Benjamin Robert Clark (August 5, 1939 – April 4, 2007) was an American film director,
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
, producer, and actor. He is best known for his work in the
Canadian film industry throughout the 1970s and 1980s, where he was responsible for some of the most successful films in Canadian film history such as ''
Black Christmas'' (1974), ''
Murder by Decree
''Murder by Decree'' is a 1979 mystery thriller film directed by Bob Clark. It features the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who are embroiled in the investigation surrounding the real-life 188 ...
'' (1979), ''
Tribute
A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...
'' (1980), ''
Porky's
''Porky's'' is a 1981 sex comedy film written and directed by Bob Clark about the escapades of teenagers in 1954 at the fictional Angel Beach High School in Florida. The film influenced many writers in the teen film genre and spawned two sequels: ...
'' (1981), and ''
A Christmas Story
''A Christmas Story'' is a 1983 Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on Jean Shepherd's semi-fictional anecdotes in his 1966 book '' In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash'', with some elements from his 1971 book ''Wanda Hickey's ...
'' (1983). He won three
Genie Awards
The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...
(two
Best Direction and one
Best Screenplay) with two additional nominations. He and his son were killed by a
drunk driver
Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash.
In the United States, alcohol is invo ...
in April 2007.
Early life and education
Clark was born in
in 1939,
[Reuters reported on the day of his death, "Clark
was 67, according to police, although some reference sites list him as 65."] but grew up in
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
, and later moved to
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
. He grew up poor, as his father died during his childhood and his mother was a
barmaid
A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...
.
After attending
Catawba College
Catawba College is a private college in Salisbury, North Carolina. Founded in 1851 by the North Carolina Classis of the Reformed Church in Newton, the college adopted its name from its county of origin, Catawba County, before moving to its c ...
majoring in philosophy, Clark won a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
scholarship to
Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College is a Private university, private Conservatism in the United States, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was founded in 1844 by Abolitionism, abolitionists known as Free Will Baptists.
Its missio ...
in
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
,
where he played
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
. Eventually he studied theater at the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...
, turning down offers to play professional football.
He did briefly play
semi-pro
''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin and Maura Tier ...
for the Fort Lauderdale Black Knights.
Career
Clark's career began with ''
She-Man: A Story of Fixation'' (1967) featured in a gender-bender double feature. Then transitioned into the
horror genre in the early 1970s. His first film, ''
Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things
''Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things'' (also known as ''Revenge of the Living Dead'', ''Things from the Dead'', and ''Zreaks'') is a 1972 comedic horror film directed by Bob Clark. It later became a cult classic. This low-budget zombie f ...
'' (1972), was a blend of comedy and graphic horror.
Clark and his collaborator for this film, screenwriter and makeup artist
Alan Ormsby
Alan Ormsby (born December 14, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, make up artist, actor and author.
Film career
Ormsby began work in feature films with the Bob Clark-directed ''Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things'' (1972), which c ...
, would revisit the zombie subgenre in 1972's ''
Deathdream
''Deathdream'' (also known as ''Dead of Night'') is a 1974 horror film directed by Bob Clark and written by Alan Ormsby, and starring Richard Backus, John Marley, and Lynn Carlin. Filmed in Brooksville, Florida, it was inspired by the W. W. Jacob ...
'', also known by its alternative title, ''Dead of Night'', a
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
allegory that takes its cue from the classic short story "
The Monkey's Paw
"The Monkey's Paw" is a horror short story by English author W. W. Jacobs, first published in the collection '' The Lady of the Barge'' in 1902.
In the story, three wishes are granted to the owner of The Monkey's Paw, but the wishes come with ...
". The
slasher film
A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a ...
''
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
A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a ...
genre.
Clark had moved to Canada, then a
tax haven
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
for Americans, and these ''
Canuxploitation'' 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 executive-produced the
moonshine
Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...
movie ''
Moonrunners
''Moonrunners'' is a 1975 action comedy film starring James Mitchum, about a Southern family who runs bootleg liquor. It was reworked four years later into the popular long-running television series ''The Dukes of Hazzard'', and the two product ...
'', which was used as source material for the TV series ''
The Dukes of Hazzard
''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television series ...
''. Clark later produced the 2000 TV movie ''The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood''. Clark and others sued
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
over the studio's 2005 movie ''
The Dukes of Hazzard
''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television series ...
'', winning a $17.5 million settlement just prior to the movie's release.
Turning toward more serious fare, Clark scored a critical success with the
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
film ''
Murder by Decree
''Murder by Decree'' is a 1979 mystery thriller film directed by Bob Clark. It features the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who are embroiled in the investigation surrounding the real-life 188 ...
'', starring
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...
and
Geneviève Bujold
Geneviève Bujold (; born July 1, 1942) is a Canadian actress. For her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the period drama film ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969), Bujold received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film cre ...
, which won five
Genie Awards
The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...
including Best Achievement in Direction and Best Performance for both leads. He followed this with a movie of the
Bernard Slade
Bernard Slade Newbound (May 2, 1930 – October 30, 2019) was a Canadian playwright and screenwriter. As a screenwriter, he created the sitcoms ''The Flying Nun'' and ''The Partridge Family''. As a playwright, he wrote '' Same Time, Next Year'', ...
play ''
Tribute
A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...
'', starring
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadin ...
reprising his Broadway role, for which Lemmon was nominated for an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
and 11 Genies including a win for Lemmon's performance.
