George Golden

I'll never forget what a great man Clark Gable was. I was working as an extra on an MGM movie. There were 150 extras on the ballroom set wearing tuxedos and tails and I'm standing next to Gable and Carole Lombard. It's 5:48 p.m. and the director says I'm to take my partner and dance around Mr. Gable and Miss Lombard for the last scene of the day, but I can't keep my eyes off of my watch. I kept checking it, and suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It's Gable and he said, "Hey, son, why do you keep looking at your watch every few minutes?" I said, "Mr. Gable, in twelve minutes we go on quarter check and get paid more." He said, "You got it." He went out and screwed up his lines for twelve minutes on purpose so 150 extras could get more money. [Note: Golden was the son of George Fuller Golden, who founded the White Rats of America vaudeville union in 1900].