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Uncommon Knowledge
The daughter of Clark Gable and Loretta Young tells of growing up amid the wealth and glamour of Hollywood in its heyday, after being born illegitimate, sent to an orphanage, and reunited with her mother under the guise of adoption
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
November 12, 2012
One of the most touching and interesting Hollywood biographies out there. Judy Lewis lived an unusual life for the child of two Hollywood stars. I don't want to give too much away but Judy was able to dig out as much as possible about her mother's background and psychology that most authors could not have. With her father, she had more difficulty because she didn't have the opportunity to know him. As for people complaining that she was "whining" I bet they have no idea what it's like to be deprived of an identity, to be emotionally abused and mistreated and deprived of the truth. It's true that she paints Clark Gable with a more idealized brush but that was because he wasn't involved in her life and she didn't have the chance to have a real relationship with him. Loretta may have seemed to get the brunt of the criticism but she carried out the main part of the ruse. Could Gable have done more? Perhaps. But it also should be viewed by the standards of the time. Hypocritical and judgmental, but there you have it.
I have sympathy for both Young and Gable, and still admire them as actors, but I see them in a much more realistic, human light. But my primary sympathy in this case will always go to Judy Lewis. Loretta did finally confirm shortly before her passing that Judy was her biological daughter with Gable and the two were reconciled. I was saddened by Judy's passing in November 2011 and even more saddened that her half-brother, John Clark Gable, who also never knew their father, will still not acknowledge or accept Judy (who resembled Gable more than he does) as his sister. Perhaps he wants to have the Gable legacy all to himself. It's sad really.
Judy was courageous to tell her story and she will live on through this book.
I have sympathy for both Young and Gable, and still admire them as actors, but I see them in a much more realistic, human light. But my primary sympathy in this case will always go to Judy Lewis. Loretta did finally confirm shortly before her passing that Judy was her biological daughter with Gable and the two were reconciled. I was saddened by Judy's passing in November 2011 and even more saddened that her half-brother, John Clark Gable, who also never knew their father, will still not acknowledge or accept Judy (who resembled Gable more than he does) as his sister. Perhaps he wants to have the Gable legacy all to himself. It's sad really.
Judy was courageous to tell her story and she will live on through this book.
July 27, 2023
I have always been fascinated by this story. Not sure if it’s because Loretta Young (well Loretta, not Young!) and I share the same name or just the ridiculous cover-up that was put into place.
Loretta Young, devote Catholic? Maybe (who am I to judge?). Sure. She had a baby out of wedlock with then married, Clark Gable. Incredibly scandalous for the time period (1935), the Catholic Church, who taught that having sex before marriage was a huge sin and extramarital affairs were also taboo and if the Movie Studios got wind of the information, careers would be over. So what did Loretta Young do? She ran to Europe to avoid bad publicity while pregnant, came back to America, had her baby (Judy Lewis, the spitting image of her father, Clark Gable) and then sent the child to an orphanage and then set up a phony adoption of her own daughter!
Judy was never told about her real father or how she was born into the world (later it came out that Clark Gable raped Loretta Young but that information was based on Loretta’s retelling so who knows?) until she married her first husband who told her that everyone in Hollywood knew that Clark Gable was her father and that her mother tried very hard not to have that information become “Common Knowledge”. When Judy finally confronted her mother, years later, her mother told her yes, Clark Gable was her father and that she (Judy) was “a walking mortal sin”. Wow! Nice Catholic mother! Being Catholic myself I was taught that lying is a mortal sin. Apparently Loretta had no qualms lying throughout her life, even not speaking to her daughter for twelve years because Judy wanted to tell “her” story and Loretta told her quite abruptly that if she did she would vehemently deny it which she did until her death.
The real “walking mortal sin”? Loretta. Who died on August 12th, 2000.
Loretta Young, devote Catholic? Maybe (who am I to judge?). Sure. She had a baby out of wedlock with then married, Clark Gable. Incredibly scandalous for the time period (1935), the Catholic Church, who taught that having sex before marriage was a huge sin and extramarital affairs were also taboo and if the Movie Studios got wind of the information, careers would be over. So what did Loretta Young do? She ran to Europe to avoid bad publicity while pregnant, came back to America, had her baby (Judy Lewis, the spitting image of her father, Clark Gable) and then sent the child to an orphanage and then set up a phony adoption of her own daughter!
