He isn't drinking as much now， however， as he has at other times in his life. He isn't eating as much either. To make Misfits， he crash-dieted from a bloated 230 pounds to 195，and he's staying with steak， tomatoes， and cottage cheese for the duration41. Discipline is simple for him. He gained the weight because he didn't care， lost it as soon as he did. He had to lose the weight not only photogenic， but also insurable. Twice he flunked the insurance test for the film， passing only after staying in bed a few days. Twice in the last ten years he has had seizures that might have been heart attacks; once， ten years ago， while driving on a freeway he had chest pains so breath-taking he had to pull off the road and lie down on the ground. The other time he turned ash-gray and slumped in a chair in a friend's home in Palm Spring. You wouldn't know it to look at him though. He looks great. Just great.

This is his sixty-sixth talking picture42 (he appeared in at least six silents) and the sixth in which he will be playing a cowboy or frontiersman. In his first talking film he played a cow- boy， and he couldn't ride a horse. Now he can ride and rope like the Long Ranger. Gable likes westerns. He likes to see them， likes to appear in them. \"Horse operas，\" he calls them. He would have been happy to have been Bill Boyd. \"An actor，\" he has said， \"feels more like a man when he has spurs on his boots and is riding across the prairie， the wind leathering his face.\"

Clark Gable has had five wives in his lifetime. Ｈe is a rich man. In the past five years of independent filmmaking， his acting has earned him $7 million-- $2 million more than he earned in the entire twenty-three years he was under contract to MGM. Under contract，he was always on straight salary， at a peak of about $7， 500 a week. It's estimated that the films he made in his MGM days made $500 million for MGM. He never saw a cent of their profits，and it bothers him mightily. Now he owns percentages of everything he makes， and his income is structured total $1 million a year until 1976. There are richer movie stars than he: people who have earned less， but invested differently. Gable is conservative with big money， frugal with small money. The only major real estate he owns is real es- tate he uses--his ranch， and a house in Palm Springs. He likes cash， likes the security of $500 to $100 in his pocket， where he can put his hands on it. Stashing large sums of money is a quirk he copied in a small way43， years ago， from Wallace Berry. When Berry was MGM's highest-paid star in the early thirties， he rarely had less than $30， 000 on him， and at one point had $2 million in a safe-deposit box44. Gable， too， has kept his money in boxes over the years， but now he also has it in saving accounts and in American enterprise. There is a total of 37， 783 shares of common stock in his portfolio.

He drives a silver Mercedes-Benz SC， which has gull-wing doors that open upward instead of out， and he knows it intimately enough to be able to take it apart and put it back together， nut by bolt45. In fact， he knows enough about any car to take it apart and reassemble it. Whenever he's needed on the set， and not in sight， somebody is sent to look for him under all the parked cars， and usually he's under one， with a buddy， tinkering. His former secretary， Jean Garceau， who is still his friend and fan， says that whenever she needs him she calls all the service stations46 on Ventura Boulevard until she finds him. He would have made a first-class mechanic， or he says， a chauffeur. He's got so much axle grease in the pores of his hands; no amount of scrubbing will remove it. Gable's compulsion about cleanliness has gone so far. He will only shower， and does so several times a day. He is so immaculately groomed and dressed， you could eat of him. A Palm Spring waitress， not usually given to47 poetry， glimpsed him in a restaurant before he left for Nevada: \"I saw this man in a brown suit and a white shirt standing in the doorway. He was so gorgeous， so clean. He looked like chocolate melting in your mouth.\" By the time she realized who he was， she had turned completely incoherent. Most people are initially struck dumb at the sight of him， not only because who he is， but because he is handsome; most people will see few men in their lives who are so exquisitely turned out. Even on the hottest California days， if he appears in public， it's in shirt， tie， and gabardine suit with a white handkerchief in the pocket. His suits and jackets are made for him at Dick Carroll's in Beverly Hills and Brooks Brothers in New York. He wears white， French-cuffed48， button-down49 Brooks shirts. He buys ten suits a year from Carroll's， at about $225 per; and a half-dozen or more sports jackets for $175 or so; tweeds， Shetlands， blazers， bold plaids， all fully lined in silk--all conservatively cut. Other men wear padded shoulders to get the Gable physique; Gable has worn no padding since 1944.

At Brooks' he orders four or five suits at a time， on an annual buying trip: navy blue， pinstripes， charcoal grays， once in a while a Glen plaid like that the Duke of Windsor wears， or a gabardine in olive or brown， or a hound's-tooth check. The jacket are three- button， only an occasional one double-breasted50. The pants have cuffs， of course， and by special request， buttons on the fly. He chooses four or five sports jackets in British tweeds: heather， brown， or gray; a half-dozen pairs of gray flannel slacks; and some Shetland sweaters. He orders two dinner jackets and a set of tails， then picks out some new Locke high-crown hats. He's a little eccentric about hats. Whereas most men stand to try on hats and adjust the brim on the head， Gable sits， and rolls the brim on his lap. Once he chooses a hat， he will never have it cleaned--a fact that maddens his household staff. In his clothes closet where the vast， spotless， impeccably tailored wardrobe hangs， arranged by color， each jacket dated in a pocket--in among the cashmere and silk，Shetland and gabardine--sit row on row of felt hats with soiled sweatbands. There is no explanation for it，only a meek apology from a staff trained to be as fastidious as its boss: \"Mr. Gable just loves his old hats.\"

He has a gun collection worth perhaps a half-million dollars: gold inlaid， beautifully tooled pistols， shotguns， and rifles. \"A king's weapons，\" a friend calls them. He has the best， most sophisticated fishing equipment form Abercrombie and Fitch: Payne rods， Hardy reels， etc. His leather goods are so fine they seem edible.

