Which Hollywood Icon Called Clark Gable ‘An Idiot’?

EL DORADO, John Wayne, 1967 — Everett Collection

What To Know

The feud between John Wayne and Clark Gable originated from a falling out between Gable and director John Ford during the filming of Mogambo in 1953, which Wayne took personally due to his loyalty to Ford.
Wayne publicly insulted Gable, calling him “an idiot,” and criticized his intelligence, while Gable never responded to the remarks or engaged in the feud publicly.
Their conflict highlighted stark differences in their personalities and professional philosophies, with Wayne’s reputation for stubbornness and loyalty contrasting with Gable’s more reserved approach.

Clark Gable, who died on November 16, 1960, was one of the iconic actors who ruled the Golden Age of Hollywood. But not everyone was enchanted with the Gone With the Wind star — especially fellow Hollywood legend John Wayne.

Wayne’s conflict with Gable was famous, the two men never starred in a film together. In fact, the feud didn’t originate with a conflict between the two men; it began with director John Ford and the turbulent shoot on location in Africa for Mogambo in 1953. Gable arrived as a veteran leading man, starring alongside Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly, but Ford’s temper on set quickly became an issue. He pushed his cast to the brink to get the performances he wanted. Gable walked off the set more than once, and by the time filming wrapped, Ford and Gable were no longer speaking. They also never worked together again.

When Wayne heard about this, he took it personally. Ford was not just a director Wayne admired; he was also a friend, a mentor and a political ally. So when Gable and Ford fell out, Wayne took Ford’s side and decided to go after Gable. In her book John Wayne: My Father, Aissa Wayne wrote about the feud, according to Express (UK), “During the filming of Mogambo, Ford and Gable had clashed again and again and the subsequent feud had simmered for years. In my father’s way of thinking, disloyalty to allies, support in any fashion for their enemies, was expressly forbidden. If Clark Gable took on John Ford, my father’s code demanded that John Wayne stand by his old pal.”

Everett Collection

When asked about Gable, Wayne famously remarked, according to Far Out Magazine, “[He’s] extremely handsome in person. That’s one guy that doesn’t need Hollywood to make him look good. But Gable’s an idiot. Do you know why Gable’s an actor? It’s the only thing he’s smart enough to do.”

It proved that while both were great actors, their philosophies could not have been more different, and that difference magnified the tension between them. Gable himself never publicly fired back; there is no evidence that he ever insulted Wayne or even addressed the comments. Meanwhile, Wayne was known to clash with others, from Montgomery Clift to Gene Hackman, and his reputation for being stubborn has followed him long after his final film.