Customer Reviews

Uncommon Knowledge

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Having seen many of her films, I've long considered myself a fan of Loretta Young. I always found her to be a gracious and benevolent presence. Imagine how my curiousity was peaked when I read that Ms. Young was the mother of an illegitimate child with none other than the King of Hollywood himself, Clark Gable. Of course I was first intrigued by the idea of a secret "love child" hidden in plain view as the adopted child of a famous and beautiful movie star. But with each turn of a page I discovered that this was not Loretta Young's story, neither was it Clark Gable's. It was the story of Judy Lewis, the little girl with the big ears who grew up wondering why everyone stood whispering in corners when she entered a room. Ms. Lewis is both funny and tragic in telling the story of her life as Loretta Young's "adopted" child. I couldn't help but be moved by her vivid word pictures when she tells how she often felt alienated and cast off by her famous mother. But in telling her story she doesn't attack Ms. Young; it's very clear how much she continues to love her mother. She is frank, forthright, and endearing as she claims what was long overdue: her birthright as the daughter of Hollywood royalty. This book is a great read. I couldn't put it down!

This is a very interesting book. It does not just tell the story of Judy Lewis, the illegitimate daughter of Clark Gable and Loretta Young, it also tells the story of a family over several generations. Judy had to dig into her mother and father's past to understand just what made them do what they did on that mountain in Baker, Washington that led to her being born. She tells about the histories of Loretta's parents-her mother virtually orphaned at the age of five- mother of five by the age of 28; a father who constantly cheated on his wife and left her raising five children all under the age of 10. As well as the history of her father, who's mother died at the age of 10 months, whose father never wanted Clark to be an actor because it was "sissy". Clark the man who married two women old enough to be his mothers.
She also describes the hardships they had to deal with when Loretta found out that she was pregnant. How the public knowing she had a baby by a married man would make her and Clark loose their jobs. Judy describes the acrobatics that Loretta did to make sure that the press never found out about her pregnancy and then what Loretta did to hide the fact that Judy was hers after she "adopted" her.
Judy goes on to describe her life after her mother married Tom Lewis. How Tom went from treating Judy like a princess to treating her like the hired help after his sons Christopher Paul and Peter Charles were born. Judy describes the years of emotional abuse that Tom meted out to her until the day when she was in her mid 20's and she heard him telling Christopher and Peter that because she was adopted she was not their sister.
Judy goes into detail about some of her friends and childhood adversaries. She tells about her friendship Daniel Mayer Selznick (the son of David O. Selznick and grandson of Louis B. Mayer.) She also tells about her friendship with people like Bucky Hearst (the grandson of William Randolph Hearst and cousin to Patty Hearst), and the children of Bing Crosby and Irene Dunne. Some of her adversaries were the children of other Hollywood Bigwigs who would make fun of Judy because of her big ears (a trait she inherited from her father and pasted on to her daughter and grandsons.) The teasing got so out of hand that Judy wanted to have surgery to get rid of them. Though she thought that the surgery was her idea it was really her mothers who did not want any evidence about the parentage of her "adopted" daughter because as long as Judy still had those "Dumbo" ears people would know that she was Clark Gables daughter.
Judy describes her early boyfriends like Robert Dornon and Jack Haley Jr. as well as the relationship she had with her fiancé Russell Hughes, whom nobody in her family liked. She goes into detail about her husband Joseph Tinney and their rocky relationship, which produced daughter Maria Tinney Dagit, and two grandchildren.
In the book, Judy also describes her on again off again relationship with her mother. She tells about when she was younger and her mother was very loving to her, but would not want to be asked about Judy's adoption to the scene after Judy was married and Judy finally confronted her mother about being her and Clark Gable's biological child to the fight that they had Mother's Day 1986 when the pain and anger Judy had about her childhood as well as the fact that her mother the movie star said that she did not have enough money to get a dress and pay for a plane ticket to Pennsylivania to go see Maria get married to Daniel Dagit.
All in all this is a very good book, and I recommend it to anybody interested in old Hollywood.

Over the last few decades of the 20th century, several children of the Kings and Queens of Hollywood have stepped forward and write stories of what it was truly like to grow up under a famous shadow. Some have revealed horror stories of horrid abuse, neglect and alienation.

A person could be tempted to lump "Uncommon Knowledge" with the rest. But that would be doing Judy Lewis and her story a grave injustice. Unlike other Hollywood children, Judy Lewis entered the world in shadow circumstances that are still debated to this day.

In 1935, a blue eyed, blonde baby girl was born to Gretchen Young and her married former lover. Gretchen was better known to the world as the film star Loretta Young and her former lover was the smoldering Clark Gable. Compelled to save her career and image at any cost and her strong Catholic faith barring abortion, the young mother chose to hide her pregnancy and child from the world.

