The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 97

Fred Clark Desperately Desired Being Fired But Somehow It Never Happened By Margaret McManus couple of movie possibilities Just so I keep CLARK HAS NO complaints about the steadiness of his work For the last 10 years he has made less than $50000 a year no more than His gravest complaint about television is that it has type-cast him as a broad comedian Ever since he played Harry Morton this is primarily the kind of part he is offered think of myself as he said like the chance at a nice heavy dramatic role on Broadway I did an episode on The Untouchables for half my fee just for the pleasure of it I even watch comedy shows I only watch the Morton who is not married keeps an apartment in the middle of Hollywood minutes from any studio in any When he is working in New' York he stays at a hotel He seems to be a man singularly uncommitted to anything but acting He was an only child He has a 91-year-old father Fred Clark sr who lives in Los Angeles and goes to night school to study television writing Fred Clark smiled broadly when he told about Rod Serling the television writer and producer speaking to his night school class and at the end of his lecture asking if there were any questions He said his father Fred Clark sr put up his hand to ask a question His question was: you know my son Fred answer was delightful do know your son Your talent as an actor is exceeded only by his Clark describes himself as a loner He has two or three close friends other actors and a writer even when I go out with one of them we can sit at a bar for an hour without saying a HE WAS BORN IN Lincoln Calif and went to Stanford university to study to be a doctor In a college production of which dealt with the derring-do of doctors he decided he preferred the derring-do of actors and switched to the drama department He subsequently won a scholarship to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York where he was voted promising in his class He has appeared on Broadway In and and and he has just returned from London where he starred in Too Among his movies are Go Near the to Marry a and Long Clark claims no burning unfulfilled ambition other than to keep working beat his type-casting and stand on his feet on Broadway in a dramatic part He has heard them laugh He would like to make them cry And though he doesn't say so there has to be another wish however hidden There has to be the dearest wish to walk the street and have people say goes Fred TESTPORT CONN Very often they yy remember his name but they always know his face It is a situation not without frustration but Fred Clark tries to balance the scale and he hopes the good side is heavier He is not absolutely certain Sometimes they call him Henry Phyfe Sometimes they call him Harry Morton Most often they say that man that man on It might almost be said that Fred Clark is television There is scarcely a comedy or dramatic or variety show on which he has not appeared as a guest As Harry Morton the next door neighbor he appeared on 74 episodes of the Bums and Allen series His current television series The Double Life of Henry Phyfe on which he co-starred with Red BQttons has been canceled but it is still in re-runs glad said Clark hated that -series I went into it in haste My Broadway show had closed and been out of work five weeks when they asked me to do Phyfe With my normal insecurity I was sure never work again so impulsively I jumped at the series desperately unhappy when I'm not working I have no hobbies I just do crossword puzzles and watch old movies on television HAVE much hope for the series from the start I like imitations and Get Smart and Honey West were there ahead of us But a bad picker I have very poor judgment about what will be a success and I knew I could be wrong Once I was deep in the brink I was aching to be fired No matter how miserably I behaved nobody would fire me I would have liked us to go the full 26 weeks though It would be easier to sell for syndication What can you do with 17 an apt question Probably not much except to take the money and go home Fred Clark and Red Buttons replaced Burl Ives in the Thursday night ABC-TV spot and now Tammy Grimes is replacing them So the roulette wheel goes but Clark is accustomed to bending with the shift of fortune and the whim of fate He has done 14 television pilots and only one of them sold Law Henry Phyfe was sold from the scripts without ever making a pilot Clark believes fully in Moss dictum is the norm in the He is here at the Westport Country Playhouse this week trying out a new' comedy Midnight Ride of Alvin hopefully bound for Broadway next season Clark is non-committal about its chances know I told you a bad picker I guess it has a he said got work lined up through the summer got a few ccftnmercials to do and going to be on that special that Richard Adler is doing for ABC We start rehearsal lor that next week Then I may go back to the coast and investigate a Fred Clark Suffers From Being a WelkKnown Unknown Despite Years of Acting Exposure.