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Why did newspapers use the headline “The King is Dead” after Clark Gable’s death?
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Clark Gable
American actor Clark Gable, undated photograph.
Newspapers used the headline "The King is Dead" following the death of Clark Gable because he was widely known as the "King of Hollywood."
Gable earned this title during his lifetime as an enormously popular film star who epitomized the American ideal of masculinity and virility for three decades. His status as a cultural icon was cemented by his performances in numerous classic films, most notably his role as Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind.1