Judy Lewis was the baby girl. To the world, she was the adopted daughter and beloved daughter of Loretta Young. To the film world, she was Gable and Young's secret love child, the truth of her heritage stamped on her face. Lewis herself never knew the truth until adulthood.

Written without the consent of her mother, Judy Lewis builds a strong case for her story. The photos scattered throughout the text show a young woman to an adult, her resemblance to Clark Gable radiating in every pore. Other photos reveal her close resemblance to the Young family.

Like many other Hollywood children, Lewis was subjected to more nannies than time with her mother. And the complete silence from Young in regards to Judy's "adoption" and who she "truly" was left a heartwrenching void in Judy's life, one that even years of working as a family counseler can not erase.

Judy Lewis did such a phenomenal job of writing this book. I could not put it down until I'd reached the last page. Unfortunately, it's a story of great sorrow. Loretta Young was always one of my most favorite actresses. Her life seemed shaped by her family history, by her devout Catholicism, the Hayes morality codes and her chosen career. Fear of being found out seems to have permeated her life to the point where when she was confronted by her daughter Judy regarding Judy's parentage, she actually became physically ill. Throughout the book Judy displays a deep devotion and love of her mother, but undoubtedly was terribly confused regarding Loretta's attitude towards her. Although Loretta was a devoted Catholic, knew all the Catholic rules and abided by them, she failed to show genuine Christian love. It broke my heart that Loretta failed to see how her husband Tom Lewis treated Judy, how Judy despised one of her caretakers and was terribly frightened of her, and how Mary Coney after 37 years of working for Loretta was turned out of the house when she was sick and dying. For all Loretta's charity work, she really needed to start her charity at home. I was glad to know that Judy and Loretta reconciled in 1997, three years prior to Loretta's death at 87. I have since often wondered how Loretta's two boys by Tom Lewis have faired in life and if they were treated similarly by their mother.

Judy Lewis was a beautiful child, and is a beautiful woman. She had a terribly difficult childhood despite being the offspring of two wealthy and powerful Hollywood figures. She made her own way however, and succeeded in becoming a most lovely and talented woman without the help of her parents. I'd say this is the result of a determination on her part and perhaps the genes she inherited. I certainly wish she'd write more, her book was a wonderful read.

Judy Lewis is the illegitimate daughter of Loretta Young and Clark Gable. Today, that sounds like nothing what with stars like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie having children out of wedlock and being praised for it. However, then, it was a major scandal, one that could have ruined both their careers forever. Young chose to have the baby instead of aborting it due to her Catholic faith and kept the child masquerading as her adopted daughter. In order to keep the secret, she did all she could to hide the traits she inherited from her parents by fixing the crooked front teeth that Young shared with her daughter and by surgically altering the size and shape of her ears that she shared with Gable.

It is startling and upsetting to think that Young would put an innocent child through that kind of torture instead of giving her up to another couple to love and care for. It seems we have another example of awful parenting by a major movie star here. I knew virtually nothing about Loretta Young's life other than the fact that I highly enjoy her pre-code films. Perhaps that is because she was still innocent during that era. It seems she hardened after that time; perhaps that was due to having a child. After reading this book, I have become angry at this woman for being so controlling, resentful, and condescending toward her own daughter, the girl that loved her mother despite constantly being destroyed by her actions.

Do not think that Lewis was trying for this result. Throughout the book, she praises her mother and tries to find explanations for her actions instead of blaming her. She is a commendable writer for her honesty and love for her subject despite everything. However, the truth came through.

