Candace June Clark is an American actress and model. She is well known for her roles as Debbie Dunham in the 1973 film ''

American Graffiti ''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard (billed as Ronny ...

'', for which she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and Mary Lou in the 1976 film ''

The Man Who Fell to Earth ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' is a 1976 British science fiction drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg and written by Paul Mayersberg. Based on Walter Tevis's 1963 novel of the same name, the film follows an extraterrestrial (Thomas Jerome Newt ...

''.

Early life

Born in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, be ...

to Ella (née Padberg) and Thomas Clark, a chef, she grew up in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...

. She attended Green B. Trimble Technical High School."Candy Clark Tech Revolution" – ''Fort Worth Weekly''
/ref>

Career

Clark's first acting role was the character of Faye in

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...

's film '' Fat City'' in 1972. She also starred or acted in '' American Graffiti'', ''

'' (1976), ''

The Big Sleep ''The Big Sleep'' (1939) is a hardboiled crime novel by American-British writer Raymond Chandler, the first to feature the detective Philip Marlowe. It has been adapted for film twice, in 1946 and again in 1978. The story is set in Los Angel ...

'' (1978), '' Q'' (1982), ''

Blue Thunder ''Blue Thunder'' is a 1983 American action thriller film from Columbia Pictures, produced by Gordon Carroll, Phil Feldman, and Andrew Fogelson and directed by John Badham. The Blue Thunder helicopter itself did exist as two copies of modifie ...

'' (1983), ''

Amityville 3-D ''Amityville 3-D'' (also known as ''Amityville III: The Demon'') is a 1983 supernatural horror film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Tony Roberts, Tess Harper, Robert Joy, Candy Clark, Lori Loughlin and Meg Ryan. It is the third fi ...

'' (1983), '' Cat's Eye'' (1985) and ''

At Close Range ''At Close Range'' is a 1986 American neo-noir crime drama film directed by James Foley, based on the real life rural Pennsylvania crime family led by Bruce Johnston Sr. which operated during the 1960s and 1970s. It stars Sean Penn and Christop ...

'' (1986) and played the role of Francine Hewitt in ''

The Blob ''The Blob'' is a 1958 American science fiction horror film directed by Irvin Yeaworth, and written by Kay Linaker and Theodore Simonson. It stars Steve McQueen (in his first feature film leading role) and Aneta Corsaut and co-stars Earl Rowe ...

'' (1988). She appeared in the 2009 film ''

The Informant! ''The Informant!'' is a 2009 American biographical-crime comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Written by Scott Z. Burns, the film stars Matt Damon as the titular informant named Mark Whitacre, as well as Scott Bakula, Joel McHale and Melanie ...

'' as the mother of

Mark Whitacre Mark Edward Whitacre is an American business executive who came to public attention in 1995 when, as president of the Decatur, Illinois-based BioProducts Division at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), he became the highest-level corporate executive i ...

, played by

Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Ameri ...

. In 2011, Clark went to Berlin to work on the play ''Images of Louise Brooks'', directed by Sven Mundt. Along with her film work, she also has made guest appearances on television series, including ''

Dating Game ''The Dating Game'' is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it ...

'', '' Magnum, P.I.'', ''

Banacek ''Banacek'' is an American detective TV series starring George Peppard that aired on the NBC network from 1972 to 1974. The series was part of the rotating '' NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie'' anthology. It alternated in its time slot with several o ...

'', ''

Simon & Simon ''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who oper ...

'', '' Matlock'', ''

Baywatch Nights ''Baywatch Nights'' is an American police and science-fiction drama series that aired in syndication from 1995 to 1997. Created by Douglas Schwartz, David Hasselhoff, and Gregory J. Bonann, the series is a spin-off from the television series, '' ...

'', ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...

'', and '' Twin Peaks: The Return''. Clark appeared on Ken Reid's ''TV Guidance Counselor'' podcast on January 20, 2017.

Personal life

Clark dated

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent ac ...

for several years after they met on the set of '' Fat City'' in 1972. She was married to

Marjoe Gortner Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner (born January 14, 1944) is a former evangelist preacher and actor. He first gained public attention during the late 1940s when his parents arranged for him to be ordained as a preacher at age four, due to his extraordi ...

from 1978 to 1979. She married Jeff Wald in 1987 and divorced him in 1988.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
AllMovie.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Candy Living people Actresses from Oklahoma American film actresses American television actresses People from Norman, Oklahoma People from Fort Worth, Texas 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Year of birth missing (living people)