Lon Clark (January 12, 1912 – October 2, 1998) was a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

actor of

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

and

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

. Clark was born in

Frost, Minnesota Frost is a city in Faribault County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 215 at the 2020 census. History A post office called Frost has been in operation since 1899. The city was named for architect Charles Sumner Frost. Geography Ac ...

. As a youth in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, Clark studied at the

MacPhail Center for Music The MacPhail Center for Music is one of the nation's oldest and largest community-based music education centers. Located in the Mills District, Minneapolis, Mills District of Downtown East, Minneapolis, Downtown East, Minneapolis, Minnesota, the sc ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. He began as a musician and actor in traveling tent shows, followed by a season with the Cincinnati Summer Opera. After participating in radio drama in Cincinnati, he arrived in New York during the 1940s, and his rich baritone voice quickly led to network radio roles.

Radio

He had the title role in ''

Nick Carter, Master Detective ''Nick Carter, Master Detective'' was a Mutual radio crime drama based on tales of the fictional private detective Nick Carter from Street & Smith's dime novels and pulp magazines. Nick Carter first came to radio as ''The Return of Nick Carte ...

'' on the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

from 1943 to 1955. The ''Nick Carter'' scripts were by

Alfred Bester Alfred Bester (December 18, 1913 – September 30, 1987) was an American science fiction author, TV and radio scriptwriter, magazine editor and scripter for comic strips and comic books. He is best remembered for his science fiction, inclu ...

and others. Clark also played the district attorney in ''Front Page Farrell''. Clark was also a familiar voice on such programs as the weekday serial ''Mommie and the Men'', the frontier serial adventure ''Wilderness Road'', the World War II dramas ''Words at War'' (1943–45) and ''Soldiers of the Press'' (1942–45), the quiz show ''Quick as a Flash'', the soap opera ''

Bright Horizon ''Bright Horizon'' is an old-time radio soap opera in the United States. It was broadcast on CBS August 25, 1941 - July 6, 1945. The program initially had an alternate title, ''The Story of Michael West''. Format ''Bright Horizon'' was a spinoff ...

'', the science fiction series '' 2000 Plus'' and ''Exploring Tomorrow'', '' Lights Out'', ''

The Mysterious Traveler ''The Mysterious Traveler'' was an anthology radio series, a magazine, and a comic book. All three featured stories which ran the gamut from fantasy and science fiction to straight crime dramas of Mystery fiction, mystery and suspense. Radio Wri ...

'', ''

The Kate Smith Hour Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was an American contralto. Referred to as The First Lady of Radio, Smith is well known for her renditions of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" & "When The Moon Comes Over The Mountain". ...

'', ''

The March of Time ''The March of Time'' is an American newsreel series sponsored by Time Inc. and shown in movie theaters from 1935 to 1951. It was based on a radio news series broadcast from 1931 to 1945. The "voice" of both series was Westbrook Van Voorhis. Pr ...

'', ''

The Adventures of the Thin Man ''The Adventures of the Thin Man'' radio series, initially starring Les Damon, was broadcast on all four major radio networks during the years 1941 to 1950. Claudia Morgan had the female lead role of Nora Charles throughout the program's entire ni ...

'' and ''

Norman Corwin Presents ''Norman Corwin Presents'' is a Canadian-produced drama anthology television series which aired on CBC Television from 1972 to 1973. The series also aired on Group W owned television stations in the US. Premise The series host was American bro ...

'', playing opposite such performers as

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program ''The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and for ...

Art Carney Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best known for his role as Ed ...

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

and

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

Broadway

Clark returned to the stage in his later years, replacing

Jason Robards Jason Nelson Robards Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor. Known as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill, Robards received two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the Cannes ...

in the 1956 Broadway production of

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...

's '' Long Day's Journey into Night''. He was back on Broadway in the short run of

Sidney Sheldon Sidney Sheldon (February 11, 1917 – January 30, 2007) was an American writer. He was prominent in the 1930s, first working on Broadway plays, and then in motion pictures, notably writing the successful comedy ''The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer ...

's ''Roman Candle'' with

Inger Stevens Inger Stevens (born Ingrid Stensland; October 18, 1934 – April 30, 1970) was a Swedish-American film, stage and Golden Globe-winning television actress. Early life Inger Stevens was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the eldest child of Per ...

and

Julia Meade Julia Meade Kunze (December 17, 1925 – May 16, 2016) was an American film and stage actress who was a frequent pitch person in live commercials in the early days of television in the 1950s. Early years Meade was born in Boston on December 1 ...

Death

He was 86 when he died at St. Clare's Hospital in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, survived by his wife, Michelle Trudeau Clark; two sons, Lon Jr. and Stephen, both of San Francisco; a brother, Gerald, of

Plymouth, Minnesota Plymouth is a city in Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. A suburb in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the city is about west of downtown Minneapolis.The population was 81,026 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota's ...

; and a grandson.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Lon 1912 births 1998 deaths American male radio actors Male actors from Minneapolis People from Faribault County, Minnesota 20th-century American male actors