Danny Lee "Nitro" Clark (born May 21, 1964) is a former American football professional athlete, television personality, author, actor, and producer. He is best known for his role as gladiator Nitro on the TV show '' American Gladiators''. He is also a health and fitness expert and the creator of the
Gladiator Rock'n Run
.

Biography

Clark began his career as an athlete, playing

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

for

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

where he was a standout

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

. Clark was also a member of

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon () is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on March 9, 1856.Baird, William Raimond, ed. (1905).Baird's Manual of American College Fratern ...

fraternity. He played briefly for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

, and in the Italian Football League for the Legnano Frogs in Europe for one season. Clark, an actor, writer, TV Host, producer, and speaker, is best known from the

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

'' American Gladiators'', having worked on both the original version and the revival; from 1989 to 1992, and again in 1994–95, he was the gladiator Nitro; during the original show's final season, he was the analyst and co-host for the show. In the 2008 revival, he is the coordinating producer for the show. The original series aired in over 40 countries, with reruns on

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

, Spike,

ESPN Classic ESPN Classic was an American multinational pay television television network, network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which controlled an 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which had 20%). The channel was ...

, and airs currently on Charge!. The revival aired on NBC. When ''American Gladiators'' returned to the U.S. airwaves on

on April 1, 2007, the network aired a marathon of episodes. Clark was the on-air host for that marathon, telling behind-the-scenes stories and trivia about the series in between the episodes. After ''American Gladiators'', Clark turned to acting, appearing in such motion pictures as ''

Death Becomes Her ''Death Becomes Her'' is a 1992 American satirical surrealistic black comedy fantasy film directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis and written by David Koepp and Martin Donovan. The film stars Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis, a ...

'', with

Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting (TV series), Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and has appeared in over one hundred films, gaining ...

, and

Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, producer, dancer, and singer. She achieved stardom and acclaim for playing lighthearted comedic roles in film and television. In a career spanning six decades, she has received ...

; and ''

Equilibrium Equilibrium may refer to: Film and television * ''Equilibrium'' (film), a 2002 science fiction film * '' The Story of Three Loves'', also known as ''Equilibrium'', a 1953 romantic anthology film * "Equilibrium" (''seaQuest 2032'') * ''Equilibr ...

'', with

Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. List of awards and nominations received by C ...

. He has also guest starred in TV series including ''

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth (given name), Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena, and Helen (given name), Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Elle ...

'', ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action fiction, action Crime drama, crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both the film and the series starring Chuck Norr ...

'',

California Dreams ''California Dreams'' is an American teen sitcom that aired on NBC. It was part of the network's Saturday morning block, TNBC, premiering on September 12, 1992. Created by writers Brett Dewey and Ronald B. Solomon, and executive produced by ...

, '' V.I.P.'', '' Married... with Children'', ''

Who's the Boss? ''Who's the Boss?'' is an American sitcom television series created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, that aired on ABC from September 20, 1984, to April 25, 1992, with a total of 196 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. It was produce ...

'', ''

Saved by the Bell ''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television teen sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in prime time, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United ...

'', and ''

The Brothers García ''The Brothers García'' is an American teen sitcom created by Jeff Valdez, Mike Cevallos, and Gibby Cevallos. It was among the first projects of Sí TV, an effort to produce programming featuring Latino characters that are aimed at a diverse ...

''. Clark was the writer/

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

/ producer of the

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

''Looking for Bruce''. He has also written several

screenplays A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a ''teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writ ...

for various studios, producers, and production companies, including a bio-pic ''Battle of Harlem'', about the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

police officer in the

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

. Clark wrote his memoir ''Gladiator: A True Story of 'Roids, Rage, and Redemption'' for Simon and Schuster, published in February 2009 which was purchased by

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

for the docuseries '' Muscles & Mayhem'', which debuted at #1 on the charts. Clark's Company "Nitro Up Media" co-produced Netflix's '' Muscles & Mayhem. Clark has appeared on a variety of

talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...

s including: ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

'', ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'', '' Extra TV'', ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...

'', ''

CBS Morning News ''CBS News Mornings'' (formerly ''CBS Morning News'') is an American early-morning news broadcast presented weekdays on the CBS television network. The program features late-breaking news stories, national weather forecasts and sports highlight ...

'', ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'', and '' Live with Regis and Kathie Lee''. He has also appeared on the cover of ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' and numerous other magazines. Clark enjoys all sports, acting, writing and

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

(he has a black belt in

Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

) and is often called on to perform his own

stunts A stunt is an unusual, difficult, dramatic physical feat that may require a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually for a public audience, as on television or in theaters or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Befo ...

. Since 2002 he has also been a mentor in the Young Story Tellers program which is dedicated to increasing literacy among

inner city The term inner city (also called the hood) has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Soc ...

youths. Clark makes his home in the

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

and can often be found walking his

Labradoodle A labradoodle () is a crossbreed dog created by crossing a Labrador Retriever and a Standard or Miniature Poodle. Labradoodles were intended to be a good choice for people allergic to canine dander. The Australian Labradoodle Association, an org ...

, Ricky, and playing

Pickleball Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two or four players use a smooth-faced paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. Pickleball is played i ...

at a nearby park. Clark is the creator of the "Gladiator Rock'n Run," an obstacle adventure run in America that challenges participants to test their skills over a 5k to 10k course. It is publicized as the "Most Insane Day of your Life." Proceeds benefit Talk About Curing Autism and has raised hundreds of thousand of dollars for the cause. Clark was a contestant featured in the

bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to bucking, buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." ...

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

, '' Ty Murray's Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge'', which premiered in August 2007 on CMT. In 2017, Clark released his 2nd Bestselling book "F Dying" about his journey after his 2013 heart attack. He also gave
TEDx talk
that has over 500k views about "How to live a Happy life."

Filmography

Twin Sitters ''Twin Sitters'' (also called ''The Babysitters'') is a 1995 American comedy film directed and written by John Paragon and starring Peter Paul, David Paul and Christian and Joseph Cousins. The plot concerns identical twin brother bodybuilders w ...

(1994) *

Special Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

(2003)

References

External links

*
American Gladiators Nitro Profile (GladiatorsTV.com)Photo of NitroDan Clark's NFL player page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Danny Lee 1964 births American football linebackers American game show hosts American male television actors American male voice actors Living people Los Angeles Rams players Participants in American reality television series People from Zama, Kanagawa Sportspeople from Kanagawa Prefecture San Jose State Spartans football players American expatriate players of American football Japanese emigrants to the United States American entertainers Sigma Alpha Epsilon members NFL replacement players Italian Football League players