But Jack can't manage to bring his private life into order. He drinks too much, he smokes too much and he is living it up with women all the time. His moods are ever changing from extreme highs to extreme lows. Even with his friends saying how charming and loveable he was, it must have been hellish to live with him. He is thin-skinned and easily offended.
But he could be so happy, because the world is at his feet!
1927 Jack meets Greta Garbo. The romance is Hollywood legend.
Jack follows old patterns and wants to marry Garbo right away. But she never wants to marry.
The following years they have a passionate on-off-affair. There were two wedding dates set that to this day trigger a lot of story telling. (If you want to read more about this, please read some of their biographies.)
When Jack realises Garbo will never marry him, he quickly (again!) marries a co-star - Ina Claire.
Theoretically both are actors. But practically back in the day worlds divided their professional lives. Ina Claire is an acclaimed Broadway stage actress. Jack is a hugely successful silent movie actor.
Movies and movie people had a really bad rap that only slowly got better. Movies were popular with the illegibles, the non-English-speakers and the uneducated. Theatre (especially Broadway) was high-brow and "better". Any credible actor thought at least twice if he really should do a movie to make a living. By the end of the 1920s this slowly started to change, especially when suddenly the movies had sound. (And actor with professional voice training were sought after.)
1929 Jack made his first sound movie.
The "Hollywood Revue of 1929" was an anthology movie. All MGM stars (apart from Garbo) were presented to the audience with their first talking sequences. Some scenes were filmed in color.
Most scenes were musical numbers. Joan Crawford was in the movie too - and of course the hard worker she was, she not only danced and talked but sang as well and did a pretty good job.
Jack, not just MGM's highest paid actor but all of movie industry's highest paid actor, was paired with Norma Shearer, wife of star produced and Jack's friend Irving Thalberg.
They were scheduled to play a Romeo and Juliet scene. The director within the scene was Lionel Barrymore. Norma of course played Juliet and Jack made his talking debut a romantically babbling Romeo.
Norma Shearer will blossom in sound movies - she will go on to win an Oscar and be nominated several times. Lionel Barrymore will struggle with his alcohol addiction ... and Jack will simply not be able to continue his success.
This scene is Hollywood myth. Either film scholars skip it and will only address Jack's first feature movie talking debut. Or they will over analyse this scene. And they seem to hear voices ... do you think his voice sounds female and high here? I don't.
And why would Louis B Mayer who loved two things in life - his mother and money (and his mother came first!) - mess with his biggest investment?
But. The presentation of this scene is unbelievable ... although everyone seems to give it their best.
Until now audiences loved big romantic gestures, long intense stares. Lips would move and in their heads they would hear the words the audience longed to hear. This was silent movies at their best!
But when you suddenly actually hear what the lovers are saying, repeating again and again intimate language which you hadn't heard before! Maybe in theatres, but watching a movie with close up is much more intimate ... it must have been quite shocking for the audience.
Also MGM didn't do anyone a favour by filming this scene in colour. Norma looks like a clown ... a bit too heavy with the rouge!
Jack is wearing a bling-bling cape and a jewel brooch!
And the balcony ... is ground-level ... ?
After Jack and Norma played the scene "classically", a telegram is handed to Lionel Barrymore. The producers want to make some changes to the film. It's supposed to be more modern. The new title is "The Neckers". The play the scene again, this time with modern words. (Unfortunately not in modern clothing.)
Add to that the technical difficulties the crew still had. The camera was static - unlike the camera work in silent movies which by this time had become very refined. Also sounds are picked up that maybe should not have made it to the movie ... you can actually HEAR Jack and Norma kiss.
Jack doesn't seem authentic!!
"Julie, baby, I'm gaga about you!!" Oh really??
He only seems like a likeable guy when he plays himself ...
This is what happened in those early sound movies. Everything was stiff and you could almost feel the tension and stress the production was under. No wonder the movie "Singin' in the Rain" would later mock the early sound movies with this scene here!
Once the audience has decided that something is ridiculous, it is extremely difficult to repair the damage. That is what Jack's problem was. Nothing more, nothing less.
His new wife didn't help much. Oh, she did try to help by correcting insecure Jack all the time. The marriage was heading for disaster. During their wedding trip a reporter asked Ina Claire what it was like being married to a star? Ina answered, she didn't know "ask my husband!".
