Dane Clark
Encyclopedia
Dane Clark was an American film actor who was known for playing, as he labeled himself, "Joe Average".
He graduated from Cornell University
and earned a law degree at St. John's University School of Law
in Queens, New York. During the Great Depression
, he worked as a boxer, baseball player, construction worker, and model.
He progressed from small Broadway
parts to larger ones, eventually taking over the role of George from Wallace Ford
in the 1937 production of Of Mice and Men
. Clark got his big break when he was signed by Warner Bros.
in 1943. He worked alongside some of his era's biggest stars, often in war movies such as Action in the North Atlantic
(1943), his breakthrough part, opposite Humphrey Bogart
, Destination Tokyo
(1943) with Cary Grant
, and Pride of the Marines
(1945) with friend and fellow New Yorker John Garfield
. According to Clark, Bogart gave him his stage name.
Clark played Peter Chambers in the short-lived radio show Crime and Peter Chambers, a half-hour show that aired from April 6 to September 7, 1954. In the 1954-1955 season, Clark co-starred as the character Richard Adams, with Gary Merrill
in the role of Jason Tyler, in the NBC
crime drama Justice
, about attorneys of the Legal Aid Society of New York.
In 1959, he reprised Humphrey Bogart's role as Slate in Bold Venture
, a short lived television series. He also guest starred on a number of television shows, including Appointment with Adventure
and The Twilight Zone
, in the episode "The Prime Mover
". He also played Lieutenant Tragg in the short-lived revival of the Perry Mason television series in 1973.
Early life
Clark was born Bernard Zanville in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jewish immigrants Samuel and Rose. Samuel was a sporting goods store owner.He graduated from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and earned a law degree at St. John's University School of Law
St. John's University School of Law
St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Queens, New York City, affiliated with St. John's University. The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers Juris Doctor degrees and degrees for Master of Laws in Bankruptcy and Master of Laws in U.S. Studies. Over 13,000 St...
in Queens, New York. During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, he worked as a boxer, baseball player, construction worker, and model.
Acting career
Modeling brought him in contact with people in the arts. He gradually perceived them to be snobbish, with their talk of the "theatah", and "I decided to give it a try myself, just to show them anyone could do it."He progressed from small Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
parts to larger ones, eventually taking over the role of George from Wallace Ford
Wallace Ford
Wallace Ford was an English film and television actor who, with his friendly appearance and stocky build later in life, appeared in a number of film westerns and B-movies....
in the 1937 production of Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men is a novella written by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers during the Great Depression in California, USA....
. Clark got his big break when he was signed by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
in 1943. He worked alongside some of his era's biggest stars, often in war movies such as Action in the North Atlantic
Action in the North Atlantic
Action in the North Atlantic is a 1943 war film directed by Lloyd Bacon, featuring Humphrey Bogart and Raymond Massey as sailors in the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II.-Plot:...
(1943), his breakthrough part, opposite Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
, Destination Tokyo
Destination Tokyo
Destination Tokyo is a 1943 submarine war film. It was directed by Delmer Daves and written by Daves, Steve Fisher and Albert Maltz, and stars Cary Grant and John Garfield with featured performances by Dane Clark, Robert Hutton and Warner Anderson. Production began on June 21, 1943 and continued...
(1943) with Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
, and Pride of the Marines
Pride of the Marines
Pride of the Marines is a 1945 biographical war film starring John Garfield and Eleanor Parker. It tells the story of U.S. Marine Al Schmid in World War II, his heroic stand against a Japanese attack during the Battle of Guadalcanal, in which he was blinded by a grenade, and his subsequent...
(1945) with friend and fellow New Yorker John Garfield
John Garfield
John Garfield was an American actor adept at playing brooding, rebellious, working-class character roles. He grew up in poverty in Depression-era New York City and in the early 1930s became an important member of the Group Theater. In 1937 he moved to Hollywood, eventually becoming one of Warner...
. According to Clark, Bogart gave him his stage name.