Clark returned to his
B-movie
A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...
roots, though, co-writing, producing, and directing ''
Porky's
''Porky's'' is a 1981 sex comedy film written and directed by Bob Clark about the escapades of teenagers in 1954 at the fictional Angel Beach High School in Florida. The film influenced many writers in the teen film genre and spawned two sequels: ...
'', 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."
Though set in the United States, the film would go on to gross more than any other English-language Canadian film.
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. The overwhelming success of ''Porky's'' is credited as launching the genre of the
teen sex comedy so prevalent throughout the 1980s, and which continued into the millennium in such films as the ''
American Pie'' series. Clark wrote, produced, and directed the film's first sequel, ''
Porky's II: The Next Day'' (1983), which did not feature the title character, and introduced two new antagonists with perhaps greater relevance, a blustering
fundamentalist
Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing ...
preacher, and a sleazy local politician who cynically caters to his influence, while seducing a teenage girl. Clark refused involvement with a third film, ''
Porky's Revenge!
''Porky's Revenge!'' is a 1985 sex comedy film and the third and final film of the original ''Porky's'' film series. It was directed by James Komack.
Plot
During the semi-final basketball game, the cheerleaders promise the team an orgy if they ...
'', which brought Porky and the sexual exploits of the cast back front and center as in the first installment, as well as bringing everything full-circle and bringing the gang's high school rowdy escapades to a close.
He instead collaborated with Jean Shepherd on ''
A Christmas Story
''A Christmas Story'' is a 1983 Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on Jean Shepherd's semi-fictional anecdotes in his 1966 book '' In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash'', with some elements from his 1971 book ''Wanda Hickey's ...
'', which critic
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...
described as "one of those rare movies you can say is perfect in every way".
Although not a box-office smash in its theatrical release, ''A Christmas Story'' would go on to become a perennial holiday favorite via repeated TV airings and
home video
Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...
. A joint effort at a sequel in 1994, ''
My Summer Story
''My Summer Story'' (originally released in theaters as ''It Runs in the Family'') is a 1994 American comedy film directed by Bob Clark that serves as a sequel to his 1983 film ''A Christmas Story''. Like the previous film, it is based on semi-au ...
'', did not fare as well; Maltin said that the studio waited too long, and Clark was forced to recast almost the entire film.
Three other film versions of the Parker family had been produced for television by
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
with Shepherd's involvement during the late 1980s, also with a different cast, but without Clark's participation.
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 ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' 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".
[ Typographical error fixed.] Some of his last output included ''
Baby Geniuses
''Baby Geniuses'' is a 1999 American family comedy film directed by Bob Clark and written by Clark and Greg Michael based on a story by Clark, Steven Paul, Francisca Matos, and Robert Grasmere, and starring Kathleen Turner, Christopher Lloyd, Kim ...
'' and ''
Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2''.
Clark was nominated twice for the
Razzie Awards
The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...
as "Worst Director", for ''
Rhinestone
A rhinestone, paste or diamante is a diamond simulant originally made from rock crystal but since the 19th century from crystal glass or polymers such as acrylic.
Original
Originally, rhinestones were rock crystals gathered from the river ...
'' and ''
Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2''. At the end of his life, he was working with
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terre ...
on a remake of ''Porky's'', and, with ''Black Christmas'' having been remade, two of his other early horror films were slated for expensive remakes: ''Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things'' and ''Deathdream''.
Clark was divorced, and had two sons, Michael and Ariel.
Death
Clark and his younger son, Ariel Hanrath-Clark, 22, were killed in a head-on car crash on the
Pacific Coast Highway in
Pacific Palisades,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
on the morning of April 4, 2007. The crash occurred when an SUV crossed the median and struck Clark's
Infiniti I30
The is a front-engine, five passenger, mid-size passenger car manufactured and marketed by Nissan Motors over three generations. Almost all Cefiro's were marketed as four-door sedans, though a five-door wagon body style was briefly available (199 ...
, causing the closure of the highway for eight hours.
Police determined that the SUV's driver, Héctor Manuel Velázquez-Nava, had a
blood alcohol level
Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For example ...
of three times the legal limit and was driving without a license. Velázquez-Nava was described by federal authorities as an illegal alien. The driver initially pleaded not guilty to two counts of gross
vehicular manslaughter
Vehicular homicide is a crime that involves the death of a person other than the driver as a result of either criminally negligent or murderous operation of a motor vehicle.
In cases of criminal negligence, the defendant is commonly charged ...
, but changed his plea to
no contest
' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense.
In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neith ...
in August, and was sentenced to six years in prison under the terms of a plea agreement on October 12, 2007.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
*
Canadian Film Encyclopedia publication of The Film Reference Library/a division of the Toronto International Film Festival Group*Canuxploitation intervie
Canuxploitation Interview: Bob Clark
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Bob
1939 births
2007 deaths
American male screenwriters
American expatriates in Canada
Comedy film directors
Horror film directors
Catawba College alumni
Best Director Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners
Hillsdale College alumni
Hillsdale Chargers football players
Male actors from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Male actors from New Orleans
Road incident deaths in California
University of Miami alumni
Best Screenplay Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners
Fort Lauderdale High School alumni
Film directors from Florida
Writers from New Orleans
Musicians from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Writers from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
20th-century American musicians
Screenwriters from Florida
Screenwriters from Louisiana
Film producers from Florida
Film producers from Louisiana
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American screenwriters