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Death of actress Carole Lombard...
Death of actress Carole Lombard...
Item # 722877
January 17, 1942
NEW YORK POST, Jan. 17, 1942
* Actress Carole Lombard killed
* Airplane crash disaster (1st report)
* Early coverage before confirmation of death
The front page has a nice banner headline for display announcing: "FEAR CAROLE LOMBARD, 21 OTHERS DEAD IN PLANE" First report coverage continues on page 3 with related pictorial. (see images)
Complete with 16 pages, light toning at the margins, small, light stain within the article (see image), small binding holes along the spine, generally in very nice condition.
AI notes: The 1942 Carole Lombard airplane crash occurred on the night of January 16, 1942, when the actress—one of Hollywood’s highest-paid stars and a major symbol of wartime patriotism—was killed returning from a successful U.S. war-bond tour. Lombard had traveled to Indianapolis, her hometown, where she helped raise over $2 million for the war effort following America’s entry into World War II. She insisted on flying back to California quickly to resume filming and board a Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA) Flight 3, a Douglas DC-3, departing Las Vegas after a refueling stop. Shortly after takeoff, at approximately 7:20 p.m., the plane struck Potosi Mountain, about 32 miles southwest of Las Vegas, killing all 22 people aboard, including Lombard, her mother Elizabeth Peters, and MGM press agent Otto Winkler. The crash was attributed to pilot error, likely caused by misjudging the aircraft’s position during a wartime blackout when navigational lights were dimmed for security. Lombard’s death shocked the nation, prompting President Franklin D. Roosevelt to declare her “the first American woman casualty of the war”, and she was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom. Her husband, actor Clark Gable, devastated by the loss, later enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces, a decision widely seen as inspired by Lombard’s patriotism and tragic death.
Category: The 20th Century
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