Clark played Peter Chambers in the short-lived radio show Crime and Peter Chambers, a half-hour show that aired from April 6 to September 7, 1954. In the 1954-1955 season, Clark co-starred as the character Richard Adams, with Gary Merrill
Gary Merrill
Gary Fred Merrill was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances....
in the role of Jason Tyler, in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
crime drama Justice
Justice (1954 TV series)
Justice is an NBC half-hour drama television series about attorneys of the Legal Aid Society of New York, which aired from April 8, 1954 to March 25, 1956. In the 1954-1955 season, Justice starred Dane Clark as Richard Adams and Gary Merrill as Jason Tyler. In the 1955-1956 season, William Prince...
, about attorneys of the Legal Aid Society of New York.
In 1959, he reprised Humphrey Bogart's role as Slate in Bold Venture
Bold Venture
Bold Venture is a 1951-1952 syndicated radio series starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Morton Fine and David Friedkin scripted the taped series for Bogart's Santana Productions....
, a short lived television series. He also guest starred on a number of television shows, including Appointment with Adventure
Appointment with Adventure
Appointment with Adventure is a half-hour adventure/dramatic anthology television series broadcast live on CBS from 1955-1956. The program has no host. It aired at 10 p.m...
and The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
, in the episode "The Prime Mover
The Prime Mover
"The Prime Mover" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:Ace Larsen discovers his partner, Jimbo Cobb, has telekinetic powers after a car crashes outside their café. Ace plans to use those powers to win big in Las Vegas, and he takes his girlfriend...
". He also played Lieutenant Tragg in the short-lived revival of the Perry Mason television series in 1973.
Partial filmography
- Action in the North AtlanticAction in the North AtlanticAction in the North Atlantic is a 1943 war film directed by Lloyd Bacon, featuring Humphrey Bogart and Raymond Massey as sailors in the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II.-Plot:...
(1943) - Destination TokyoDestination TokyoDestination Tokyo is a 1943 submarine war film. It was directed by Delmer Daves and written by Daves, Steve Fisher and Albert Maltz, and stars Cary Grant and John Garfield with featured performances by Dane Clark, Robert Hutton and Warner Anderson. Production began on June 21, 1943 and continued...
(1943) - The Very Thought of YouThe Very Thought of You (film)The Very Thought of You is a 1944 romantic drama film starring Dennis Morgan and Eleanor Parker. In World War II, an American soldier on a short leave falls in love with and marries a woman.-Cast:*Dennis Morgan as Sergeant David Stewart...
(1944) - Hollywood CanteenHollywood Canteen (1944 film)Hollywood Canteen is a 1944 Warner Bros. film starring Joan Leslie, Robert Hutton, and Dane Clark. The film was written and directed by Delmer Daves, and is notable for featuring many stars in cameo roles...
(1944) - I Won't PlayI Won't PlayI Won't Play is a 1944 short drama film directed by Crane Wilbur. It won an Academy Award in 1945 for Best Short Subject .-Cast:* Dane Clark - Joe Fingers* Janis Paige - Kim Karol / Sally* Warren Douglas - Rusty aka 'Handsome'...
(1945) (short) - God Is My Co-PilotGod is My Co-Pilot (film)God is My Co-Pilot is a 1945 American propaganda film based on the autobiography of the same name by Robert Lee Scott, Jr. The film tells the story of Scott's association with the Flying Tigers and the United States Army Air Forces in China and Burma during World War II.-Plot:God Is My Co-Pilot was...
(1945) - Pride of the MarinesPride of the MarinesPride of the Marines is a 1945 biographical war film starring John Garfield and Eleanor Parker. It tells the story of U.S. Marine Al Schmid in World War II, his heroic stand against a Japanese attack during the Battle of Guadalcanal, in which he was blinded by a grenade, and his subsequent...
(1945) - Her Kind of Man (1946)
- A Stolen Life (1946)
- That Way with Women (1947)
- Deep ValleyDeep ValleyDeep Valley is a 1947 drama film starring Ida Lupino and Dane Clark. A young woman lives unhappily with her embittered parents in an isolated rural home until an escaped convict changes her dreary existence...
