Clark And McCullough
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Clark and McCullough were a
comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
team consisting of
comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...
s Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough. They starred in a series of
short films A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
during the 1920s and 1930s. Bobby Clark was the fast-talking wisecracker with painted-on eyeglasses; Paul McCullough was his easygoing assistant named Blodgett. The two were childhood friends in Springfield, Ohio, and spent hours practicing tumbling and gymnastics in school. This led to their working as circus performers, then in
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
, and finally on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
. Their hit show ''The Ramblers'' (1926) was adapted as a
Wheeler and Woolsey Wheeler & Woolsey were an American vaudeville comedy double act who performed together in comedy films from the late 1920s. The team comprised Bert Wheeler (1895–1968) of New Jersey and Robert Woolsey (1888–1938) of Illinois. Collaboration T ...
movie comedy, '' The Cuckoos''. Clark and McCullough starred in the
George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...
musical '' Strike Up the Band'' on Broadway in 1930.


Motion pictures

In 1928, Clark and McCullough entered the new field of talking pictures, with a series of short subjects and featurettes for
Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American independent company that produced motion pictures and was formed in 1914 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox (producer), William Fox. It was the corporate successor to ...
. In 1930, they signed with Radio Pictures (later
RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...
) for six two-reel comedies annually. The RKO comedies are totally dominated by Clark, barging into every scene and monopolizing much of the conversation, with his good-natured buddy McCullough quietly embellishing his partner's antics with subtler gestures and actions. Each film cast the duo in different occupations, which they would tackle enthusiastically if not efficiently. The names of Clark's characters in their films were dictated by their jobs: as lawyers Clark and McCullough were Blackstone and Blodgett, as domestic help they were Cook and Blodgett, as photographers they were Flash and Blodgett. Clark and McCullough filmed most of their movies during the summer months, so they could be free to do stage revues during the rest of the year. They appeared in three Broadway shows while their film contract was in force.


McCullough's death and beyond

Clark and McCullough had completed their last series of comedies in 1935, and McCullough sought treatment for severe depression. After he was released from a sanitarium in March 1936, McCullough visited a barber shop where he grabbed a razor, and committed suicide by cutting his throat and wrists. Clark was forced to pursue a solo career; he appeared in
Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (; born Szmuel Gelbfisz; ; July 1879 (most likely; claimed to be August 27, 1882) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer and pioneer in the American film industry, who produce ...
's 1938 musical comedy ''
The Goldwyn Follies ''The Goldwyn Follies'' is a 1938 Technicolor film written by Ben Hecht, Sid Kuller, Sam Perrin and Arthur Phillips, with music by George Gershwin, Vernon Duke, and Ray Golden, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Sid Kuller. ''The Goldwyn Follies'' ...
'' (wearing actual eyeglasses instead of his trademark painted-on glasses) and reestablished himself on Broadway as a solo comedian in such revues as ''Streets of Paris'' and ''Mexican Hayride''. Clark continued to appear on stage and television into the 1950s; RKO reissued the old Clark & McCullough shorts to theaters in 1950 and 1951, to capitalize on Clark's new popularity. Clark died in 1960.


Films


References

{{authority control American comedy duos American vaudeville performers American male film actors