Being there . . . . to observe gifted comedienne and dramatic actress Carole Lombard jokingly
excite laughter, always witty, sportive, and supporting, with studio crew carpenters, domestics,
electricians, custodians, and other studio and behind-the-camera personnel. Then, watch and
listen carefully, as a sincere friend unexpectedly, and harmlessly, asks that since her fanciful
sobriquet is, “Hollywood’s profane angel”, is she somewhat of a rare ‘chameleon’, a lazy fickle
lizard, NAY, proud, defiant lady remarkable for her changes of color or personality according to
the mood, tone, and reality of surrounding conditions. Carole Lombard, with the reputation in
Hollywood of an ideal model of emotional maturity, moral sensitivity, and special spiritual
exemplariness of a feminine human, reflected a moment, then answered, “I like to be liked, but
everyone might not like me as I am, so I bend. It’s a kind of acting and psychology and lying all
mixed up, trying to be what people want and expect. But I don’t apologize. I like people to
reveal themselves to me, and not devote all their time and attention trying to assimilate me.
You see, most people can’t be flexible. I can, so I am. I take on the attitudes and tastes of other
people. And they like that.”
STRAY AWAY FOR A MOMENT FROM WORLD WAR II’s DEATH AND DESTRUCTION, AND HONOR
THE LIFE AND PASSING OF JANE ALICE PETERS, born 6 October 1908, THE FUTURE CAROLE
LOMBARD, ONE OF THE THREE BEST ACTRESSES IN THE HISTORY OF THE MOTION PICTURE
INDUSTRY. SURE, A PERFECT SCREWBALL COMEDIENNE; YEAH, FAMED IN HER DAY FOR A SALTY
TONGUE; O.K., GRANTED SHE WAS A BEAUTIFUL READY MADE NATURALLY CONTROVERSIAL
EURYDICE WHO DIED BEFORE REVOLUTIONIZING YOUNG CINEMA’S EFFORTS TO ENHANCE
ILLUSION. NOW A MUST-READ NEW BOOK (GOD BLESS YOU AGAIN MCFARLAND PUBLISHING!)
BY BRILLIANT MOVIE BIOGRAPHER AND ACTOR JERRY VERMILYE, SOFTENS THE DELINEATION
OF HER LIFE STORY IN 68 RIVETING PAGES, FOLLOWED BY 97 ADDITIONAL PAGES OF
INTRODUCTIONS TO THE 78 FILMS SHE APPEARED IN BEFORE SHE WAS INSTANTLY KILLED
ALONGSIDE HER MOM IN A COMMERCIAL TWA PLANE CRASH ON THE BLACK NIGHT OF 16,
JANUARY 1942. Only 15 minutes, 32 miles, from the Las Vegas Airport, the plane slammed into
the sheer cliff of Potosi Mountain because of “pilot error”. Three aircrew and 22 passengers
were killed. Fearing a Japanese attack, the guidance lights atop Potosi Mountain had been
turned off.
“PROFANE ANGEL – – The Life and Career of CAROLE LOMBARD”, by Jerry Vermilye. McFarland
& Company., Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina: 2024, 177 pages, 5 ¾”x 8 ¾”; softcover;
$39.95. Visit, www.mcfarlandpub.com.
Reviewed and highly, highly recommended by Don DeNevi
Carole on husband Clark Gable: “If Clark had one inch less, he’d be the ‘Queen of Hollywood’
instead of ‘the king’.”
Patsy Ruth Miller said of Carole in 1988, “I was fond of her- – it was impossible not to like Carole
- – but she used to love to shock me by using language that no nice girl should use, and every
time she did, I would react just as she knew I would. I think she often threw in a four-letter
word just to see the expression on my face”.
Carole was active and creative up to the very end of her short life. And, lest we forget,
movie-lovers, we’re still decades away, perhaps longer, from being truly appreciative, nay,
recognizing with endearing significance, what she gave our eyes and minds and dreams. Indeed,
most, if not all, her feature-length movies are available from one source or another. Watching
them all, or even a portion, will position us sooner or later to render this fabulous woman the
verdict of posterity she, dedicated moviegoing buffs, their offspring and their furthest
generation-descendants deserve. Jerry Vermilye reminds us that Carole lived a life of truth and
honesty on and off the screen. Her mind was not only inquisitive and insistent but also forever
patient and persistent, always oriented to the good, the future, loving who and
whatever she saw. When we see her before us again and again, no matter who she portrays,
our minds tell us how warm and wonderful life and most people are.
Thanks again, Jerry, for placing us, especially this emotionally wrought reviewer, within the
bright shining circle of Carol’s iridescent, captivating mind and loving femininity.
