her. Although this did not materialize, their condition that she adopt a new first name led to her selecting the name "Carole" after a girl with whom she played tennis at Virgil Jr. High School.

In October 1924, 16-year-old Lombard signed a contract with the Fox Film Corporation. Lombard's mother contacted gossip columnist Louella Parsons, who arranged a screen test. According to biographer Larry Swindell, Lombard's beauty convinced studio head Winfield Sheehan to sign her to a $75-per-week contract, and she abandoned her schooling to pursue the new career. Fox disliked her surname and she was renamed Carole Lombard, the surname of a family friend.