Westcott Clarke
Westcott Clarke | |
|---|---|
 Clarke in Safety Last! (1923) | |
| Born | Westcott Bailey Clarke September 27, 1886 Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | January 26, 1959 (aged 72) Los Angeles, California |
Resting place | Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California |
| Other names | W.B. Clarke, Westcott B. Clarke, W.B. Westcott |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1922–1929 |
Westcott Bailey Clarke (September 27, 1886 – January 26, 1959), also known as Westcott Clarke, W.B. Clarke, Westcott B. Clarke and W.B. Westcott, was an American actor who worked in the theater and in film.[1] Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he grew up in nearby Bayonne where he began his acting career in a local repertory theatre company in the early 1900s. He toured North America in Brown of Harvard in 1908-1909, and then worked as an itinerant actor in a variety of theatre troupes in the 1910s, including George M. Cohan and Sam H. Harris's company. He starred in Captain Kidd Junior on Broadway in 1917-1918, and by 1920 was working in Los Angeles as a stage actor. He worked as silent film actor in Hollywood during the 1920s.
Biography
The son of Mr. and Mrs. William Clarke,[2] Clarke was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on September 27, 1886.[3] He grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey,[2] and began his career performing in repertory theatre in his native town with the Bayonne Opera House Stock Company.[4] He joined the Spooner Stock Company,[4] and in the 1908-1909 season toured North America in Brown of Harvard.[5] In 1909-1910 season he performed in a production of Owen Wister's The Virginian.[2][4] He starred in a production of The Great Ruby staged in Jersey City in 1910.[4]
By 1914 Clarke was a member of the Selwyn & Co. theatre troupe starring in American regional theater as Detective Sergeant Cassidy in Bayard Veiller's Within the Law.[6] In 1915 he became a member of George M. Cohan and Sam H. Harris's theatre troupe with whom he toured as The Dead Man in Elmer Rice's On Trial;[7][8][9] ultimately taking over the larger part of Trask.[10] In February 1916 he married Helen L. Shaffer.[11] The marriage ended in divorce in June 1919.[12]
In June 1916 Clarke starred in the premiere of Rida Johnson Young's Buried Treasure (later renamed Captain Kidd Junior) at the Apollo Theatre in Atlantic City, New Jersey.[13] He starred in this play on Broadway in 1916-1917 at the Cohan & Harris Theatre in the role of the Expressman.[14] By 1920 he was working in Los Angeles at the Symphony Theatre as a live performer before the presentation of silent films.[15] He worked as a silent film actor in the 1920s; appearing in 12 films during his career. He was best known for his role in Safety Last! from 1923.[16][17][3]
In 1948 he was a criminal defendant in the "atomic gold" conspiracy trial, and convicted by a jury on conspiracy charges.[18] He was sentenced to three months in prison.[19]
Death
Clarke died in Los Angeles, California, in 1959. He is interred in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California.[3]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | Saturday Night | Bill – The Plumber | Uncredited |
| North of the Rio Grande | Clendenning (as W.B. Clarke) | Lost film | |
| 1923 | Safety Last! | The Floorwalker (as Westcott B. Clarke) | |
| Why Women Remarry | Dan Hannon's sister's first husband (as W.B. Clarke) | ||
| 1924 | At First Sight | L.R. Grandy | Short film |
| The Dramatic Life of Abraham Lincoln | Thomas Lincoln (as Westcott B. Clarke) | ||
| Shadows of Paris | Laroque | Uncredited | |
| The Breaking Point[20] | Sheriff Wilkins (as W.B. Westcott) | ||
| Sweet Daddy | Unknown role (as Westcott B. Clarke) | ||
| 1927 | Finnegan's Ball | Lawyer O'Connell (as Westcott B. Clarke) | |
| 1929 | The Trial of Mary Dugan | Captain Price | |
| Father and Son | Police Inspector | Uncredited, final film role | |
References
- ↑ ""Grandma" Appears Again With Harold". The Selma Times-Journal. Selma, Alabama. May 11, 1923. p. 8. Retrieved March 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 "Bayonne Social Gossip". The Jersey Journal. December 10, 1909. p. 9.
- 1 2 3 Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
- 1 2 3 4 "Clarke Joins Stock Company". The Jersey Journal. October 25, 1910. p. 6.
- ↑ "Traveled With Show Over 12,000 miles". The Jersey Journal. March 30, 1909. p. 7.
- ↑ "At the Theaters". The Omaha Evening Bee. March 23, 1914. p. 6.
- ↑ "On Trial A Grest Show Novelty In Stagecraft". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. September 30, 1915. p. 11. Retrieved March 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "On Trial Season's Strongest Play". The Times-Tribune. March 11, 1915. p. 8.
- ↑ "On Trial at the Parson's Theatre". Hartford Courant. March 28, 1915. p. 32.
- ↑ "Stage Gossip". The Jersey Journal. May 25, 1915. p. 6.
- ↑ "Social and Personalwork=The Springfield Daily Republican". February 21, 1916. p. 4.
- ↑ "Legal Notice". Springfield Evening Union. June 21, 1919. p. 5.
- ↑ "Buried Treasure at the Apollo Tonight". Press of Atlantic City. June 19, 1916. p. 10.
- ↑ Young, Rida Johnson (1920). Captain Kidd Jr: A Farcical Adventure in Three Acts. Samuel French, Inc.
- ↑ "Bill Farnum Picture". The Los Angeles Times. October 31, 1920. p. 45.
- ↑ "Bat Thrills". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. August 19, 1924. p. 27. Retrieved March 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "'Mary Dungan' Here Saturday". Kenosha News. Kenosha, Wisconsin. July 12, 1929. p. 17. Retrieved March 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Four Are Guilty in Atomic Gold Fraud". The Fresno Bee. July 4, 1948. p. 17.
- ↑ "Sentences Are Passed in Gold Conspiracy Case". The Sacramento Bee. July 5, 1948. p. 11.
- ↑ Progressive Silent Film List: The Breaking Point at silentera.com
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