Most people who search for “Maria Franklin Prentiss Lucas Langham” arrive with one simple question: who was this woman with four surnames, and what was her connection to Clark Gable?
She was not a Hollywood actress or an entertainment industry insider. She was a Texas socialite — a woman with deep roots in Houston who, through a series of marriages, ended up briefly at the center of Old Hollywood before returning to the city where her story began.
This article covers her background, the marriages behind her long name, how she met Clark Gable, what life looked like during their time together, and how her story ended — quietly, back in Houston.
Who Was Maria Franklin Prentiss Lucas Langham?
Her full name can look confusing at first glance, but it tells a straightforward story. Each surname — Prentiss, Lucas, and Langham — corresponds to a different husband. This is a marriage history, not a compound family name.
Published sources also use at least three different versions of her first name: Ria, Rea, and Rhea. No single spelling has become the universal standard. If you have seen any of these names while researching Clark Gable or Houston history, you are looking at the same person.
She was born in 1884 and spent most of her life connected to Houston’s social world. She was not a public figure in the way celebrities are today. She was a well-positioned socialite with money, family connections, and a life that moved quietly — until her marriage to one of the most famous actors in America.
If you find the name “Ria Langham,” “Rea Langham,” or “Rhea Langham” in genealogy records, cemetery databases, or Gable biographies, you can cross-reference by checking for Houston connections, the daughter named George Anna, and the Gable marriage dates. These details together confirm the identity.
Her Life Before Clark Gable
According to one biographical account of Gable’s life, Maria married a man named William Prentiss when she was around 17 years old. That marriage reportedly produced a son named George. These details come from a published biographical source and should be treated as reported rather than independently confirmed.
After divorcing Prentiss, she married Alfred Lucas, described as a wealthy Houston industrialist. That marriage placed her firmly among Houston’s social elite. Lucas died in 1922, reportedly leaving her financially secure.
From her marriage to Alfred Lucas, she had a daughter named George Anna Lucas — often called Jana — and a son named Alfred Jr. By the time she eventually met Clark Gable, she was a widow with grown children and a comfortable, established life in Houston.
She was not someone looking for a stepping stone into Hollywood. She already had social standing, financial security, and family around her. That context matters when reading the story of how she and Gable came together.
How She Met Clark Gable and Why the Age Gap Matters in Context?
According to Historic Houston, Maria met Clark Gable in New York while he was appearing in a stage play. Her daughter George Anna was reportedly with her at the time. The meeting was not a Hollywood introduction — it happened in New York’s theater world, before Gable became a major film star.
Gable had recently ended his first marriage. His divorce from Josephine Dillon, an acting coach who had trained him in his early career, became final in April 1930. That cleared the way for a new relationship.
Maria and Gable married around 1930 or 1931. Sources differ on the precise date, possibly due to differences in how and where the marriage was recorded. Rather than flatten the discrepancy into one year, it is more accurate to say the marriage took place in that general window.
Maria was born in 1884, making her approximately 17 years older than Gable. This age difference was noted in contemporary accounts and has been repeated in biographies ever since. It is worth acknowledging without making it the entire story. She is consistently identified as Gable’s second wife, following Josephine Dillon.
Life in Hollywood and Her Daughter’s Role in the Gable Household
After the marriage, Maria and her daughter George Anna relocated from Houston to Hollywood. This kind of move was not unusual for a spouse entering the world of a rising film star, but it was a significant change for a woman whose life had been centered in Texas.
George Anna took on a practical role in the household. According to Historic Houston, she worked as Gable’s secretary, specifically handling fan mail. It is an interesting detail — it shows how marriage could pull family members into the working infrastructure of a Hollywood career, even when no one involved was a film professional.
The arrangement, however, did not last. Historic Houston notes that neither Maria nor George Anna found Hollywood to their liking. Eventually, they returned to Houston.
Her Reported Role in Gone with the Wind
One of the more memorable claims attached to Maria’s name is that she encouraged Clark Gable to accept the role of Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind.
Historic Houston makes this claim, and it has been repeated in various forms across other accounts. The story goes that Gable was hesitant about the role, and Maria pushed him toward it. If true, it would mean she had a hand in shaping what became his most iconic performance.
This is worth noting, but it should be held carefully. Gable’s decision to accept the Rhett Butler role is discussed differently across different biographies, and the level of influence any one person had is not something that can be confirmed cleanly from available sources. It is a plausible and frequently repeated anecdote — not an uncontested fact.
The Divorce and What It Looked Like in That Era
Maria and Clark Gable divorced in 1939. The marriage lasted roughly eight or nine years, depending on which start date you use.
Some accounts report that Maria traveled to Las Vegas to establish the residency required to file for divorce there. This was a common practice in the 1930s. Several states and cities, including Reno and Las Vegas, had relatively short residency requirements, which made them practical destinations for couples seeking a divorce when their home state made the process more difficult or slow. The arrangement was sometimes called a “divorce ranch” circuit, where people would stay temporarily just long enough to qualify.
Maria’s reported use of this approach placed her squarely within a common pattern of her time. It does not tell us much about why the marriage ended — only that she navigated the legal landscape of the era to bring it to a close.
The reasons behind the divorce are not fully documented in available public sources, and it would be speculation to assign blame or identify a single cause. What is clear is that by 1939, both had moved on. Gable would go on to marry Carole Lombard later that same year.
Her Final Years and Return to Houston
After the divorce, Maria returned to Houston — the city she had never truly left behind, even during the Hollywood years. She lived out her remaining decades there, largely outside the public spotlight.
She died in 1966. According to Historic Houston and Glenwood Cemetery records, she is buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston. Glenwood is a historic cemetery with a long list of prominent Houston families represented there. Her burial there is consistent with the social standing she held throughout her life.
For those interested in Houston’s social history or Clark Gable’s personal biography, her grave record is one of the more concrete and verifiable pieces of her story. It anchors a life that, despite its brush with Hollywood, remained rooted in Texas from start to finish.
Why Her Name Still Comes Up in Searches Today?
Maria Franklin Prentiss Lucas Langham appears in genealogy databases, cemetery records, historical profiles of Clark Gable, and Houston history resources. Her unusual full name, with its multiple surnames, makes her easy to stumble across and harder to identify confidently without some context.
If you are researching her through a genealogy platform and see “Ria Langham” or “Rea Langham,” compare the Houston connection, the daughter George Anna, and the Gable marriage window. Those three details together should confirm you are looking at the right person.
Resources like Honest Business Tips cover a wide range of biographical and historical research topics for readers who want clear, grounded information rather than sensationalized celebrity content.
A Final Note on Her Story
Maria Franklin Prentiss Lucas Langham was not a celebrity in the traditional sense. She was a Houston woman who lived through multiple marriages, significant personal losses, and a stretch of years at the edge of Golden Age Hollywood.
She married Clark Gable when he was still building his career. She reportedly helped encourage one of his biggest professional decisions. And then she stepped back from that world entirely and returned to the city she came from.
That is not a dramatic Hollywood ending. It is a quieter, more human one — and for a woman who was never really part of Hollywood to begin with, it makes sense.
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