One collection he has would surprise many people who know him， and that is books. He is a voracious reader， and always has been， but is so self-conscious about his love of literature， and in the past， so concerned it would tarnish his manly image， that only his closest friends have ever seen him with a book…。

Frank Taylor， who is surprised by Gable's elegance， passes on the observation that \"Clark Gable is a man de-classed51. You can't guess in any way where he came from or what he was.\"

Saying so， he credits Gable with achieving the essence of the American dream: not only to succeed， but to pass. Gable， millionaire movie star， now passes as Marlboro man， country squire， sage， and god， because he is all that. Perhaps， when he was what he really was， he didn't exist at all.

注釋

(41) for the duration: 在整段時間內。

(42) talking picture: 有聲電影。

(43) in a small way: 小，小規(guī)模地。

(44) safe-deposit box: 安全信托柜。

(45) nut by bolt: (此處轉義)絲毫不差(地)。

(46) service station: 維修站。

(47) be given to: 熱中于，很喜愛。

(48) French-cuffed: 雙袖口。

(49) button-down: 領尖釘有鈕扣的。

(50) double-breasted: 雙排扣式的。

（51） de-class: 使失去社會地位，使降低社會地位。

但現(xiàn)在，他喝得并不多，如他平常一樣。他也吃得不多。為了扮演《不適應環(huán)境的人》，他瘋狂節(jié)食，體重從230磅降到了 195磅，在整個拍攝期間，他只吃一些牛排、西紅柿、農(nóng)家干酪。對他來說，規(guī)則很簡單。由于他不注意，體重又回升了，但只要他注意了，很快又減輕了。他不得不減肥，不僅是為了上鏡，也是為了保險。他曾經(jīng)有兩次沒有通過電影保險測試，在床上躺了幾天之后才通過。過去十年里，他發(fā)過兩次病，也許是心臟病。一次，十年前，他正在高速公路上駕車行駛的時候，突然胸部疼痛，幾乎喘不過氣來，他不得不將車停在路邊，躺在地上。另一次，他面色慘白，突然倒在棕櫚泉朋友家中的椅子里。但是你看他時卻看不出什么跡象。他看上去太健康了，真是太健康了。

這是他的第六十六部有聲電影（他至少演過六部無聲電影），這是第六部他在片中飾演一位牛仔或拓荒者。在他第一部有聲電影中他扮演一位牛仔，當時他不會騎馬。現(xiàn)在他不僅能騎馬，而且還能像突襲隊員把它們用套索套住。蓋博喜歡西部片，他喜歡觀看西部片，喜歡在片中飾演角色?！榜R的戲劇，”他這樣說起西部片。要是能飾演比爾·博伊德，他將非常高興?！耙粋€演員，”他曾說過，“當他有了靴刺之后，會感覺更像一個男人。騎著馬，穿越北美大草原，任憑草原上的風抽打著他的臉龐?！?/p>

克拉克·蓋博一生有過5個妻子。他非常富有。在過去獨立拍片的5年中，他從所扮演的角色中獲得了700萬美元——比他在與米高梅影片公司簽約的整整23年里賺的錢還多200萬多美元。在片約中，他薪水很固定，一個星期最高片酬為7500美元。據(jù)估計，他在為米高梅影片公司拍片的日子里至少為米高梅影片公司賺了5億美元。他從未見過利潤的一分一毫，這使他很惱火?，F(xiàn)在他所拍片子的所有的利潤他都提成。到1976年，他的收入已固定在每年100萬美元。還有一些比他更富有的明星：他們掙得稍微少一些，但有不同的投資方式。蓋博在大錢上很保守，在小錢方面很節(jié)省。他名下的惟一主要不動產(chǎn)，就是他使用的房地產(chǎn)——他的牧場，以及在棕櫚泉的房子。他喜歡現(xiàn)金，喜歡500美元、100美元在他口袋中的安全感，他可以隨時將手伸進口袋去摸一摸。藏匿大量的錢是許多年前他悄悄模仿華來斯·比利而來的一種怪癖。當時比利在 30年代早期是米高梅影片公司中片酬最高的影星，他極少有少于3萬美元的情況，他曾經(jīng)在安全信托柜里有過200萬美元。蓋博，也是常年將他的錢放入安全信托柜。但現(xiàn)在他將錢存在銀行存折上和美國公司里。他的手頭總共有37783股普通股。

