Judy Clark (June 9, 1921 – December 27, 2002) was an American film and television actress and singer. Clark adopted a brash and energetic singing style, similar to that of musical-comedy star

Betty Hutton Betty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg; February 26, 1921 – March 12, 2007) was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. She rose to fame in the 1940s as a contract player for Paramount Pictures, appea ...

Early life

Clark was the daughter of Jack Kaufman, who was a vaudeville performer. She and comedian

Jack Gilford Jack Gilford (born Jacob Aaron Gellman; July 25, 1908 – June 4, 1990) was an American Broadway, film, and television actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Save the Tiger'' (1973). Early life and ...

were among the new faces in the stage show ''Meet the People'';

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

signed both for the

Gloria Jean Gloria Jean (born Gloria Jean Schoonover; April 14, 1926 – August 31, 2018) was an American actress and singer who starred or co-starred in 26 feature films from 1939 to 1959, and made numerous radio, television, stage, and nightclub app ...

musical ''

Reckless Age ''Reckless Age'' is a 1944 American comedy film directed by Felix E. Feist and written by Gertrude Purcell and Henry Blankfort. The film stars Gloria Jean, Henry Stephenson, Kathleen Howard, Franklin Pangborn, Andrew Tombes, Marshall Thompson, Ja ...

'' (1944). Clark won the juvenile lead in the 1944 Benny Fields musical '' Minstrel Man'', in which she delivered two songs in the Hutton manner. The role reflected Clark's own life, as a rising star in a theatrical family. She continued to work in pictures through the mid-1940s, including the

Joan Davis Josephine "Joan" Davis (June 29, 1912 – May 23, 1961) was an American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy '' I Married Joan'', Davis had a successful ea ...

musical comedy '' Beautiful but Broke'' (1944), the

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

-styled comedy '' The Kid Sister'' (1945), the Freddie Stewart musical ''

Junior Prom A promenade dance or prom is a formal dance party for graduating high school students at the end of the school year. Students participating in the prom will typically vote for a ''prom king'' and ''prom queen''. Other students may be honored w ...

'' (1946), '' In Fast Company'' with

The Bowery Boys The Bowery Boys are fictional New York City characters, portrayed by a company of New York actors, who were the subject of 48 feature films released by Monogram Pictures and its successor Allied Artists Pictures Corporation from 1946 through 1 ...

(1946), and the

Jean Porter Bennie Jean Porter (December 8, 1922 – January 13, 2018), known professionally as Jean Porter, was an American film and television actress, noted for her roles in '' The Youngest Profession'' (1943), ''Bathing Beauty'' (1944), '' Abbott and C ...

musical '' Two Blondes and a Redhead'' (1947). Beginning in 1949, with fewer musicals being made, she worked in the action/adventure field, in two serials, '' Bruce Gentry'' and ''

Desperadoes of the West ''Desperadoes of the West'' (1950) is a 12-chapter Republic film serial. Plot Cast * Tom Keene / Richard Powers as Ward Gordon * Judy Clark as Sally Arnold *Roy Barcroft as Hacker, a henchman * I. Stanford Jolley as J. B. "Dude" Dawson *Lee P ...

''. Altogether she appeared in more than two dozen films and several television productions.

Stage

Clark's work as a singer included performing with Jimmy McHugh's Hollywood Singing Stars. She also danced and sang in the stage musical ''Lend an Ear'' at the Las Palmas Theater.

Personal life

Clark was diagnosed with anemia, resulting in pain in both ankles and thus forcing her to give up dancing. On October 1, 1949, Clark married businessman George Myers in Los Angeles. They were divorced on July 14, 1950. In 1953 she married William Jerome Otto, 24-year-old heir to a drug chain; the union was unsuccessful and she sued for divorce nine months later, asking to be repaid $625 that he had borrowed. In 1956 she met her future husband, Ron Zalimas, on the set of a

Burns and Allen Burns and Allen were an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen. They worked together as a successful comedy team that entertained vaudeville, film, radio, and television audiences for over forty years. The ...

TV show. He was 15 years her junior,westernclippings.com, interview but they remained married until her death in 2002.

Filmography

* '' South of Santa Fe'' (1942) * '' Chatterbox'' (1943) * ''

Swing Your Partner ''Swing Your Partner'' is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Frank McDonald and written by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan. The film stars Myrtle Wiseman, Scotty Wiseman, Barbara Jo Allen, Dale Evans, Ransom M. Sherman and Harry Che ...

'' (1943) * '' Beautiful But Broke'' (1944) * '' Career Girl'' (1944) * '' Hey, Rookie'' (1944) * '' Minstrel Man'' (1944) * ''

'' (1944) * '' Stars on Parade'' (1944) * '' This Is the Life'' (1944) * '' Night Club Girl'' (1945) * '' Penthouse Rhythm'' (1945) * '' The Kid Sister'' (1945) * ''

The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry ''The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry'', also known as ''Uncle Harry'' and ''The Zero Murder Case'', is a 1945 American film noir directed by Robert Siodmak and starring George Sanders, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Ella Raines. It is based on the st ...

'' (1945) * '' In Fast Company'' (1946) * ''

'' (1946) * '' That's My Gal'' (1947) * '' Two Blondes and a Redhead'' (1947) * ''

Bruce Gentry – Daredevil of the Skies ''Bruce Gentry – Daredevil of the Skies'' (1949) is a 15-episode Columbia Pictures Serial (film), movie serial based on the Bruce Gentry (comic strip), Bruce Gentry comic strip created by Ray Bailey. It features the first cinematic appearance ...

'' (1949) * ''

'' (1950) * '' The Girl on the Bridge'' (1951) * ''

The Crooked Web ''The Crooked Web'' is a 1955 crime film noir directed by Nathan Juran and starring Frank Lovejoy, Mari Blanchard and Richard Denning. Plot Stan Fabian runs a drive-in restaurant with girlfriend Joanie Daniel, whose brother Frank turns up for ...

'' (1955) * ''

House of Women ''House of Women'' is a 1962 American crime drama directed by Crane Wilbur, starring Shirley Knight and Andrew Duggan. Walter Doniger, who was hired to direct the film, was fired and replaced by Wilbur 10 days into shooting. Plot Erica Hayden ( ...

'' (1962)

References

External links

*
Interview with Mike Fitzgerald
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Judy American film actresses American television actresses 1921 births 2002 deaths 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American women singers