Judy was never told about her real father or how she was born into the world (later it came out that Clark Gable raped Loretta Young but that information was based on Loretta’s retelling so who knows?) until she married her first husband who told her that everyone in Hollywood knew that Clark Gable was her father and that her mother tried very hard not to have that information become “Common Knowledge”. When Judy finally confronted her mother, years later, her mother told her yes, Clark Gable was her father and that she (Judy) was “a walking mortal sin”. Wow! Nice Catholic mother! Being Catholic myself I was taught that lying is a mortal sin. Apparently Loretta had no qualms lying throughout her life, even not speaking to her daughter for twelve years because Judy wanted to tell “her” story and Loretta told her quite abruptly that if she did she would vehemently deny it which she did until her death.
The real “walking mortal sin”? Loretta. Who died on August 12th, 2000.
March 23, 2012
The lady had issues. Actually both mother and daughter had their fair share of complaints, but in this book, Judy Lewis, the daughter of Loretta Young and (as she found out from her fiance just before their wedding) Clark Gable, tells her side of the story.
Everyone in Hollywood knew that the girl with the big ears, who had been "adopted" by Loretta Young about a year after she finished filming The Call of the Wild with Clark Gable, was really Loretta Young's child by Gable. She resembled both of her parents physically (remember, the ears). Although she guessed that she was really Young's biological child, she was unaware of who her father was until her fiancee told her, just before their wedding, that it was "common knowledge." She didn't confront her mother about it until several years later, and this led to one of their many rifts.
Admitting that Judy Lewis was her child back in the 1930s would have ruined both Young and Gable's careers. He was married, she was not and they both had "morals" clauses in their contracts. Having to hide the pregnancy and the true parentage from the public is certainly understandable; what is not is hiding it from Lewis herself, especially once she became an adult.
In order to admit that this had happened between herself and Gable, Young would have had to admit her own hypocrisy. Devoutly religious and judgmental, preaching "morality" and putting out "swear jars" on her sets (Tallulah Bankhead famously put a large bill in one just so that she could tell Miss Young to do something anatomically impossible)...how would it look if this person so intolerant of other peoples' missteps were to admit to having one of her own? She viewed her daughter (at least in her daughter's eyes) as a "mortal sin." It seems that here the sin of pride turned out to be more harmful.
I had difficulty with this book in that there are some negative motives that Lewis ascribes to her mother that I just don't see. She can't see that she was wanted, even though Young went through numerous hoops to hide and then "adopt" her when she could have just let her be adopted by a private family. There's plenty of blame to go around, however. Loretta Young seems to have been a very difficult woman to be with, not just for her daughter but for most others, too.
Everyone in Hollywood knew that the girl with the big ears, who had been "adopted" by Loretta Young about a year after she finished filming The Call of the Wild with Clark Gable, was really Loretta Young's child by Gable. She resembled both of her parents physically (remember, the ears). Although she guessed that she was really Young's biological child, she was unaware of who her father was until her fiancee told her, just before their wedding, that it was "common knowledge." She didn't confront her mother about it until several years later, and this led to one of their many rifts.
Admitting that Judy Lewis was her child back in the 1930s would have ruined both Young and Gable's careers. He was married, she was not and they both had "morals" clauses in their contracts. Having to hide the pregnancy and the true parentage from the public is certainly understandable; what is not is hiding it from Lewis herself, especially once she became an adult.
In order to admit that this had happened between herself and Gable, Young would have had to admit her own hypocrisy. Devoutly religious and judgmental, preaching "morality" and putting out "swear jars" on her sets (Tallulah Bankhead famously put a large bill in one just so that she could tell Miss Young to do something anatomically impossible)...how would it look if this person so intolerant of other peoples' missteps were to admit to having one of her own? She viewed her daughter (at least in her daughter's eyes) as a "mortal sin." It seems that here the sin of pride turned out to be more harmful.
I had difficulty with this book in that there are some negative motives that Lewis ascribes to her mother that I just don't see. She can't see that she was wanted, even though Young went through numerous hoops to hide and then "adopt" her when she could have just let her be adopted by a private family. There's plenty of blame to go around, however. Loretta Young seems to have been a very difficult woman to be with, not just for her daughter but for most others, too.