他開著一輛銀色的南卡羅來納州產(chǎn)的梅塞德斯奔馳車。車門是海鷗翅翼形的向上開啟、而不是向外開的。他可以非常熟練地將車拆開然后又把它裝上。其實，他對于任何車輛，都能熟練地拆裝。無論什么時候需要他在拍攝場地，而他又不在現(xiàn)場的時候，只要派一個人去停車場找他，一定會發(fā)現(xiàn)他和一個同伴在車子下面敲敲打打。他的前秘書，吉恩·格瑞爾，現(xiàn)在依然是他的朋友、影迷，說無論什么時候她需要他幫忙，她就給文圖拉大道的所有維修站打電話，直到找到他為止。他也許會成為一個一流的機械師，或如他所說，一個司機。他的雙手沾滿了輪軸潤滑油，使多大勁擦也沒法去掉。蓋博有一種很強的潔癖。他只能洗淋浴，一天要淋浴幾次。他的修飾、穿著無可挑剔，簡直可以入口為食。棕櫚泉的一位女侍者，平常不太喜歡詩歌，在他離開棕櫚泉去內華達州之前，在一家餐館瞥了他一眼，說：“我看見這個人穿著棕色的外套，白色的襯衣，站在門口，他太瀟灑了，太干凈了，看起來就像含在你嘴里的要溶化的巧克力。”當她意識到他是誰時，她就變得完全的語無倫次了。很多人一看到他，最初都會目瞪口呆地站在那兒，不僅僅是因為他的身份，而是因為他的英俊瀟灑；大多數(shù)人一生都極少見到有人這樣精心打扮過。即使在加利福尼亞最炎熱的季節(jié)，他都是以襯衫、領帶、華達呢外套、口袋上還有一方潔白的手帕這樣的形象出現(xiàn)在大家面前。他的外套、夾克衫是貝弗利山的迪克·卡羅制衣廠和紐約的布魯克兄弟制衣廠為他專做的。平常他都穿著白色的、雙袖口的、領尖釘有鈕扣的布魯克牌襯衫。

他每年從卡羅制衣廠購進10套衣服，每套大約225美元；半打或更多的運動衫，每件約175美元左右。他的粗呢套裝、設得蘭羊毛衫、運動衫，以及引人注目的方格花呢披風都用絲綢作襯里——剪裁都相當不錯。很多人都愛穿有墊肩的衣服，這樣看起來有點蓋博的身材；但蓋博自1944年以來就再也沒穿過有墊肩的衣服。

在布魯克制衣廠，他一次性訂購四到五套衣服：有藏青色的、細條紋的、深灰色的、偶爾是格倫厄克特格子呢，溫莎公爵穿的那一種，有時是黃褐色的或咖啡色的，亦或是犬牙格子花紋的。夾克衫是有三粒扣子的，偶爾是雙排扣的。褲子當然有翻邊，根據(jù)其特殊要求，褲口拉鏈還加鈕扣。他還選購四至五套英格蘭粗呢套裝：石南色、咖啡色或灰色，半打灰色的法蘭絨褲子，或幾件設得蘭羊毛衫。訂購兩件無尾禮服，一套燕尾服，然后挑選一些新洛克式的高帽子。對于帽子他有一種異乎尋常的愛好。很多人站著試帽子，戴在頭上調帽檐，而蓋博則坐下來，在他膝蓋上滾動帽檐。一旦他選中了一頂帽子，他就永遠不讓人洗它——這是一件令其家人發(fā)瘋的事。他的衣柜里，按著顏色，掛滿了很多很干凈的剪裁得體的服裝，每件夾克衫都在一個口袋里，標明日期，在這些開絲米、絲綢、設得蘭羊毛衫、方格呢子布衣服中間，一層一層疊放著氈帽，以及它們臟兮兮的帽襯圈。對此沒有什么解釋的。只有一位經(jīng)過訓練如蓋博一樣講究的職員的辯解還勉強說得過去：“蓋博先生喜歡舊帽子?！?/p>

他收集了很多槍支，大概值50萬美元：全都是些鑲金的、經(jīng)過漂亮加工過的手槍、獵槍和來福槍?！耙粋€國王的武器裝備，”一位朋友這樣說。他還有最好的從阿伯克諾比和菲奇獲得的最為精巧的釣具：佩恩釣魚桿，哈代繞線輪等。他的皮革制品如此之好，以至于看起來都可以吃了。

他的另一種收藏會使許多認識他的人大吃一驚，那就是對書的收藏。他是一個嗜書的讀者，一直都是。但是他這種對文學的愛好從未讓人知道，在過去，他老擔心這樣會破壞他男子漢的形象，只有他親密的朋友曾見過他手里拿著一本書。

弗蘭克·泰勒對蓋博的優(yōu)雅驚嘆不已，說道：“克拉克·蓋博是一個你無法判斷他地位的人，無論如何，你都猜不出他從哪兒來，他干過什么?！?/p>

這樣說，他是稱贊蓋博獲得了美國夢的精粹：不僅要成功，而且要超越。蓋博，這位百萬富翁電影明星，現(xiàn)在超越了，成了“萬寶路廣告標志”，鄉(xiāng)村紳士，圣人，偶像，因為他就是一切。也許，當他真的成為他本人時，他根本也就不存在了。