(1947) - MoonriseMoonrise (film)-Plot:Dane Clark plays Danny Hawkins, the son of a murderer who was hanged for his crimes. Haunted by his father's past, the young man is tormented by the young people of the small southern town in which he lives. Hawkins' only friend is Gilly Johnson , a girl who is quickly falling in love with...
(1948) - Embraceable YouEmbraceable You (film)Embraceable You is a 1948 romantic drama film starring Dane Clark and Geraldine Brooks, and directed by Felix Jacoves. A getaway car, leaving the scene of a murder, strikes and injures a woman. Afterward, the driver visits her in the hospital.-Cast:...
(1948) - Without HonorWithout HonorWithout Honor is a film noir starring Laraine Day and Dane Clark.-Plot:A housewife is confronted during her daily chores by her married lover . The man, after a long affair, tells the woman that he has to break off their relationship...
(1949) - BackfireBackfire (1950 film)Backfire is a thriller and crime film in the film noir style directed by Vincent Sherman and starring Edmond O'Brien, Virginia Mayo, Gordon MacRae, Viveca Lindfors, and Dane Clark. It was written by Larry Marcus, Ben Roberts, and Ivan Goff. It is notable for launching the film noir careers of its...
(1950) - Gunman in the StreetsGunman in the StreetsGunman in the Streets is a 1950 black-and-white film shot in film noir style. The low-budget B-movie was shot on location in Paris, France. The film was directed by Frank Tuttle, who directed the film noir classic This Gun for Hire...
(1950) - Highly DangerousHighly DangerousHighly Dangerous is a 1950 British spy film starring Margaret Lockwood as a British entomologist trying to stop a biological attack with the help of an American journalist played by Dane Clark. The screenplay was written by Eric Ambler.-Cast:...
(1950) - Never Trust a Gambler (1951)
- Fort DefianceFort DefianceFort Defiance may refer to:Canada*Fort Defiance , winter quarters for American Captain Robert GrayUnited States* Fort Defiance, Arizona, an unincorporated community* Fort Defiance , formerly Roop's Fort, located in Susanville...
(1951) - Go, Man, Go!Go, Man, Go!Go, Man, Go! is a 1954 sports film starring Dane Clark, Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Patricia Breslin and The Harlem Globetrotters. Clark plays Abe Saperstein, the organizer of the Globetrotters. Poitier's character is Inman Jackson, the team's showboating center...
(1954) - Murder by ProxyMurder by ProxyMurder by Proxy is a 1954 crime film directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Dane Clark and Belinda Lee.-Cast:* Dane Clark as Casey Morrow* Belinda Lee as Phyllis Brunner* Betty Ann Davies as Mrs...
(1954) - Massacre (1956)
- Murder on Flight 502Murder on Flight 502Murder On Flight 502 is a 1975 American made-for-TV movie directed by George McCowan and starring Robert Stack, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Sonny Bono, Danny Bonaduce, and Fernando Lamas.- Plot summary :...
(1975) (TV) - The Woman InsideThe Woman InsideThe Woman Inside is a 1981 drama film made by 20th Century Fox, and directed by Joseph Van Winkle who co-wrote screenplay with Steve Fisher .-Cast:*Gloria Manon as Holly/Hollis*Dane Clark as Dr. Rosner*Joan Blondell as Aunt Coll...
(1981) - Blood SongBlood SongBlood Song is a 1982 horror film directed by Robert Angus and Alan J. Levi and starring Frankie Avalon.-Plot:...
(1982) - Last RitesLast Rites (film)Last Rites is a 1988 thriller film written and directed by Donald P. Bellisario and starring Tom Berenger.-Synopsis:Father Michael is a New York priest with close ties to the Mafia crime syndicate -- his father is a don. The priest's brother-in-law, a mafia boss, is murdered while having sex with...
(1988)