Judy Lewis lived a life as a Hollywood star's child that no other offspring of a celebrity can claim - believing that she was the adopted daughter of Loretta Young, she was in fact Young's natural child, conceived during a brief affair with the King Of Hollywood, Clark Gable. However, the Tinsletown of the 1930s, out of wedlock pregnancies were unacceptable, and Gable's status as a married man and Young's Roman Catholic faith forbade any chance of the two ever to be linked in matrimony. Loretta carried out a plan with the help of her mother, in which she let it be known that she was embarking on a trip to Europe, when in fact she was in seclusion, waiting to secretly give birth. The baby girl was placed in an orphange while Young returned to Hollywood to put gossip to rest and resume her career. She reclaimed her infant daughter some months later and let it be known that she had adopted the child. Although the open secret around town was that she and Gable had a love child, it was one that everyone kept mum about. Thus, little Judy grew up with low whispers, a stepfather who turned on her the moment he fathered two sons with her mother, and Loretta's own strange ambivalence and detachment. Although Clark was aware of his daughter (even coming to visit her a few times as an infant), he never publicly acknowledged her. One of the most painful passages recalls Judy's hurt by being called "Dumbo" at a birthday party because of the size of her ears (inherited from her famous father). Young used her little girl's negative experience as an excuse to have Judy undergo excruciating surgeries to reshape her ears so that Loretta's secret would remain safe. When Judy did meet Gable as a teenager, she was still in the dark about her parentage and was awed by the famed actor's visit to her home. Her stepfather became emotionally cold and cruel to his stepdaughter while her mother was off busily doing her work. It wasn't until she was grown that Judy learned the truth about herself - from her fiancee, who admitted that everyone knew that she was the child of two legendary stars. In adulthood, Judy married, had a daughter of her own, and eventually became a psychologist (after working as an actress), and was able to piece together and analyze why her parents made the choices they did, and why her mother continued to deny the truth. With her own background of abandonment, Loretta felt that Gable's distance and lack of financial support of their baby was yet another example of how men were unreliable. Unfortunately, she inflicted her own sense of shame (reinforced by her religion, no doubt), guilt and anger on her daughter. God took the place of a father in Young's life, and she used her religion as a defense with many situations. At the time Uncommon Knowledge was published, Young still had not confirmed that Judy was her biological child, and they two were estranged. Loretta sniffed to the press after the book's initial release, "I cannot imagine why she wrote this book." It was only shortly before Young's death from ovarian cancer in 2000 that the star admitted the truth publicily and mother and daughter reconciled.

Judy Lewis was courageous in revealing what had been denied to her entire life - her father, and the truth. Most of us take for granted our lineage and our identities, but one thing's for certain - looking at photographs of Lewis there is no mistaking who her parents were. Loretta Young's "mortal sin" was in fact something that was hypocrisy at the time, no child is ever a sin, nor is love a sin. But Young's own psychology and the standards of the time prevented her from emotionally stepping up to the plate, the same can be said of Gable, and their child suffered as a result. Judy Lewis continues to inspire with her story, refusing to give into the shame that so affected her mother, and she maintains a close relationship with her daughter and granchildren. She was able to overcome the patterns and cycle that had emotionally crippled her forebearers, and has gone on to live a fufilled life.

UPDATE: Having just learned of the passing of Judy Lewis on November 25, 2011, I would like to think that she is reunited with both her parents. Her courage in sharing her story will never be forgotten. Peace to her remaining loved ones.

I was totally appalled by the truth of Judy Lewis' life. To not be told of some one as important as your fathers identity is horrible, but to not be told when your father was as famouse as hers was and that eveyone knew but her was totally unacceptable! I'm just glad that the truth finally did come out and that everyone found out the truth about Loretta Young. My views have changed so much by reading this book that I'm very skeptical of today's Hollywood Images. My heart goes out to Judy Lewis and her hardships. I urge you to read this book and discover the truth!!

.....I bought this book because I wanted a greater insight into the lives of two of my favorite Hollywood Stars of the forties ...I got that and a lot more ...

.....When Judy finally confronts her mother and asks, "if you didn't want me and if you only saw me as a living reminder of your "mortal sin", then why didn't you allow me to be adopted by parents who would have wanted me and loved me so that I could have been raised in a normal home with both a father and a mother?" ...

.....I don't know if Freud could have answered that question but I'll take a shot ...Loretta's first husband called her a "steel butterfly", beautiful and delicate on the outside but hard as steel on the inside. Part of her inner strength was caused by the abandonment by her father when she was four and the abject poverty she and her siblings had to endure as a result. When she was six she was sent to live with Silent Screen Star Mae Clark for about a year. Loretta saw the opulence and wealth that came with being a Hollywood star and vowed that she would become one, not just an actress, but a "Star".

.....Her career was the central point in her life. She was not going to do anything that might jeopardize her position. When her affair with Clark Gable led to the unexpected and unwanted pregnancy she panicked and turned to her mother. A meeting with Gable was set up to formulate a plan of action. Being a devout Catholic abortion was not an option and Loretta, still in love with Gable, probably would have liked to work out a plan where they could eventually marry.

.....Gable however, had no desire to get married, his affair with co-star Joan Crawford also resulted in a pregnancy but Joan immediately had an abortion and Gable probably would have preferred that Loretta do the same. When he saw that was not going to happen he settled for secrecy and an adoption. He must have been surprised when Loretta decided to "adopt" their child herself but he was OK with it as long as it never came out that he was the father.

.....I'm sure that Loretta was disappointed that Clark would not marry her and when she set up an account for him to secretely contribute to Judy's support he ignored it, even though he was one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, he made it clear that Loretta was on her own. Having been hardened by both the rejection of her father and her lover and saddled with the sole support of her child Loretta probably reasoned that by keeping Judy close to her she could guarantee that her secret would never come out even if she had to deny Judy an identity of her own to do it.

