Carole Lombard

Carole Lombard (1908-1942) was an Academy Award-nominated film actress known for her energetic performances in "screwball comedy" films of the 1930s and early 1940s. Among her best known comedies are Twentieth Century, My Man Godfrey, Nothing Sacred, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and her final film, To Be or Not to Be (with Jack Benny), although she also appeared in dramatic films such as Made for Each Other and Vigil in the Night.

Once a child actress, Lombard also appeared in Mack Sennett comedies during the late 1920s on her way to becoming the highest-paid Hollywood star in the 1930s. Lombard was married twice, to actors William Powell and Clark Gable, and was still a top star when she was killed in a plane crash while returning from an engagement selling war bonds.