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Clark Gable’s two children generally identified in biographies are Judy Lewis, born to actress Loretta Young in 1935, and John Clark Gable, born to Kay Williams Spreckels in 1961, after Gable’s death. Lewis met Gable once as a teenager without knowing he was her father; John was born after him. Their family stories are different, and details about Lewis’s concealed parentage are best understood through her own recollections and the reporting that recorded them.
Who were Clark Gable’s children?
| Child | Mother | Birth and connection to Gable | What is documented about the relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judy Lewis | Loretta Young | Born November 6, 1935, while Gable was married to another woman. | Lewis recalled meeting Gable once when she was 15, without knowing he was her father. |
| John Clark Gable | Kay Williams Spreckels | Born in 1961, after Gable died on November 16, 1960. | He was Gable’s posthumous son; the cited biographies do not establish that father and son met. |
Biography.com identifies both children and their mothers in its account of Gable’s life: Biography.com’s Clark Gable biography.
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Judy Lewis: a childhood shaped by concealed parentage
What Lewis was told growing up
Young presented Lewis as adopted, and the circumstances of her birth and parentage were kept from public view. Lewis’s later account, as described by the Los Angeles Times obituary, is that she did not grow up knowing Gable was her father.
The meeting with Gable
In a 2001 interview with Larry King, Lewis recalled coming home from school in 1950, at age 15, and finding Gable in the living room after he and Young had made Key to the City. She said they talked for about half an hour about her life. She did not know then that he was her father. Her recollection appears in the CNN transcript.
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Rumor first, confirmation later
Lewis told Larry King that she first heard she might be Gable’s daughter two weeks before her wedding, when she was 23. In her words: “The first time I heard I was my father’s daughter was two weeks before my wedding.” That was the first time she heard the claim, not the moment Young confirmed it.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Lewis confronted Young years later, when Lewis was 31, and Young confirmed Gable was her father. The 1994 Los Angeles Times profile also records that Young publicly declined at the time to validate Lewis’s account. These are separate moments: Lewis’s first hearing of the claim and the later confirmation she described. The profile quotes Lewis explaining her reason for writing her memoir: “That’s one reason I had to write the book, to claim both my parents.” See the 1994 Los Angeles Times profile.
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Acting, writing and counseling
Lewis worked as an actor and writer, including writing for Search for Tomorrow, and had a brief producing credit for Texas. Later, she worked as a family and child counselor; the Los Angeles Times obituary says she worked with foster children and pregnant teens. She published the memoir Uncommon Knowledge in 1994. The Television Academy’s account of Lewis records her television work and later counseling career. Lewis died in 2011 at age 76, according to the same account.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.John Clark Gable: Gable’s son born after his death
John Clark Gable was born in 1961 to Kay Williams Spreckels, after Clark Gable died on November 16, 1960. He is therefore described as Gable’s posthumous son; the timing means the two could not have met. The biographical sources cited here establish this family connection and chronology, but provide little further detail about John’s life or career. It is more accurate to leave his profile at that than to fill gaps with unsupported claims.
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- Winner of all 5 major 1934 Oscars�, including Best Picture! When a brash reporter (Clark Gable) meets a runaway heiress (Claudette Colbert), can love be far behind? A Frank Capra/Columbia Classic.
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How the two stories differ
- Family circumstances: Lewis was born to Young in 1935 while Gable was married to another woman, and Young presented her as adopted. John was born to Williams Spreckels after Gable’s death.
- Contact with Gable: Lewis recalled one meeting as a teenager, before she knew his paternity. John was born in 1961, so no meeting with his father was possible.
- Available career record: Lewis’s acting, writing, memoir and counseling work are documented by the Television Academy and the Los Angeles Times. The cited coverage of John is much thinner.
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