Bob Clark: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:08, 17 October 2013

Benjamin "Bob" Clark (born August 5, 1939 in New Orleans, Louisiana; died April 4, 2007 in Pacific Palisades, California) was an actor, director, screenwriter and producer best known for co-writing and directing Porky's (1982) and A Christmas Story (1983).

Clark was born in New Orleans, but grew up in Birmingham and later moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He grew up poor, as his father died during his childhood and his mother was a barmaid. After attending Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina he won a football scholarship to Hillsdale College in Michigan, where he played quarterback. He later studied theater at the University of Miami.

Clark began his career making horror films, starting with a screen adaptation of the fable The Emperor's New Clothes starring John Carradine as "King Luvimself" which he made in Florida in 1966. He followed up with the sexploitation film She Man in 1969, then collaborated with screenwriter/make-up artist Alan Ormsby on a series of horror films. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things was followed with Deathdream (also known as Dead of Night) and Black Christmas. The latter two were among the first Hollywood-style films made in Canada to cut costs.

Clark was an executive producer for the film Moonrunners which inspired the television series "The Dukes of Hazzard". He made a brief foray into A-list film-making with Christopher Plummer starring as Sherlock Holmes in Murder by Decree (1979) and Jack Lemmon reprising his stage role in Tribute (1989).

The 1980s saw Clark returning to his B-movie roots with the highly successful teen exploitation film Porky's, which he based on his own experiences in South Florida. He wrote, produced and directed the 1983 sequel Porky's II: The Next Day, but was not involved in the follow-up Porky's Revenge.

He collaborated with co-writer Jean Shepherd on the coming-of-age film A Christmas Story, which underperformed initially but later became a much-loved holiday classic. After that he became known mostly as a director-for-hire for forgettable films such as Baby Geniuses and Rhinestone.

Clark and one of his two sons, Ariel, were killed in an auto wreck on the Pacific Coast Highway in April 2007. The driver of the SUV that collided head-on with their car was drunk and did not have a license. He was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter.

Clark's frequent collaborator Deren Abram produced and directed a documentary, ClarkWorld about Clark and his films.

Films

The Emperor's New Clothes (1966) (Director/Writer)
She-Man: A Story of Fixation (1967) (Director/Co-Writer, with Harris Anders and Jeff Gillen)
Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1973) (Director/Co-Writer, with Alan Ormsby)
Dead of Night (a.k.a. Deathdream) (1974)
Black Christmas (1974)
Breaking Point (1976)
Murder by Decree (1979)
Tribute (1980)
Porky's (1982) (Director/Co-Writer, with Roger E. Swaybill)
Porky's II: The Next Day (1983) (Director/Co-Writer, with Roger E. Swaybill and Alan Ormsby)
A Christmas Story (1983) (Director/Co-Writer, with Jean Shepherd and Leigh Brown)
Rhinestone (1984)
Turk 182! (1985)
Amazing Stories (1985) (TV)
From the Hip (1987) (Director/Co-Writer, with David E. Kelley)
Loose Cannons (1990) (Director/Co-Writer, with Richard Matheson and Richard Christian Matheson)
The American Clock (1993) (TV)
It Runs in the Family (a.k.a. My Summer Story) (1994) (Director/Co-Writer, with Jean Shepherd and Leigh Brown)
Derby (1995) (TV)
Fudge (1995) (TV)
The Ransom of Red Chief (1998) (TV)
Baby Geniuses (1999) (Director/Co-Writer, with Greg Michael)
I'll Remember April (2000)
Now & Forever (2002)
Maniac Magee (2003) (TV)
The Karate Dog (2004) (TV)
Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004)

