Frank Clarke (29 December 1898 – 12 June 1948) was a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

stunt pilot Stunt flying refers to any stunts performed in an aircraft. It encompasses aerobatics, wing walking, and transferring from one airplane to another or to a moving vehicle on the ground, such as an automobile or train, and vice versa. History From t ...

, actor, and military officer. His most prominent role was as Leutnant von Bruen (and double for von Richthofen in combat scenes) in the 1930 production ''Hell's Angels'', but he flew for the camera and performed stunts in more than a dozen films in the 1930s and 1940s. Clarke was killed in an aircraft crash near

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpo ...

, California, in 1948.United Press. "Two movie workers die in plane crash." ''San Bernardino Daily Sun'', San Bernardino, California, June 14, 1948, Volume LIV, Number 247, p. 1.

Early life

Clarke was born near

Paso Robles Paso Robles ( ), officially El Paso de Robles (Spanish for The Pass of Oaks), is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Salinas River about north of San Luis Obispo, the city is known for its hot springs, ...

, California, on December 29, 1898. He came into prominence when he moved to

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, whe ...

and learned to fly, purchasing a war surplus

Curtiss JN-4 The Curtiss JN "Jenny" is a series of biplanes built by the Glenn Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft ...

. His first exploits were as a "stunt" pilot, with a risky mid-air transfer from one aircraft to another reported in local media on October 4, 1919. Clarke was positioned on the top wing of a Curtiss "Jenny" and after two misses, was able to catch the landing gear of the aircraft flown by fellow aviator Al Wilson. Newspapers heralded the feat as a "first" of its kind. In his biography of pilot

Paul Mantz Albert Paul Mantz (August 2, 1903 – July 8, 1965) was an American air racing and movie stunt pilot and consultant from the late 1930s until his death in the mid-1960s. He gained fame on two stages: Hollywood and in air races. Early years Ma ...

, aviation author Don Dwiggins observed that the "Undisputed king of the

stunt pilots when Mantz arrived was Frank Clarke, a tall, handsome, part-Indian ex-cowboy who melted the hearts of women and froze the hearts of men. A 'born' pilot, Clarke was hopping passengers at Venice Field in 1918 on the same day he soloed. His good looks won him the lead role in the flying

film serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, ge ...

'' Eagle of the Night'' (1928) at Pathé Studios."

Hollywood

Clarke soon realized that Hollywood was eager to employ a group of pilots, who each would create elaborate aerial stunts. In a lengthy career, he was able to not only fly and "double" for other actors such as

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...

, but also operate camera aircraft and act as a cinematographer. Clarke was a charter member, along with

Pancho Barnes Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes (July 22, 1901 – March 30, 1975) was a pioneer aviator and a founder of the first movie stunt pilots' union. In 1930, she broke Amelia Earhart's air speed record. Barnes raced in the Women's Air Derby and was a m ...

, of the

Associated Motion Picture Pilots Associated Motion Picture Pilots (AMPP) was a union of aviators who worked as stunt pilots in the Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood film industry. The group, one of the first unions in film work, was organized by Pancho Barnes in 1931Kelly, 200 ...

. An off-and-on rivalry with Mantz, often culminated in either pilot getting a coveted job. Clarke began to extend his involvement in films by taking on more demanding assignments. "In addition, Clarke insisted on writing his own scripts, calling for such suicidal stunts as landing on top of a speeding passenger train. He came closer to disaster on this one, when a wheel stuck between two cars; it came free when the train rounded a curve." Clarke's first film piloting job listed by

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

is in ''

The Cloud Rider ''The Cloud Rider'' is a 1925 American silent action adventure aviation film directed by Bruce M. Mitchell and starring Al Wilson and Virginia Lee Corbin. It was distributed by Film Booking Offices of America.''The Cloud Rider'' was one of a ser ...

'', in 1925, but the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' published details of Clark (he added the last 'e' later) flying a Curtiss JN-4D "Jenny" on December 14, 1920, "accidentally" off the roof of the incomplete 10-story Railway Building in downtown Los Angeles. The stunt appeared in the silent film ''Stranger Than Fiction''. His last was an uncredited appearance in

RKO 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 ...

's ''

Walk Softly, Stranger ''Walk Softly, Stranger'' is a 1950 American romantic drama film starring Joseph Cotten and Alida Valli and directed by Robert Stevenson. Also regarded by some as either or both a film noir and crime film, it tells the story of a small-time cro ...

'', filming of which was completed in June 1948 but which was not released by studio head

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...

until 1950. In between, Clarke was involved with such productions as ''

The Air Patrol ''The Air Patrol'' is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by Bruce M. Mitchell and written by William Berke and Gardner Bradford from a story by Al Wilson, the film's star. The film stars Al Wilson, Elsa Benham, Jack Mower, Frank Tomi ...