.....Ms Lewis had to contend with her mothers seeming indifference and coldness over the span of thirty years and so when she struck back, her mother got the brunt of her anger. She seemed more willing to give Gable a pass, more than he deserved in my opinion. Except for $400 dollars he gave to Loretta to, "buy the kid a decent bed" he made no effort to contribute to her support. When he came to visit her when she was 15, for reasons known only to himself, he cupped her face in his hands and said, "Good-bye Judy". Apparently he meant that literally because he never made any attempt to ever see her again.

.....When she graduated from High School, he did not acknowledge it. When she got married he did not attend her wedding, though invited, and did not even send a gift nor did he acknowledge the birth of his grand daughter. And the final rejection came when he died and Judy was left out of his will. All in all I would have to say that Mr. Gable acted like a cad. I can't blame Loretta for being bitter, it is too bad that she never experienced true happiness. I only hope that she and Judy had a reconcilliation before she died. Judy turned out to be quite a remarkable person under the circumstance. This is a good book and I highly recommend it.

When I was a little kid, my mother never missed the Loretta Young Show on TV. I grew up knowing that Young was a big Hollywood star who had always been a devout Catholic and therefore a `good girl' - unlike so many wild Hollywood stars.

I'm not immune to all celebrity buzz, but I missed the news years ago that Loretta Young's "adopted" daughter was in fact her own baby, born out of wedlock and fathered by Clark Gable, no less. When I did hear that recently, I had to read this book by Judy Lewis for all the scoop.

A lesser person could have published a shrill "Mommie Dearest" type of book. Instead, Lewis wrote a thoughtful, heartfelt memoir which takes the reader into the heart of a family - the good, the bad, the lovely and the ugly. That the family in question lived under the spotlight of Hollywood fame, wealth and influence is relevant, but not the focus of the story.

Lewis looks at her mother's family and traces patterns of attitude and behavior through the generations: beautiful, strong and talented women left to raise their children after their men left them, and "giving away" young children temporarily to allow them to have better living conditions than a struggling parent could manage.

A key fact is the devout Catholic faith of Loretta and her mother, Gladys. Already starring in pictures in her late teens, Loretta succeeded in the transition from silent films to the talkies. In 1935, the 22-year-old Young went on location to the mountains of Washington state to film "Call of the Wild" with Clark Gable. The production encountered severe winter weather and serious delays, and the stars fell in love. Young had been briefly married at age 17 (then divorced, but since she hadn't been married in church it somehow didn't "count" in Catholic terms), and Gable was married. When Young learned she was pregnant, abortion was out of the question due to her faith - which also told her that her child was a "mortal sin."

Young's machinations to keep her pregnancy out of the news, and to eventually publicly "adopt" the child when she was 23 months old (or so, the kid's exact age was also fudged as part of the smoke screen), from a children's home out of town where she had sent her baby to stay for months, are chilling to read. By the time Judy Lewis knew the truth about her parentage - facts which were "common knowledge" in Hollywood where she grew up - it was too late for her to get to know her father.

I wouldn't have been surprised if this book had been a long self-pitying whine. But Lewis has the gift of a loving and empathetic nature. She looks beyond her own story - backward to her family of origin, and forward as she revels in her daughter's happiness in adulthood - and thus gives us a frame of reference for the hard decisions taken by a young, beautiful and fiercely ambitious - and fiercely Catholic - movie star in the 1930's.

Lewis dishes up a little more psychotherapy than I thought was really necessary, but it's understandable. At the time she wrote this book, Lewis was a newly-minted therapist, having finally obtained the college education that her mother had so firmly steered her away from when Lewis had graduated from high school. Yet another strange thing to me; you'd expect a wealthy, successful woman to *want* her daughter to get a good education. But this story has many strange turns, and I'm glad I got a copy of this book and read about all of them. Sometimes, you just can't make this stuff up.

I saw Judy Lewis years ago in soap the Secret Storm and I noticed how much she resembled her mother Loretta Young. Therefore, I was very surprised when I read back then she was an "adoptee." I later read rumors here and there that she was a "love child" of Clark Gable and Loretta Young. I was not surprised by her revelations: anyone looking at her can see she was Loretta Young's natural daughter and there is a resemblance to Gable also. This is a story that needed to be told and it is good that Ms. Lewis did find out the truth about her roots. It also is an insightful look at the images of the stars back in the 1930s where someone having a child out of wedlock would be ruined. Today, there would be no problem revealing by a film star an out of wedlock pregnancy. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Golden Age of Hollywood and for fans of Ms. Lewis and her natural parents, Loretta Young and Clark Gable.