Editing Fred Clark

{{short description|American actor (1914-1968)}}
{{for multi|the American politician|Fred Clark (politician)|other people|Frederick Clark (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Fred Clark
| image       = Fred Clark - 1950.JPG
| caption     = Clark in 1950
| imagesize   = 
| birth_name  = Frederick Leonard Clark
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1914|3|19}}
| birth_place = [[Lincoln, California]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1968|12|5|1914|3|19}}
| death_place = [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]], California, U.S.
| occupation  = Actor
| spouse      = {{ubl|{{marriage|[[Benay Venuta]]|1952|1962|end=divorced}}|{{marriage|Gloria Glaser|1966}}}}
}}

'''Frederick Leonard Clark'''{{Citation needed |date=September 2024}} (March 19, 1914 – December 5, 1968) was an American movie and television [[character actor]], often playing in authoritative roles.

==Early years==
Born in [[Lincoln, California]], Clark was the son of Fred Clark Sr. He attended Stanford University with plans to become a doctor, but participation with a college production of ''[[Yellow Jack (play)|Yellow Jack]]'' diverted his attention to acting. He changed his major to drama and later received a scholarship to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. While there, he was elected his class's most promising actor.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McManus |first1=Margaret |title=Fred Clark Desperately Desired Being Fired But Somehow It Never Happened |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114279808/fred-clark/ |access-date=December 8, 2022 |work=The Kansas City Star |date=July 17, 1966 |page=97|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

==Career==

[[File:Gene Kelly Going My Way television series 1962.JPG|thumb|150px|Clark with [[Gene Kelly]] in the ''[[Going My Way (TV series)|Going My Way]]'' television episode, "A Matter of Principle" (1962).]]
Among his movies were ''[[Ride the Pink Horse]]'' (1947), ''[[Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid]]'' (1948), ''[[Flamingo Road (1949 film)|Flamingo Road]]'' (1949), ''[[White Heat]]'' (1949), ''[[Sunset Boulevard (film)|Sunset Boulevard]]'' (1950), ''[[A Place in the Sun (1951 film)|A Place in the Sun]]'' (1951), ''[[How to Marry a Millionaire]]'' (1953), ''[[The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (film)|The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell]]'' (1955), ''[[How to Be Very, Very Popular]]'' (1955), ''[[Daddy Long Legs (1955 film)|Daddy Long Legs]]'' (1955), ''[[Auntie Mame (film)|Auntie Mame]]'' (1958), and ''[[Visit to a Small Planet]]'' (1960).

Although he continued performing in movies during the 1960s (including a role in [[Hammer Film Productions]]' ''[[The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb]]'' in 1964 and ''[[John Goldfarb, Please Come Home]]'' in 1965) he performed more often for television, as a regular on ''[[The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show]]'' as neighbor Harry Morton (until 1953), and guest roles for ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'', ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]'', ''[[Going My Way (TV series)|Going My Way]]'', ''[[The Addams Family (1964 TV series)|The Addams Family]],'' and ''[[I Dream of Jeannie]]''. In 1962, he and [[Bea Benaderet]], another ''Burns and Allen'' veteran, played Mr. and Mrs. Springer in the episode "Continental Dinner," the series finale of the CBS situation comedy ''[[Pete and Gladys]]'', featuring [[Harry Morgan]] and [[Cara Williams]]. Clark had a regular but short-lived role in the 1966 ABC sitcom ''[[The Double Life of Henry Phyfe]]'' as the "Central Intelligence Service" boss of a hapless conscripted spy played by comedian [[Red Buttons]].

Clark's Broadway stage credits included ''Absence of a Cello'' (1964), ''Viva Madison Avenue!'' (1960), ''Romanoff And Juliet'' (1957), ''Ringside Seat'' (1938), ''What A Life'' (1938), and ''Schoolhouse on the Lot'' (1938).<ref>{{cite web |title=Fred Clark |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/fred-clark-98942 |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |access-date=December 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131085405/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/fred-clark-98942 |archive-date=January 31, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Clark was married to actress [[Benay Venuta]] from 1952–1962, then model Gloria Glaser from 1966 until his death from complications of [[liver disease]] in [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]], California.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/12/07/archives/fred-clark-54-versatile-actor-on-television-and-in-films-dies.html |title=Fred Clark, 54, Versatile Actor On Television and in Films, Dies; Became Typed as Indignant, Exasperated Character --- on Burns and Allen  |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 7, 1968 |page=47 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
 
Clark has a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] for his work for television, at 1711 Vine Street.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.walkoffame.com/fred-clark |title=Fred Clark Profile |website=[[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] |access-date=May 16, 2018}}</ref>