References

"Bob Clark" (October 14, 2013) Wikipedia - accessed October 17, 2013

External links

Bob Clark at the Internet Movie Database

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-'''Benjamin "Bob" Clark''' (born [[August 5]], [[1939]] in New Orleans, Louisiana; died [[April 4]], [[2007]] in Pacific Palisades, California) was an American actor, director, screenwriter and producer best known for directing and writing the script with [[Jean Shepherd]] to the 1983 Christmas film ''[[A Christmas Story]]''. Although he worked primarily in the United States, from 1973 to 1983 he worked in Canada and was responsible for some of most successful films in Canadian history such as ''[[Black Christmas (1974 film)|Black Christmas]]'' (1974), ''[[Murder by Decree]]'' (1979), ''[[Tribute (1980 film)|Tribute]]'' (1980), and ''[[Porky's]]'' (1982).
+'''Benjamin "Bob" Clark''' (born [[August 5]], [[1939]] in New Orleans, Louisiana; died [[April 4]], [[2007]] in Pacific Palisades, California) was an actor, director, screenwriter and producer best known for co-writing and directing  ''Porky's'' (1982) and ''A Christmas Story'' (1983).
-Clark was born in [[New Orleans]], but grew up in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], and later moved to [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]]. He grew up poor, as his father died during his childhood and his mother was a [[barmaid]]. After attending [[Catawba College]] majoring in philosophy, Clark won a [[American football|football]] scholarship to [[Hillsdale College]] in [[Michigan]], where he played [[quarterback]]. Eventually he studied theater at the [[University of Miami]], turning down offers to play professional football.
+Clark was born in New Orleans, but grew up in [[Birmingham]] and later moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He grew up poor, as his father died during his childhood and his mother was a barmaid. After attending Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina he won a football scholarship to Hillsdale College in Michigan, where he played quarterback. He later studied theater at the University of Miami.
-Though best known for his involvement with these familiar titles, Clark's career actually began squarely in the [[horror film|horror]] genre, in the early [[1970s in film|1970s]]. His first film of this ilk, ''[[Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things]]'' (1972), was a blend of comedy and graphic horror.
+Clark began his career making horror films, starting with a screen adaptation of the fable ''The Emperor's New Clothes'' starring John Carradine as "King Luvimself" which he made in Florida in [[1966]]. He followed up with the sexploitation film ''She Man'' in [[1969]], then collaborated with screenwriter/make-up artist Alan Ormsby on a series of horror films. ''Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things'' was followed with ''Deathdream'' (also known as ''Dead of Night'') and ''Black Christmas''. The latter two were among the first Hollywood-style films made in Canada to cut costs.
-Clark and his collaborator for this film, screenwriter and makeup artist [[Alan Ormsby]], would revisit the zombie subgenre in 1972's ''[[Deathdream]]'', also known by its alternate title, ''Dead of Night'', a [[Vietnam War]] allegory that takes its cue from the classic short story "[[The Monkey's Paw]]". The [[slasher film]] ''[[Black Christmas (1974 film)|Black Christmas]]'' (1974) was one of his most successful films in this period, and is remembered today as an influential precursor to the modern [[slasher film]] genre.<ref name="LAT2"/> Clark had moved to Canada, then a [[tax haven]] for Americans, and these productions were small by Hollywood standards but made Clark a big fish in the small pond of the Canadian film industry of that era.
+Clark was an executive producer for the film ''Moonrunners'' which inspired the television series "The Dukes of Hazzard". He made a brief foray into A-list film-making with Christopher Plummer starring as Sherlock Holmes in ''Murder by Decree'' ([[1979]]) and Jack Lemmon reprising his stage role in ''Tribute'' ([[1989]]).
-Clark executive-produced the [[moonshine]] movie ''[[Moonrunners]]'', which was used as source material for the TV series ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard]]''. Clark later produced the 2000 TV movie ''The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood''. Clark and others sued [[Warner Bros.]] over the studio's 2005 movie ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard (film)|The Dukes of Hazzard]]'', winning a $17.5 million settlement just prior to the movie's release.
+The 1980s saw Clark returning to his B-movie roots with the highly successful teen exploitation film ''Porky's'', which he based on his own experiences in South Florida. He wrote, produced and directed the [[1983]] sequel ''Porky's II: The Next Day'', but was not involved in the follow-up ''Porky's Revenge''.
