Wednesday, November 30, 2011

In Memory: Judy Lewis (November 6, 1935 – November 25, 2011).


Judy Lewis was the biological daughter of actress Loretta Young and actor Clark Gable, who had a brief affair while working on the film, Call of the Wild. Young concealed her pregnancy to protect their film careers.


Judy looked a lot like Gable, including having his large ears. When Judy was fifteen, Gable came to her mother's house and asked about her. It was the only time that Judy ever spoke to Gable. When Judy met her future husband, it was he that told her that Gable was her biological father. Judy wrote a book about her life titled Uncommon Knowledge. Loretta Young died on August 12, 2000 at the age of 87, and confirmed in her autobiography, published after her death, that Gable was her father.

Lewis performed on TV serials: General Hospital, Kitty Foyle, The Brighter Day, The Doctors. Ms. Lewis had her longest running serial role on The Secret Storm as Susan Ames from 1964 - 1971. She also produced the short-lived Another World spin-off, Texas and was a script writer for NBC Daytime's Search for Tomorrow.




Video: Judy Lewis interview:

 


7 comments:

  1. Very sorry to hear about the passing of Judy Lewis. I read her book years ago - it was the first I'd heard that Loretta Young's daughter was also Clark Gable's. Though I can imagine she must've been stunned when she learned the truth, I imagine it probably answered a lot of questions she must've had about her origins.

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  2. my condolences. So sad to hear. I didn't know anything about her.

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  3. One of those Hollywood stories that keeps us mesmerized. Loretta and Clark in the snow - one can only imagine....

    Thanks for taking the time to remember her.

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  4. I do not think her childhood was a very easy one. Even though, her mother loved her very much.

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  5. Loretta Young is one classic film star who I never really felt any attraction to - although very photogenic - I never found her to be a good actress, or interesting as an actress.

    I recall reading about her 'secret' daughter in the 80's when I first started reading about classic films and their stars but never understood (until recently) that for most of her daughter's life Young refused to acknowledge Judy was biologically hers. That is one of the cruelest things I have ever heard.

    Only Judy Lewis can tell us if Young was a 'good' mother or not, but the hypocrisy of wanting to be looked upon as a 'good' Roman Catholic, along with the deep desire to save one's Hollywood career at the expense of psychologically abusing a child is reprehensible in my humble opinion.

    Gable too is to blame for going along with such a mass of lies. For someone with such a macho movie image I wouldn't think it would hurt his career in the least to father a child with another woman.

    I can understand why Lewis became a licensed clinical psychologist after her acting career. I believe that is when she wrote her biography 'outing' her Young's decades long deception - for which Young punished her by not speaking to her for several years. I hope Lewis did find peace in her life.

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