But JACK was the star! People crowded around them all across Europe where Ina was virtually unheard of. Ina felt snubbed and took it out on Jack. She lectured him when they visited museums, reminding him of his lack of school education. And Jack was suffering through the difficult transition to sound movies ... while Ina was tap dancing on his sensitive spots.
When the newly weds returned from their honeymoon it was clear their marriage was heading for a divorce.
The US census 1930 was taken on April 1st 1930.
You can find the data here.
John C. Gilbert is in Los Angeles in his house. He is head of his household.
32 years, born in Utah
his wife is Ina Claire Gilbert
33 years, born in District of Columbia.
There are vier servants living in their household.
They get divorced in 1931.
Surpring to no one, Jack gets married again pretty quickly. Another actress he met during filming. Virginia Bruce, co-star in "Downstairs" will be Jack's last wife.
You can find the data here.
August 10th 1932
John C. Gilbert, 35 years, lives in Beverly Hills
and
Virginia Helen Briggs, 21 years, from Minnesota, lives in Beverly Hills.
What follows are more bad times for Jack. This marriage too will be an absolute disaster within a short time. He still fights for his career. But his sound movies just aren't as popular as his silent movie hits which are only months away in the past. Jack's drinking now goes completely out of control, his work starts to suffer. Popular taste has changed - women love Clark Gable now ...
But not everything is hopeless and lost for Jack. Garbo makes MGM give a part in her movie "Queen Christina" (1933) to Jack.
August 2nd 1933 Jack's second daughter Susan Ann Gilbert is born.
See it here on familysearch.
1934 Jack and Virginia are getting divorced. The divorce is turning nasty. Jack gets lost in booze, drugs and women. Suddenly he looks ten years older than his age!
In 1935 Jack begins going out with Marlene Dietrich. And again he is lucky because Marlene is the typical German Hausfrau. She thinks sex is over-rated. When she loves someone, she mothers them with her love. She makes Jack quit alcohol. She tries to make him quit tobacco too. She cooks for him, pampers him. And she gets Jack a screen test for her next movie "Desire".
Click here to see his screen test in a clip from "Silent Hollywood" by Kevin Brownlow.
It skips directly where the screen test starts. Don't stop watching when Sam Marx starts talking or you'll miss Jack smiling into the camera one last time and in colour.
Jack didn't want Marlene to come along to the screen test, but she insisted. And again this proves to be lucky for him, because Marlene lights the set for Jack! Marlene had learnt lighting sets with genius von Sternberg. Jack looks younger! Marlene had even picked his costume "to distract from his old face". She pulls all her tricks for Jack.)
He got the part! But now his lifestyle takes its toll - in December 1935 Jack is suffering a serious heart attack. The producer replace him.
In the night from January 8th to January 9th 1936 Jack suffers a second serious heart attack. Marlene is with him. She gets medical help then flees the house to avoid scandal. (She is a married woman with a child.) Doctors fight for his life for over an hour. By early morning Jack is pronounced dead.
Jack was only 38 years old.
Jack's certificate of death is not online.
But you can find him twice in the Death Registries of Los Angeles (City and County).
"California, County Birth and Death Records 1849-1994" and "California, Death Index, 1905-1939".
He was cremated and laid to rest on Forest Lawn (findagrave.com) in Glendale, California.
When you read contemporary newspapers you will find lists of people who attended his funeral. Leatrice Joy came with their daughter. Same goes for Virginia Bruce and their daughter. Marlene was there, and many friends of Jack.
A last will was found, leaving everything to Virginia Bruce. Marlene steps up again, saying there was a new last will, leaving everything to his daughters, but this testament is never found.
Virginia Bruce "scores" big time. She auctions off Jack's posessions, even his used clothing. (Including sox and underwear.) Marlene tries to buy as much as possible at the auction ... Virginia behaves like a vulture. Even more tasteless is the auction of Jack's bed, in which he died ...
Here you can see an old advertisement for a hotel where you could rent a honeymoon suit featuring Jack Gilbert's bed. Some time ago I even so a picture of the bed which was still "in operation" at the time. What an unhappy ending.
Next time we take a look at Jack's parents.
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