'' (1928), ''Eagle of the Night'' (1928), ''Hell's Angels'' (1930), ''

The Lost Squadron ''The Lost Squadron'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama, action, film starring Richard Dix, Mary Astor, and Robert Armstrong, with Erich von Stroheim and Joel McCrea in supporting roles, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on the nove' ...

'' (1932), ''

Ace of Aces Ace of aces is an informal title for the top pilot in a branch of military service. It also may refer to: Books * ''Ace of Aces'', the title of several biographies of Dick Bong * ''Ace of Aces'', the title of Teddy Suhren's memoirs * ''Ace of A ...

'' (1933), the 1935 serial ''

Tailspin Tommy in the Great Air Mystery ''Tailspin Tommy in the Great Air Mystery'' is a 12-episode 1935 Universal movie serial based on the Tailspin Tommy comic strip by Hal Forrest and starring Clark Williams, Jean Rogers and Noah Beery, Jr. The picture was the 96th of the 137 seri ...

'', ''

Men with Wings ''Men with Wings'' is a 1938 American Technicolor war film, directed by William A. Wellman and starring Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland, and Louise Campbell. Donald O'Connor also has a small part as the younger version of MacMurray's character. Th ...

'' (1938), and ''

The Flying Deuces ''The Flying Deuces'', also known as ''Flying Aces'', is a 1939 buddy comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy, in which the duo join the French Foreign Legion. It is a partial remake of their short film '' Beau Hunks'' (1931). Plot During their ...

'' (1939).

World War II

According to ''Los Angeles Times'' staff writer, Cecilia Rasmussen, her biography on Clarke, noted, "When World War II began, Clarke enlisted in the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

. He rose to the rank of major while teaching his seat-of-the-pants skills to young pilots."Rasmussen, Cecilia,
"Trailblazing stunt pilot was the stuff movies are made of."
''Los Angeles Times'', Los Angeles, California, October 21, 2001. Lt. Col.

, commanding officer of the

First Motion Picture Unit The 18th AAF Base Unit (Motion Picture Unit), originally known as the First Motion Picture Unit, Army Air Forces, was the primary film production unit of the United States Army Air Forces, U.S. Army Air Forces (AAF) during World War II, and w ...

, brought Maj. Frank Clarke into the unit to take charge of the Flight Echelon. Unfortunately, Clarke and Mantz had been bitter pre-war Hollywood rivals and Clarke resented being subordinate to Mantz in both position and rank. Clarke repaid his rival by framing him on charges of misconduct, and although Mantz was not found guilty of any infractions, the mere fact of the investigation led to Mantz being eased out of the commanding officer's slot in December 1943.Dwiggins 1967, pp. 132-154.

Death

On June 13, 1948, Clarke was flying his

Vultee BT-13 Valiant The Vultee BT-13 Valiant is an American World War II-era basic (a category between primary and advanced) trainer aircraft built by Vultee Aircraft for the United States Army Air Corps, and later US Army Air Forces. A subsequent variant of th ...

to Kernville, California, with a pilot friend, Mark Owens. They were on their way to visit a retired fellow-Hollywood flying buddy, Frank Tomick. Clarke decided it would be amusing to drop a bag of manure on Tomick's cabin. "Clarke pushed the throttle forward in what was to have been a dive-bombing run. Tomick watched in horror as the plane plunged straight down into the ground and exploded. The sack of fertilizer had jammed behind the control stick, locking it." ''The San Bernardino Daily Sun'' reported on June 14, 1948, that sheriff's deputies "investigated the crash of a converted Army training plane in which two Hollywood movie studio workers were killed. The victims were identified as Frank Clark, 'sic'' stunt pilot, and Mark Owens, 51, both of Los Angeles." In commemoration of Frank Clarke: "The propeller from Clarke's BT-13 is mounted in concrete in an area known as Dutch Flats, west of

Lake Isabella Lake Isabella also called Isabella Lake, is a reservoir in Kern County, California, United States created by the earthen Isabella Dam. At , it is one of the larger reservoirs in California. Lake Isabella is located about northeast of Bakersfi ...

in the Green Horn Mountains. Etched in the propeller are his name and (that of) Owens."

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Dwiggins, Don. ''Hollywood Pilot: The Biography of Paul Mantz''. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1967. * Farmer, James H. ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation'' (1st ed.). Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: TAB Books 1984. . * Pendo, Stephen. ''Aviation in the Cinema''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. . * Wynne, H. Hugh. ''The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies''. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Frank 1898 births 1948 deaths First Motion Picture Unit personnel United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Accidental deaths in California Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States American stunt performers Stunt pilots Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1948 People from Paso Robles, California Military personnel from California