December 27, 2015
As a lover of movie classics I am always partial to the actors from this period and have learned to take tell all books with a grain of salt. But I think Judy Lewis did a wonderful job of balancing her hurt/anger with love for her mother and that her book is different in tone from most books from the period when this one was published. I cannot imagine how Ms. Lewis must have felt and my heart goes out to her. While I can understand Loretta Young's situation and how difficult that time in history would have been to have had a child out of wedlock I also feel that her desire to be a virtuous movie star overrode her need to be a good parent and you cannot help but feel that her own needs more than outweighed her daughters. I also have to say that more recent stories of Loretta Young saying she was date raped by Clark Gable seem hard to believe (I do not say this to in anyway belittle rape as I am a survivor myself) simply because Loretta Young seemed to be more concerned about preserving her image and I think she was still very angry and hurt emotionally by Clark Gable over his failure to marry her etc. I admire the way Judy Lewis handled her pain and how hard she fought to make something positive of her life on her own terms. If there is life after this one I hope her father was waiting for her so they could finally get to know one another.
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July 30, 2011An interesting memoir of what it would feel like to seemingly have all the advantages and yet never know unconditional love. It seems as if Judy Lewis has made a lot with the ambivalent legacy she was given. She is shown on the cover art with a "fiancé", so perhaps she has gotten over her families three-generation father abandonment anxiety. She seems to have done a good job with her daughter, being a hands-on mom and grandma. She has a lot more education than either of her parents had, and has used it to help people as a family therapist. She is haunted by the love she didn't get from either parent, but has accepted that she will never have it, and has tried to heal herself and
others. Still, it's too bad that Loretta and Rhett didn't marry. They look so beautiful in the pictures of them together. But perhaps such matches are indeed only made in Young's catholic heaven.
others. Still, it's too bad that Loretta and Rhett didn't marry. They look so beautiful in the pictures of them together. But perhaps such matches are indeed only made in Young's catholic heaven.
November 15, 2016
After reading "All the Stars in Heaven" which tells the story of Loretta Young and Clark Gable, their love affair and child, the author mentions this book in her reference thoughts. I was attracted to it and anxious to find and read it!!! I found I needed to purchase it "as used" since it is no longer in print. And let me say this book was worth reading, it pretty much deals with the "real" story behind this love child. How she grew up, how she had to experience the hurt and pain involved in being Loretta Young's adopted daughter, leaves this reader sadden and grateful to have known I was wanted and loved by both parents. Money and fame do not bring one happiness! Judy's life is a prime example of this statement.
July 13, 2015
Oh my, how I love Hollywood true stories! This one was the most shocking I have ever read. Imagine finding out Clark Gable was your birth father! And the person who tells you is a teenage boy you are out on a date with! Back years ago, it was not unusual to hide an unwanted pregnancy, but imagine if you are a single Catholic woman who is an extremely popular actress. What do you do? How do you hide it? How do you hide it for nine months and give birth to a baby in secrecy? This book has so many twists and turns you won't believe it could be true. If you like movie star biographies and Hollywood glitz, you don't want to miss this gem!
November 18, 2021
Judy Lewis wrote a memoir of her life with movie Star Loretta Young. She grew up thinking she was the adopted daughter of Loretta Young. She started to suspect there may be more to this woman who was her mother. When she was an adult she found out she was the daughter of Clark Gable and the biological daughter of Loretta Young. It was the secret that it seemed everyone knew but Judy Lewis. She was adopted at 19 months by her own mother. She writes of growing up with her mother and only meeting Clark Gable once when he came to visit the home. She had a step father who resented her and treated her badly. Her mother even had her ears altered at six because they stuck out like her biological father. she writes of feeling betrayed and hurt that it seemed everyone knew this common knowledge but her. she writes of her sometimes difficult relationship with Loretta Young. An interesting read. I felt sad for Judy Lewis who must have felt betrayed by a person she should have been able to trust.
April 1, 2020
Interesting read after “Forever Young,” which was Loretta’s fairy tale version of her life. Judy Lewis’s version was quite different and written in a reflective and respectful way. I hope the last years of her life, after publishing, were fulfilling and happy.
August 12, 2007
Judy Lewis's account of growing up the daughter of Loretta Young and, as she eventually learned, Clark Gable. A difficult life, well told.
April 28, 2018
I knew the background to Judy Lewis's story(and so did most of hollywood)a tale that tells a secret that in this media drenched world we live in now would not be able be kept quiet.her mother Loretta young intended that her career came first and with clause in her contract stipulated that as long as she did not bring herself or the studio into disrepute.this was made at the expense of her daughter and the web of lies and intrigue that it resulted in.the so called husbands and surrogate fathers where of no use except the same old story of women needing to be loved and wanted,ending up being used for their own nefarious ends.the drinking and greed of money comes to the fore again as in many of these types of bios.both women came out of all of this better then some of their colleagues.