==Complete filmography==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*''[[The Unsuspected]]'' (1947) - Richard Donovan
*''[[Ride the Pink Horse]]'' (1947) - Frank Hugo
*''[[Fury at Furnace Creek]]'' (1948) - Bird
*''[[Hazard (1948 film)|Hazard]]'' (1948) - Lonnie Burns
*''[[Two Guys from Texas]]'' (1948) - Dr. Straeger
*''[[Cry of the City]]'' (1948) - Lt Collins
*''[[Alias Nick Beal]]'' (1949) - Frankie Faulkner
*''[[The Younger Brothers]]'' (1949) - Daniel Ryckman
*''[[Flamingo Road (1949 film)|Flamingo Road]]'' (1949) - Doc Waterson
*''[[White Heat]]'' (1949) - The Trader, aka Winston
*''So You Want to Get Rich Quick'' (1949, Short) - Fastidious Ferguson (uncredited)
*''So You Want to Be an Actor'' (1949, Short) - Mr. Frisbee (uncredited)
*''[[The Lady Takes a Sailor]]'' (1949) - Victor Santell (uncredited)
*''The Amazing Mr. Malone'' (1950, TV Movie)
*''[[Return of the Frontiersman]]'' (1950) - Ryan
*''[[The Eagle and the Hawk (1950 film)|The Eagle and the Hawk]]'' (1950) - Basil Danzeeger
*''[[Sunset Boulevard (film)|Sunset Boulevard]]'' (1950) - Sheldrake
*''[[The Jackpot]]'' (1950) - Mr. Andrew J. Woodruff
*''[[Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone]]'' (1950) - Tim Marino
*''[[The Lemon Drop Kid]]'' (1951) - Moose Moran
*''[[A Place in the Sun (1951 film)|A Place in the Sun]]'' (1951) - Bellows
*''[[Hollywood Story]]'' (1951) - Sam Collyer
*''[[Meet Me After the Show]]'' (1951) - Timothy 'Tim' Wayne
*''[[Three for Bedroom "C"]]'' (1952) - Johnny Pizer
*''[[Dreamboat (film)|Dreamboat]]'' (1952) - Sam Levitt
*''[[The Stars Are Singing]]'' (1953) - McDougall
*''[[The Caddy]]'' (1953) - Mr. Baxter / Old Skinhead
*''[[Here Come the Girls (1953 film)|Here Come the Girls]]'' (1953) - Harry Fraser
*''[[How to Marry a Millionaire]]'' (1953) - Waldo Brewster
*''[[Living It Up]]'' (1954) - Oliver Stone
*''[[Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops]]'' (1955)  - Joseph Gorman, aka Sergei Toumanoff
*''[[Daddy Long Legs (1955 film)|Daddy Long Legs]]'' (1955) - Griggs
*''[[How to Be Very, Very Popular]]'' (1955) - B.J. Marshall
*''[[The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell]]'' (1955) - Col. Moreland
*''[[Miracle in the Rain (film)|Miracle in the Rain]]'' (1956) - Steven Jalonik
*''[[The Birds and the Bees (film)|The Birds and the Bees]]'' (1956) - Horace Hamilton
*''[[The Solid Gold Cadillac]]'' (1956) - Clifford Snell
*''[[Back from Eternity]]'' (1956) - Crimp
*''[[Joe Butterfly]]'' (1957) - Col. E.E. Fuller
*''[[The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown]]'' (1957) - Police Sergeant McBride
*''[[Don't Go Near the Water (film)|Don't Go Near the Water]]'' (1957) - Lt. Cmdr. Clinton T. Nash
*''[[Mardi Gras (1958 film)|Mardi Gras]]'' (1958) - Al Curtis
*''[[Auntie Mame (film)|Auntie Mame]]'' (1958) - Dwight Babcock
*''[[The Mating Game (film)|The Mating Game]]'' (1959) - Oliver Kelsey
*''[[It Started with a Kiss (film)|It Started with a Kiss]]'' (1959) - Maj. Gen. Tim O'Connell
*''[[Visit to a Small Planet]]'' (1960) - Maj. Roger Putnam Spelding
*''[[Bells Are Ringing (film)|Bells Are Ringing]]'' (1960) - Larry Hastings
*''[[The Passionate Thief (film)|The Passionate Thief]]'' (1960) - L'americano
*''La moglie di mio marito'' (1961) - Mr. Bietti
*''[[Behind Closed Doors (1961 film)|A porte chiuse]]'' (1961)  - Xatis, il procuratore generale
*''My Darling Judge'' (1961, TV Movie)
*''[[Boys' Night Out (film)|Boys' Night Out]]'' (1962) - Mr. Bohannon
*''[[Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man]]'' (1962) - Mr. Turner
*''[[Zotz!]]'' (1962) - Gen. Bullivar
*''Young Girls of Good Families'' (1963) - Mr. Whitehall
*''[[Move Over, Darling]]'' (1963) - Mr. Codd (Hotel Manager)
*''[[The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb]]'' (1964) - Alexander King
*''[[John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!]]'' (1965) - Heinous Overreach
*''[[Sergeant Deadhead]]'' (1965) - General Rufus Fogg
*''[[When the Boys Meet the Girls (film)|When the Boys Meet the Girls]]'' (1965) - Bill Dennis
*''[[Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine]]'' (1965) - D.J. Pevney
*''[[War Italian Style|Due Marines e un Generale]]'' (1965) - Gen. Zacharias
*''[[Eve (1968 film)|Eve]]'' (1968) - Lucky Burke
*''[[Skidoo (film)|Skidoo]]'' (1968) - A Tower Guard (released posthumously)
*''[[The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit]]'' (1968) - Tom Dugan
*''[[I Sailed to Tahiti with an All Girl Crew]]'' (1969) - "Generous" Josh (released posthumously)
*''Eddie'' (1971, TV Movie) - Chief Pike (final film role; released posthumously)
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography|California|Los Angeles|Film|Television}}
* {{IMDb name|0163939}}
* {{IBDB name|98942}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Fred}}
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from hepatitis]]
[[Category:People from Lincoln, California]]
[[Category:Male actors from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]