FORGOTTEN FILMS: TV TRANSITION

Though typically overshadowed by Hollywood's A-list, there were respectable performances by numerous actors and actresses who never became major film stars. A common occurrence was their transition to the new medium of television, often becoming familiar faces in homes across America. These periodic posts offer insight into their transition.

Dane Clark: Bernard Zanville (1912-98)

Dane Clark was a popular American character actor during the Forties, more often than not playing ubiquitous characters thrust into confrontation or engulfed in dangerous situations on either side of the law. Though possessing A-list qualities he never quite overcame his noteworthy supporting roles. Audiences identified with his spirited characters. A 1946 movie magazine named him the most stylish actor in Hollywood. It was a quick and brief skyrocket to fame during his first ten years in movies yet he spent nearly thirty on television. 

Being cast as the average guy was what Clark wanted all along. It gave him the chance to portray people the way they really are, not as a romantic idol. As a contract player for Warner Bros., he gained fame in supporting roles in significant films like Wake Island (1942), Action in the North Atlantic (1943), and God is My Co-pilot (1945). For the forgettable, Never Trust A Gambler (1951), he played a small-time paranoid gambler followed by a significant lead role as Abe Saperstein, the man who organized the Harlem Globetrotters in, Go Man Go (1954). One might have seen him in The Asphalt Jungle (1950), 99 River Street (1953), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), or Picnic (1955) except that Clark never screen-tested for these roles, though he was considered.

His versatile television career accelerated by way of a number of anthology series in the likes of The Philip Morris Playhouse (1954) or General Electric (1955). These “mini-movies” benefited from his polarizing characterizations. He garnered a regular role in the series, Justice (1954) and was one of the three lead roles on, Wire Service (1956). He was hitting his stride on the small screen with appearances in numerous popular series like The Twilight Zone (1961), The Untouchables (1962), or Ben Casey (1964). His role on Mannix (1970), brought him into the next decade with a recurring role on The New Perry Mason (1973) as Lt. Tragg, and a lead in the mini-series, Once an Eagle (1976). He had seven different roles in Police Story (1975). His final acting roles were two appearances on Murder, She Wrote (1984).

Note: Clark was born in Brooklyn, New York City, where he graduated from Cornell University and later earned a law degree from St. John's University School of Law in Queens, New York. In hindsight, one might consider, that with his “average” good looks, handsome smile and scrapping persona, the 5’ 10” Clark would be an in-demand actor of the 21st century.