-Turning toward more serious fare, Clark scored a critical success with the [[Sherlock Holmes]] film ''[[Murder by Decree]]'', starring [[Christopher Plummer]] and [[Geneviève Bujold]], which won five [[Genie Awards]] including Best Achievement in Direction and Best Performance for both leads. He followed this with a TV movie of the [[Bernard Slade]] play ''[[Tribute (play)|Tribute]]'', starring [[Jack Lemmon]] reprising his Broadway role, for which Lemmon was nominated for an [[Academy Award]] and 11 Genies including a win for Lemmon's performance.<ref name="CFE"/>
+He collaborated with co-writer Jean Shepherd on the coming-of-age film ''A Christmas Story'', which underperformed initially but later became a much-loved holiday classic. After that he became known mostly as a director-for-hire for forgettable films such as ''Baby Geniuses'' and ''Rhinestone''.
-Clark returned to his [[B-movie]] roots, though, co-writing, producing, and directing ''[[Porky's]]'', a longtime personal project. Clark had a detailed outline based on his own youth in Florida, which he dictated into a cassette recorder due to illness, and collaborator Roger Swaybill said of listening to the tapes, "I became convinced that I was sharing in the birth of a major moment in movie history. It was the funniest film story I had ever heard."<ref name="LAT2"/> Though set in the United States, the film would go on to gross more than any other English-language Canadian film.<ref name="CFE"/> <!-- record still true? --> The film was the third most successful release of 1982 and by the end of the film's lengthy initial release, in 1983, ''Porky's'' had secured itself a spot, albeit short-lived, as one of the top-25 highest grossing films of all time in the US. The film was (also briefly) the most successful comedy in film history. ''Porky's'' overwhelming success is credited as launching the genre of the [[teen sex comedy]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117801630.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&query=Porky%27s|title=At 20, 'Risky' is still frisky|author=Dana Harris|publisher=Variety|date=June 19, 2001}}</ref> so prevalent throughout the 1980s and which continued into the millennium in such movies as the ''[[American Pie (film)|American Pie]]'' franchise. Clark wrote, produced, and directed the film's first sequel, ''[[Porky's II: The Next Day]]'' (1983), which shifted the focus away from the title character to two new antagonists with perhaps greater relevance, a sleazy local politician who cynically caters to the influence of a blustering [[fundamentalist]] preacher while seducing a teenage girl. Clark refused involvement with a third film, ''[[Porky's Revenge!]]'', which brought Porky and the sexual exploits of the cast back front and center as in the first installment.
+Clark and one of his two sons, Ariel, were killed in an auto wreck on the Pacific Coast Highway in April [[2007]]. The driver of the SUV that collided head-on with their car was drunk and did not have a license. He was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter.
-He instead collaborated with Jean Shepherd on ''[[A Christmas Story]]'', which critic [[Leonard Maltin]] described as "one of those rare movies you can say is perfect in every way".<ref name="LADN"/> Although not a box-office smash in its theatrical release, ''A Christmas Story'' would go on to become a perennial a holiday favorite via repeated TV airings and [[home video]]. A joint effort at a sequel in 1994, ''[[My Summer Story]]'', did not fare as well; Maltin said that the studio waited too long, and Clark was forced to recast almost the entire film.<ref name="LADN"/> Three other film versions of the Parker family had been produced for television by [[PBS]] with Shepherd's involvement during the late 1980s, also with a different cast, but without Clark's participation.
+Clark's frequent collaborator Deren Abram produced and directed a documentary, ''ClarkWorld'' about Clark and his films.
-Clark continued to stay active in the film industry until his death, with lower-budget fare mixed in with brief runs at higher targets. A ''[[Hollywood Reporter]]'' critic, speaking after his death, described his career as "a very unusual mix of films", because he "at times was a director-for-hire and would do films that, to say the least, aren't stellar". Some of his last output included ''[[Baby Geniuses]]'' and ''[[SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2]]''.
+==Films==
+* ''The Emperor's New Clothes'' (1966) (Director/Writer)
-Clark was nominated twice for the [[Razzie Awards]] as "Worst Director", for ''[[Rhinestone (film)|Rhinestone]]'' and ''[[Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2]]''. At the end of his life, he was working with [[Howard Stern]] on a remake of ''Porky's'', and three of his early horror films were slated for expensive remakes: ''Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things'', ''Deathdream'' and ''Black Christmas''.
+* ''She-Man: A Story of Fixation'' (1967) (Director/Co-Writer, with [[Harris Anders]] and [[Jeff Gillen]])
+* ''Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things'' (1973) (Director/Co-Writer, with [[Alan Ormsby]])
-Clark was divorced, and had one other son, Michael.