September 13, 2018
When a movie star gave birth out of wedlock in 1935 it was absolutely necessary that it remain a secret or the career and reputations of the stars would be destroyed. Loretta Young and Clark Gable becamed lovers while filming Call of The Wild and that produced a daughter, Judy. Since Judy eventually became a therapist and family counselor, this book deals with the analysis of the dysfunctional family dynamic that affected her life. Mother decided to keep the identy of her father quiet until Judy was in her thirties.
Some of the information about old Hollywood and the actors and production people is very interesting. Although, Judy sometime over analyzes her life and her narcissistic mother.
Some of the information about old Hollywood and the actors and production people is very interesting. Although, Judy sometime over analyzes her life and her narcissistic mother.
July 1, 2019
Until recently, I never knew that Clark Gable & Loretta Young had a child that was kept a secret for many years. While shopping for a biography of another star of that era, I discovered this book, and I am so very glad I did! It is a fascinating and very honest look at life in the 1930s and 40s and why each felt their child's existence had to be kept a secret, especially from the child herself! Told by the child, this book isn't really a "tell all" in that she does her best to understand her mother & why her mother treated her the way she did. Very enlightening and inspiring!
March 23, 2018
Such a sad tale - proving once again that just because they grow up privileged doesn't mean they grow up happy. A true testament to "a tangled web" being weaved so that it can't be undone - and all to the detriment of a child. This book is for those with an interest in Old Hollywood and the "scandals" it created.
April 7, 2025
This is one of the saddest mother-daughter stories I have ever read. It broke my heart. I did not know that Clark Gable and Loretta Young had a daughter which was not acknowledged to the general public. Sad! Sad! Sad! The mother could not acknowledge her daughter because of society. The daughter did not know who her father was until later in her life.
November 15, 2017
I'd like to give this one 4 and a half stars. I've read a lot of show biz bios/autobios/memoirs, and this was one of the best. Not only did Judy have a very interesting story to tell, but she was a good writer. Couldn't put it down.
September 2, 2022
A stunning memoir of a remarkable life, of a hushed Hollywood secret that managed to carve out a path of her own while healing herself along the way.
October 26, 2022
Very interesting to read about trying to change reality to live a more respectable life. Lies always cause problems!!
January 16, 2012
This book was well-written and very interesting to read, but I tend to take the "tell-all" stories that involve kids trashing their famous parents with a very large grain of salt. I don't think Loretta Young was as bad as her daughter made her out to be. After all, she could have simply abandoned Judy and never seen her again after her birth, but it seems that there was never any doubt that she wanted to keep her and raise her, or that she loved her. I'm sure that Loretta WAS a conflicted individual, and I can only imagine that it wasn't easy for the author to grow up as the child of a movie star, but let's face it, NONE of us had perfect parents, nor are those of us who are now parents perfect. (I'll bet even Judy had her moments, for all she portrayed herself as Mom of the Year.) Who knows what any of us would have done if we had been in Loretta Young's situation, very much in the public eye, during that particular time in Hollywood. Personally, it seems to me that she, a flawed human being like the rest of us, did the best she could for her daughter. It's sad that Judy didn't cut her more slack.
August 5, 2012
Judy Lewis was the illegitimate daughter of Loretta Young and Clark Gable. Today, that sounds like nothing with hundreds of stars having children out of wedlock, but during the Golden Age of Hollywood, it was a scandal that could have ruined both of their careers. Young decided to have the baby because of her Catholic faith and kept the child, masquerading her as her adopted daughter. In order to keep the secret, she did all she could to hide the traits inherited from her parents, like fixing her crooked front teeth (recieved from Young) and surgically altering the size and shape of her ears (recieved from Gable).
It is startling and upsetting to think that Young would subject an innocent child to this torture instead of giving her up to another loving family. Prior to reading this book, I knew very little about Young except that I enjoyed her films, especially the early ones. Now I have mixed feeling toward her because she was so controlling, resentful, and condescending toward her daughter, who loved her mother in spite of being destroyed by her actions. And Lewis tried over and over to get the reader on her side, but I found that the truth overruled.
It is startling and upsetting to think that Young would subject an innocent child to this torture instead of giving her up to another loving family. Prior to reading this book, I knew very little about Young except that I enjoyed her films, especially the early ones. Now I have mixed feeling toward her because she was so controlling, resentful, and condescending toward her daughter, who loved her mother in spite of being destroyed by her actions. And Lewis tried over and over to get the reader on her side, but I found that the truth overruled.
