Clarice Blackburn
Encyclopedia
Clarice Blackburn was an American actress who appeared as Mrs. Sarah Johnson, Abigail Collins, and Minerva Trask on Dark Shadows
. She was born in San Francisco, California
but because her father was a salesman,
Clarice and her family moved around a great deal and made their home in Wisconsin, Arizona, Louisiana and Texas after California.
She earned a Bachelor's Degree in speech and drama at the Texas State College for Women, then made her professional debut in 1947 on
Martha's Vineyard in "The Circle of Chalk." An outstanding performance in an Equity Library Theatre production of "The Great Big Doorstep"
in 1950 led to a job as understudy for Eva Gabor in "The Happy Time" on Broadway. "The Happy Time" starred Shirley Booth, with whom Clarice would appear again on Broadway in "The Desk Set" in 1955. Clarice's other stage credits included a lead role in a 1953 revival of "The Glass Harp," a critically acclaimed lead in "American Gothic," also in 1953 and both performed at Circle in the Square, "The Infernal Machine " in 1958, "Juno" on Broadway in 1959, "The Miracle Worker" on Broadway in 1961, "The Queen and the Rebels" and "Good Day," both in 1965. During the
1965-66 season, Clarice won an Obie award for Distinguised Performance as Sara Calendar in "The Exhaustion of Our Son's Love."
Clarice had extensive experience acting in the soap opera genre. She played a baby nurse & a college dean on the CBS soap opera, Love of Life
, in the early 1960s. She played Theodora Rostand on NBC's The Doctors from 1965–1966, then moved on to "Dark Shadows," in the fall of 1966 and over the course of the next four years would play three different characters. (In her Dark Shadows debut, she is erroneously credited as "Clarice Leigh Scott".) When her appearances on the show began to lessen, she gladly accepted the opportunity to create the role of "Mary Lou Northcote" on the CBS soap opera, The Secret Storm
during the first half of 1970. Clarice made a few additional appearances on "Dark Shadows," making her final appearance in September, 1970. In the fall of the same year, she signed a contract to play "Amy Snowden" on CBS-TV's Where the Heart Is
, a role she played until the series left the air in 1973.
She moved over to One Life to Live
on ABC playing "Hattie Frederichs," then back to CBS to As the World Turns
playing "Marion Connelly, R.N." & finally to Guiding Light
where she played "Edith Spurrier". In addition to the soaps, Clarice guest starred in an
episode of "The Eternal Light" entitled "A Field of Buttercups" in 1969 and on a Saturday morning children's special, "Toby," in 1970.
In addition to acting on soaps, Clarice was a writer for Love of Life
& was part of the Emmy winning writing staff of All My Children
.
Clarice's primetime TV credits include guest roles on "The Defenders," "The Nurses," "East Side/West Side," "Armstrong Circle Theatre," "Dupont Show of the Month," "U.S. Steel Hour," "Robert Montgomery Presents," "The Big Story," "Kraft Theatre," "Studio One," "N.Y.P.D." and the 1967 Xerox TV drama special, "The Crucible,"
Clarice Blackburn appeared in the motion pictures "The Violators," "Pretty Poison," "Night of Dark Shadows" and "Man on a Swing". Clarice was asked
to bring her "Dark Shadows" character, Mrs. Johnson, to the big screen in "House of Dark Shadows," but at the time she was under contract to "The
Secret Storm" and her schedule on the soap was too heavy for her to get away for the filming.
She died in New York City
from cancer, aged 74.
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
. She was born in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
but because her father was a salesman,
Clarice and her family moved around a great deal and made their home in Wisconsin, Arizona, Louisiana and Texas after California.
She earned a Bachelor's Degree in speech and drama at the Texas State College for Women, then made her professional debut in 1947 on
Martha's Vineyard in "The Circle of Chalk." An outstanding performance in an Equity Library Theatre production of "The Great Big Doorstep"
in 1950 led to a job as understudy for Eva Gabor in "The Happy Time" on Broadway. "The Happy Time" starred Shirley Booth, with whom Clarice would appear again on Broadway in "The Desk Set" in 1955. Clarice's other stage credits included a lead role in a 1953 revival of "The Glass Harp," a critically acclaimed lead in "American Gothic," also in 1953 and both performed at Circle in the Square, "The Infernal Machine " in 1958, "Juno" on Broadway in 1959, "The Miracle Worker" on Broadway in 1961, "The Queen and the Rebels" and "Good Day," both in 1965. During the
1965-66 season, Clarice won an Obie award for Distinguised Performance as Sara Calendar in "The Exhaustion of Our Son's Love."
Clarice had extensive experience acting in the soap opera genre. She played a baby nurse & a college dean on the CBS soap opera, Love of Life
Love of Life
Love of Life is an American soap opera which aired on CBS Daytime from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love of Life, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm two and a half years...
, in the early 1960s. She played Theodora Rostand on NBC's The Doctors from 1965–1966, then moved on to "Dark Shadows," in the fall of 1966 and over the course of the next four years would play three different characters. (In her Dark Shadows debut, she is erroneously credited as "Clarice Leigh Scott".) When her appearances on the show began to lessen, she gladly accepted the opportunity to create the role of "Mary Lou Northcote" on the CBS soap opera, The Secret Storm
The Secret Storm
The Secret Storm is a soap opera which ran on CBS from February 1, 1954 to February 8, 1974. The series was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas Search for Tomorrow and Love of Life...
during the first half of 1970. Clarice made a few additional appearances on "Dark Shadows," making her final appearance in September, 1970. In the fall of the same year, she signed a contract to play "Amy Snowden" on CBS-TV's Where the Heart Is
Where the Heart Is (1969 TV series)
Where the Heart Is is an American soap opera telecast on the CBS television network from September 8, 1969 to March 23, 1973. Created by Lou Scofield and Margaret DePriest, the program ran for 25 minutes, the remaining five minutes of its timeslot ceded to a CBS news break.Scofield and DePriest...
, a role she played until the series left the air in 1973.
She moved over to One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
on ABC playing "Hattie Frederichs," then back to CBS to As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
playing "Marion Connelly, R.N." & finally to Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
where she played "Edith Spurrier". In addition to the soaps, Clarice guest starred in an
episode of "The Eternal Light" entitled "A Field of Buttercups" in 1969 and on a Saturday morning children's special, "Toby," in 1970.
In addition to acting on soaps, Clarice was a writer for Love of Life
Love of Life
Love of Life is an American soap opera which aired on CBS Daytime from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love of Life, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm two and a half years...
& was part of the Emmy winning writing staff of All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
.
Clarice's primetime TV credits include guest roles on "The Defenders," "The Nurses," "East Side/West Side," "Armstrong Circle Theatre," "Dupont Show of the Month," "U.S. Steel Hour," "Robert Montgomery Presents," "The Big Story," "Kraft Theatre," "Studio One," "N.Y.P.D." and the 1967 Xerox TV drama special, "The Crucible,"
Clarice Blackburn appeared in the motion pictures "The Violators," "Pretty Poison," "Night of Dark Shadows" and "Man on a Swing". Clarice was asked
to bring her "Dark Shadows" character, Mrs. Johnson, to the big screen in "House of Dark Shadows," but at the time she was under contract to "The
Secret Storm" and her schedule on the soap was too heavy for her to get away for the filming.
She died in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from cancer, aged 74.