John Clark (English actor)
A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (June 2023) |
John Clark | |
---|---|
Born | Ivan John Clark November 1, 1932 London, England |
Died | July 6, 2023 California, U.S. | (aged 90)
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1944–2023 |
Spouses | Miyuki Tsunoda
(m. 2002) |
Website | www |
Ivan John Clark (1 November 1932 – 6 July 2023) was an English actor, director and producer. Clark is probably best known for his role as Just William in theatre and radio in the late 1940s and as the former husband of actress Lynn Redgrave, to whom he was married for 33 years.[1] However, he established himself as a stage actor and director after moving to the United States in 1960, and became noted for directing plays featuring his wife in the 1970s beginning with A Better Place at Dublin's Gate Theatre (1973), then in America The Two of Us (1975), Saint Joan (1977–78), and a tour of California Suite (1976). In 1981, he directed an episode of the CBS television series House Calls, in which Redgrave starred.
During 1993–1994 Clark produced and directed the one-woman play,
Early career
Clark was born in London. He grew up in the English village of Chipperfield, Hertfordshire and attended Watford Grammar School for Boys.[2]
In 1944, a neighbour of Clark, who happened to be a BBC producer, asked him to play schoolboy D'arcy Minor as a one off in
Following that, he became a star as the original
1950s and 1960s
Clark served for three years in the Merchant Navy (as an alternative to national service) as an indentured apprentice on the Silver Line ships Silverwalnut and Silvertarn.[8]
He became interested in a new approach to acting when he worked with
Clark met actress Lynn Redgrave, a decade his junior, in November 1966 during a brief visit to London when he performed in What's Wrong with Humpty Dumpty?, a television play in which she starred as a trendy antiques store owner with Clark as her very gay assistant.[14] When Redgrave came to New York, a friendship developed. He divorced Hawtrey in 1967, and she returned to her native Toronto with their son, while Clark remained in New York City and studied method acting with Lee Strasberg, according to Cindy Adams.[15]
On 2 April 1967, Clark and Redgrave were married in
1970s and 1980s
Clark produced and directed stage shows for Redgrave throughout the 1970s, including A Better Place at Dublin's Gate Theatre (1973) The Two of Us (1975), Saint Joan (1977–78, Broadway) and a tour of California Suite (1976). In George Bernard Shaw's 15th-century set Saint Joan, under Clark's directorship, Redgrave portrayed the maid of Orleans opposite Tom Aldredge, Joseph Bova, and Philip Bosco.[19] The play was warmly received and was praised by New York theatre critics.[20] He appeared in the Broadway play Comedians (1976–77), and directed Redgrave in Thursday's Girls (1982). He directed a 1981 episode of the CBS television series House Calls, in which Redgrave was then starring but she left under contentious circumstances and was replaced by Sharon Gless. In 1985, Clark had a minor role as a doctor in Richard Marquand's Jagged Edge. In 1987, he featured in Blood Frenzy, and in 1989, Clark portrayed a 10th-century King in the fantasy comedy film The Lords of Magick.[21] In 1989–90, Clark appeared with Redgrave in Love Letters, which showed from October 1989 to January 1990 at the Edison Theatre on Broadway.[22] It was nominated for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
1990–2023
Clark's last co-venture with Redgrave was as the producer and director of her one-woman play
After Clark's marriage to Redgrave ended in 2000, he stated that he struggled with his career, saying, "I've had to try to reinvent myself. The trouble is that when you marry a celebrity, you have to help that celebrity with their career - and that becomes your career." His subsequent credits included Charlie's Death Wish (2005) and the shorts First Time Long Time (2009) and Waiting (2012), in which Clark portrayed a crime family kingpin. Clark later slid into obscurity, apart from occasional news pieces that reminisced about his late ex-wife.
Clark was a paid up member of the
In 2015 Clark was guest of honour at the Will Hay Appreciation Society's 'Will Hay Day' in Birmingham, England.
Personal life
Clark and Redgrave lived in
Clark met his third wife, Miyuki Tsunoda, via an
Clark died at his home in California on 6 July 2023, at the age of 90.[34][35][36]
References
- ^ a b Coveney, Michael (3 May 2010). "Lynn Redgrave obituary". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
- ^ a b "Another Chipperfield Memory". Chipperfield.org.uk. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
- YouTube
- ^ Boy's Big Chance British Pathe, 5 February 1945
- YouTube
- ^ a b "About". Johnclarkprose.com. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ Stars Then and Now Pathe Newsreel, 28 April 1947
- ^ a b "Silver Line". John Clark. 13 December 2004. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ "Silvertarn Logbook 1953" (PDF). John Clark. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ Junior Magazine (1956-1962) Canadian TV Archive
- ISBN 978-1-897045-08-4. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ "The Lion in Love". Lucille Lortel Foundation. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ "Hostile Witness". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ Newsfronts: New actor in the cast of Redgraves. TIME. 7 April 1967. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-385-12496-6
- ^ "Lynn Redgrave Wed to John Clark". The New York Times. 3 April 1967. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
- ^ "MacBird!". Lucille Lortel Foundation. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-5717-5. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ISSN 0028-7369. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ New York Theatre Critics' Reviews. Critics' Theatre Reviews, Incorporated. 1977. pp. 328–31. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-89950-927-3. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ "Love Letters". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ISSN 0028-7369. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ "The daughter's tale: Redgrave triumphs in tribute". The Boston Globe. 22 March 1993. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ "Lynn Redgrave, Taking Shakespeare to Heart". The Washington Post. 4 February 1994. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ "'Weapon' star hopes to rock at Second City". Chicago Sun-Times. 29 June 1998. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ "Lynn Redgrave Files for Divorce". Associated Press Online. 4 March 1999. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- People Magazine.
- ^ "Lynn Redgrave obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 3 May 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
- ^ "Lynn Redgrave obituary". The Times. Times Newspapers Limited. 4 May 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
- ^ Isherwood, Charles (4 November 2009). "Theater Review: 'Nightingale' - Redgrave Uncorsets a Relative Long Gone". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ Komisar, Lucy. "Nightingale is Lynn Redgrave’s less-than-completely-truthful memoir of women’s lives". The Komisar Scoop, 22 November 2009, accessed 9 August 2010
- ^ "Just William Society Magazine Interview". John Clark Prose. 8 February 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ "John Clark - John was discharged from the hospital and..." Facebook. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
- ^ "William Society Page". Just William Society. 24 January 2024. Archived from the original on 24 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
External links
- Official website
- John Clark at IMDb
- John Clark at the Internet Broadway Database
- John Clark at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- [1]
- [2]