February 5, 2011
One of the better biographies I've read. This is by Judy Lewis, the love child of Loretta Young and Clark Gable. Very touching and tragic at the same time. I grew up watching "The Loretta Young Show" with my Mom and had always liked her. After reading this book, I have totally changed my mind, it was all a persona. I don't really think this was a child who set out to malign her mother, she tells the good with the bad and wrote and was published before the death of her mother.
She was not told until she was after 30 years old that her father was indeed Clark Gable. Of course, back in the 30's the actors had to sign a morality clause and were under threat of never working again if it were to get out, but Young took it to the extreme.
It is well written and keeps you wanting to turn the pages, especially if you knew who the people were.
She was not told until she was after 30 years old that her father was indeed Clark Gable. Of course, back in the 30's the actors had to sign a morality clause and were under threat of never working again if it were to get out, but Young took it to the extreme.
It is well written and keeps you wanting to turn the pages, especially if you knew who the people were.
December 21, 2016
After reading a biography about Loretta Young, this was a great followup written by her daughter. Their relationship was always tenuous and based on a not so secret affair between Loretta and Clark Gable. Loretta Young had to keep this short lived relationship and the resulting pregnancy a secret because in the 1930's Hollywood code of conduct, an unmarried woman having an affair with an unhappily married man would ruin both their top star careers. In her family that had a stringent Catholic faith, this would also be taboo. This secret was the common thread throughout their lives and affected her daughter Judy's personal life as well.
Repeating generational problems, living within the false world of a glamorous Hollywood in it's prime, facing truth over and over again...a fascinating view of famous people and their real lives.
Repeating generational problems, living within the false world of a glamorous Hollywood in it's prime, facing truth over and over again...a fascinating view of famous people and their real lives.
July 8, 2016
I came across this book, after reading "all the stars in heaven" which tells the story of Loretta young and Clark Gable love affair and their love child. When I found out she had her own book, I couldn't wait to read it!!! I went right online and ordered it before even finishing the other book. And let me say this book didn't disappoint at all!!! I loved the story of Judy and how she grew up, feeling the hurt and pain she felt, wishing I could
Show her love. Also why reading this book, I found out that my father wasn't who I thought it was, and had been kept a secret from me for 24 years. Which made me feel even closer to Judy why reading this book
Show her love. Also why reading this book, I found out that my father wasn't who I thought it was, and had been kept a secret from me for 24 years. Which made me feel even closer to Judy why reading this book
July 3, 2014
I found this fascinating for several reasons, but mainly because even though Judy Lewis was not adopted, she was essentially raised as an adoptee, and had that transitory fear that comes with adoption; that, if she wasn't good enough, she'd be sent away. She lived her entire life in fear of losing her mother's love, because of the secrecy and lies surrounding her parentage. I recommend this to adoptees or those who found out their conception/birth was not what they thought. Ms Lewis offered keen insight into the psyche of those who have lived through this sort of revelation.
June 11, 2011
Daughter of Clark Gable, the resemblance is uncanny. Meanwhile his so called legitimate son looks nothing like Clark Gable... Afraid of the movie studio moguls and then career halting scandal of Judy conceived out of an affair with Loretta Young.. Loretta dropped her off, then 1 year later pretended to legally adopt Judy as orphan/unrelated. Sad she never knew her famous father.. Today's perspective being so very different..
August 2, 2012
Guess I just really enjoy books about and/or by real people. This was well-done, and full of photos and some heart-rendering truths. It hit a 'truth' that I lived with thru my mother, as she was born about the same time as Loretta Young. It certainly was a different time, with very different values and while people did a lot of the same things they do today, they tended to hide it, deny it, and lie about it.
May 15, 2011
Most children enter the world and their parents wait for that first cry that signals everything will be okay. But her mother was feining illness to cover up the pregnancy. When Judy Lewis was born, her famous mother covered her mouth to muffle those first cries, hid her in an orphanage and fooled the world by adopting her own daughter.
November 29, 2014
This was an interesting but sad story. At times, I thought I did not want to finish the book only because Judy Lewis kept feeling sorry for herself. Besides those few times of wanting to put the book back on the shelf it was a good book.
July 19, 2008
Am I the only one who's been left in the dark about the love child of Loretta Young and Clark Gable? This book got excellent reviews when published and I still can't believe that I - the 'Old Hollywood' gossip maven - never heard about it. I've ordered it used and can't wait to get my copy.
April 11, 2009
Interesting autobiography of Judy Lewis - unacknowledge biological daughter of movie stars Loretta Yound & Clark Gable. A bit whiny, but an intersting look at the culture of the 1930's when she was born.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews