Clark's funeral was held on November 19 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in
Glendale, in the Church of the Recessional.
Kay sat in the front row with her two children, her face covered with a
black veil.
Clark requested a simple funeral with no eulogies and that his
casket be closed, saying, "I don't want a lot of strangers looking down at
my wrinkles and my big fat belly when I'm dead."
The closed casket was covered in red roses and a crown made of small dark
red roses. The air force chaplain who presided read Psalm 46 and 121 from
the Book of Psalms, after which the air force guardsmen sounded taps.
Psalm 46:
For the leader. A song of the Korahites. According to alamoth.
God is our refuge and our strength, an ever present help in
distress.
Thus we do not fear, though earth be shaken and mountains quake
to the depths of the sea, though its waters rage and foam and
mountains totter at its surging.
The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of
Jacob.
Streams of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling
of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be shaken; God will help it at
break of day.
Though nations rage and kingdoms totter, God's voice thunders
and the earth trembles.
The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of
Jacob.
Come and see the works of the Lord, who has done fearsome deeds
on earth; who stops wars to the ends of the earth, breaks the
bow, splinters the spear, and burns the shields with fire; who
says: "be still and confess that I am God! I am exalted among
the nations, exalted on the earth."
The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of
Jacob.
Psalm 121:
A song of ascents.
I raise my eyes toward the mountains.
From where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
God will not allow your foot to slip; your guardian does not
sleep.
Truly, the guardian of Israel never slumbers nor sleeps.
The Lord is your guardian; the Lord is your shade at your
righthand.
By day the sun cannot harm you, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will guard you from all evil, will always guard your
life.
The Lord will guard your coming and going both now and forever.
Pallbearers were Jimmy Stewart, Spencer
Tracy and Robert Taylor as well as his long time friends Eddie
Mannix, Howard Strickling, Eric Dunliner and Ray Hommes. Keenan
Wynn, Frank Capra, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Norma Shearer, Marion
Davies, Jack Oakie, Arthur Miller and Jack
Benny, among others, were in attendance.
Construction at Forest Lawn delayed the entombment until November 23. Only
Kay and her two children were present as he was placed next to Carole in The
Great Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Trust. He was buried with his wedding ring,
his St. Jude medal and in the same navy blue suit he wore at his wedding to
Kay.
The Last Will and Testament of Clark Gable
See more pictures from his funeral in the
gallery.