+* ''Dead of Night'' (a.k.a. ''Deathdream'') (1974)
+* ''Black Christmas'' (1974)
-==Death==
+* ''Breaking Point'' (1976)
-Clark and his son, [[Ariel Hanrath-Clark]], 22, were killed in a head-on car accident on the [[California State Route 1|Pacific Coast Highway]] in [[Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California|Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles]] on the morning of April 4, 2007. The crash occurred when an [[SUV]] crossed the median and struck Clark's [[Infiniti]] [[Infiniti I30|I30]], causing the closure of the highway for eight hours. Police determined that the SUV's driver, [[Hector Velazquez-Nava]], had a [[blood alcohol level]] of three times the legal limit and was driving without a license. He initially pleaded not guilty to two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter, but changed his plea to no contest in August. On October 12, 2007, Velasquez-Nava was sentenced to six years in prison under the terms of a plea agreement.
+* ''Murder by Decree'' (1979)
+* ''Tribute'' (1980)
-In addition, he may face [[deportation]] to his native Mexico, as he entered and was living in the United States [[illegal immigration|illegally]]. A biographical documentary, "ClarkWorld" on Clark's life, works and death was produced and directed by [[Deren Abram]]. Abram and Clark worked together for over a decade.
+* ''Porky's'' (1982) (Director/Co-Writer, with Roger E. Swaybill)
+* ''Porky's II: The Next Day'' (1983) (Director/Co-Writer, with Roger E. Swaybill and Alan Ormsby)
-==Selected filmography==
+* ''A Christmas Story'' (1983) (Director/Co-Writer, with [[Jean Shepherd]] and [[Leigh Brown]])
-*''[[The Emperor's New Clothes (1966 film)|The Emperor's New Clothes]]'' (1966) (Director/Writer)
+* ''Rhinestone'' (1984)
-*''[[She-Man]]'' (1967) (Director/Co-Writer, with [[Harris Anders]] and [[Jeff Gillen]])
+* ''Turk 182!'' (1985)
-*''[[Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things]]'' (1973) (Director/Co-Writer, with [[Alan Ormsby]])
+* ''Amazing Stories'' (1985) (TV)
-*''[[Dead of Night]]'' (a.k.a. ''[[Deathdream]]'') (1974)
+* ''From the Hip'' (1987) (Director/Co-Writer, with [[David E. Kelley]])
-*''[[Black Christmas (1974 film)|Black Christmas]]'' (1974)
+* ''Loose Cannons'' (1990) (Director/Co-Writer, with Richard Matheson and Richard Christian Matheson)
-*''[[Breaking Point (1976 film)|Breaking Point]]'' (1976)
+* ''The American Clock'' (1993) (TV)
-*''[[Murder by Decree]]'' (1979)
+* ''It Runs in the Family'' (a.k.a. ''My Summer Story'') (1994) (Director/Co-Writer, with Jean Shepherd and Leigh Brown)
-*''[[Tribute (1980 film)|Tribute]]'' (1980)
+* ''Derby'' (1995) (TV)
-*''[[Porky's]]'' (1982) (Director/Co-Writer, with [[Roger E. Swaybill]])
+* ''Fudge'' (1995) (TV)
-*''[[Porky's II: The Next Day]]'' (1983) (Director/Co-Writer, with [[Roger E. Swaybill]] and [[Alan Ormsby]])
+* ''The Ransom of Red Chief'' (1998) (TV)
-*''[[A Christmas Story]]'' (1983) (Director/Co-Writer, with [[Jean Shepherd]] and [[Leigh Brown]])
+* ''Baby Geniuses'' (1999) (Director/Co-Writer, with [[Greg Michael]])
-*''[[Rhinestone (film)|Rhinestone]]'' (1984)
+* ''I'll Remember April'' (2000)
-*''[[Turk 182!]]'' (1985)
+* ''Now & Forever'' (2002)
-*''[[Amazing Stories (TV series)|Amazing Stories]]'' (1985) (TV)
+* ''Maniac Magee'' (2003) (TV)
-*''[[From the Hip (film)|From the Hip]]'' (1987) (Director/Co-Writer, with [[David E. Kelley]])
+* ''The Karate Dog'' (2004) (TV)
-*''[[Loose Cannons (1990 film)|Loose Cannons]]'' (1990) (Director/Co-Writer, with [[Richard Matheson]] and [[Richard Christian Matheson]])
+* ''Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2'' (2004)
-*''[[The American Clock]]'' (1993) (TV)
-*''[[It Runs in the Family (1994 film)|It Runs in the Family]]'' (a.k.a. ''[[My Summer Story]]'') (1994) (Director/Co-Writer, with [[Jean Shepherd]] and [[Leigh Brown]])
-*''[[Derby]]'' (1995) (TV)
-*''[[Fudge (TV series)|Fudge]]'' (1995) (TV)
-*''[[The Ransom of Red Chief]]'' (1998) (TV)
-*''[[Baby Geniuses]]'' (1999) (Director/Co-Writer, with [[Greg Michael]])
-*''[[I'll Remember April (film)|I'll Remember April]]'' (2000)
-*''[[Now & Forever (2002 film)|Now & Forever]]'' (2002)
-*''[[Maniac Magee]]'' (2003) (TV)
-*''[[The Karate Dog]]'' (2004) (TV)
-*''[[Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2]]'' (2004)
 ==References==
-*
+* "[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bob_Clark Bob Clark]" (October 14, 2013) Wikipedia - accessed October 17, 2013
 ==External links==
-*
+* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163706/ Bob Clark] at the Internet Movie Database
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Bob}}
 [[Category:1939 births]]
 [[Category:2007 deaths]]
-[[Category:Film directors]]
+[[Category:Filmmakers]]
 [[Category:Film producers]]
 [[Category:Screenwriters]]
-[[Category:College football players]]
+[[Category:Football players]]
-[[Category:Actors from New Orleans, Louisiana]]
+[[Category:Traffic fatalities]]
-[[Category:Traffic deaths]]

Bob Clark: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:08, 17 October 2013

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