Caitlin Clarke (born Katherine Anne Clarke, May 3, 1952 – September 9, 2004) was an American theater and film actress best known for her role as Valerian in the 1981 fantasy film ''

Dragonslayer A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...

'' and for her role as Charlotte Cardoza in the 1998–1999

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

''.

Biography

Clarke was born Katherine Anne Clarke in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, the oldest of five sisters, the youngest of whom is

Victoria Clarke Victoria "Torie" Clarke (born May 18, 1959) is an American communications consultant who has served in several private sector positions and in three Republican presidential administrations, most notably as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for ...

. Her family moved to Sewickley when she was ten. Clarke received her B.A. in theater arts from

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...

in 1974 and her M.F.A. from the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

in 1978. During her final year at Yale Clarke performed with the

Yale Repertory Theater Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of Yale School of Drama, in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented student ...

in such plays as ''

Tales from the Vienna Woods "Tales from the Vienna Woods" (german: "Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald", links=no, italic=no, occasionally ) is a waltz by Johann Strauss II. Composed in 1868 in music, 1868, , Opus number, Op. 325, was one of six Viennese waltzes by Johann Stra ...

''. The first few years of Clarke's professional career were largely theatrical, apart from her role in ''

''. After appearing in three

plays in 1985, Clarke moved to Los Angeles for several years as a film and television actress. She appeared in the 1986 film ''

Crocodile Dundee ''Crocodile Dundee'' (stylized as ''"Crocodile" Dundee'' in the U.S.) is a 1986 action comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee, and American actress Linda Kozlowski as rep ...

'' as Simone, a friendly prostitute. She returned to theater in the early 1990s, and to Broadway as Charlotte Cardoza in ''

''. Clarke was diagnosed with

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

in 2000. She returned to

to teach theater at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

and at the

Pittsburgh Musical Theater Pittsburgh Musical Theater (PMT) is a professional theatre company located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1990, the company has since expanded with the educational programs offered by the Richard E. Rauh Conservatory of Musical Theater. T ...

's Rauh Conservatory as well as to perform in Pittsburgh theatre until her death on September 9, 2004.

Stage

Broadway

*1983 - '' Teaneck Tanzi: The Venus Flytrap'' *1985 - ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' *1985 - ''

Arms and the Man ''Arms and the Man'' is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's ''Aeneid'', in Latin: ''Arma virumque cano'' ("Of arms and the man I sing"). The play was first produced on 21 April 1894 at the Aven ...

'' *1985 - ''

Strange Interlude ''Strange Interlude'' is an experimental play in nine acts by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. O'Neill began work on it as early as 1923 and developed its scenario in 1925; he wrote the play between May 1926 and the summer of 1927, and complete ...

'' *1998 - '' Titanic: A New Musical''

Off-Broadway

*1979 - ''Othello'' *1981 - ''No End of Blame'' *1983 - ''Summer'' *1984 - ''Total Eclipse'' *1984 - ''Quartermaine's Terms'' *1984 - ''Thin Ice'' *1994 - ''Three Birds Alighting On A Field'' *1994 - ''Unexpected Tenderness''

Regional

*1978 - ''

'' (New Haven) *1979 - ''The Winter's Tale'' (Washington) *1980 - ''Bal'' (Chicago) *1981 - ''Plenty'' (Chicago) *1982 - ''Summer Vacation Madness'' (Minneapolis) *1984 - ''As You Like It'' (San Diego) *1984 - ''Not Quite Jerusalem'' (New Haven) *1989 - ''Our Country's Good'' (Los Angeles) *1991 - ''The Queen And The Rebels'' (Baltimore) *1996 - ''Mrs. Warren's Profession'' (New Haven) *1997 - ''Indiscretions'' (Dallas) *1997 - ''The Glass Menagerie'' (Portland, Maine) *1999 - ''Griller'' (Baltimore) *2000 - ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf'' (Rochester, NY) *2002 - ''The Gigli Concert'' (Pittsburgh) *2002 - ''Aristocrats'' (Pittsburgh)

Film

* 1981 ''

'' as Valerian * 1986 ''

'' as Simone * 1988 ''

Kenny Kenny is a surname, a given name, and a diminutive of several different given names. In Ireland, the surname is an Anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish ''Ó Cionnaith'', also spelt ''Ó Cionnaoith'' and ''Ó Cionaodha'', meaning "descendant ...

'' (a.k.a. ''The Kid Brother'') as Sharon * 1989 '' The Big Picture'' as Sharon * 1989 ''

Penn & Teller Get Killed ''Penn & Teller Get Killed'' is a 1989 black comedy film directed by Arthur Penn, starring the magicians Penn & Teller, who play themselves in a satirical account of what the audience would perhaps imagine them doing in their daily lives. Most ...

'' as Carlotta / Officer McNamara * 1994 '' Blown Away'' as Officer Rita * 1997 ''Cost of Living'' as Annie * 1997 ''A Cure For Serpents'' (Short) as Mother * 1999 ''

Joe the King ''Joe the King'' is a 1999 drama film, written and directed by Frank Whaley, based largely on his own childhood and the childhood of his brother. It stars Noah Fleiss, Val Kilmer, Karen Young, Ethan Hawke, John Leguizamo, Austin Pendleton, Camryn ...

'' as Pat * 2001 ''

Never Again "Never again" is a phrase or slogan which is associated with the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides. The phrase may originate from a 1927 poem by Yitzhak Lamdan which stated "Never again shall Masada fall!" In the context of genocide ...

'' as Allison (final film role)

Television

Series: ''

Northern Exposure ''Northern Exposure'' is an American Northern comedy-drama television series about the eccentric residents of a fictional small town in Alaska that ran on CBS from July 12, 1990, to July 26, 1995, with a total of 110 episodes. It received 57 ...

'', '' The Equalizer'', ''

Once a Hero ''Once a Hero'' is an American action-adventure television series that aired on ABC from September 19 until October 3, 1987. The series stars Milo O'Shea as Abner Bevis, a down-on-his-luck comic book artist whose life is turned upside down when h ...

'', ''

Moonlighting Moonlighting may refer to: * Side job, a job taken in addition to one's primary employment Entertainment * ''Moonlighting'' (film), a 1982 drama film by Jerzy Skolimowski * ''Moonlighting'' (TV series), 1985–1989 American television series, s ...

'', ''

Sex And The City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...

'', ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'' ("Menace", "Juvenile", "Stiff"), '' Matlock'' ("The Witness"). Movies: ''

Mayflower Madam Sydney Biddle Barrows (born January 14, 1952) is an American businesswoman and socialite who became known as an escort agency owner under the name Sheila Devin; she later became known as "The Mayflower Madam". She has since become a management co ...

'' (1986), ''

Love, Lies and Murder ''Love, Lies and Murder'' is a 1991 American miniseries starring Clancy Brown, Sheryl Lee, Moira Kelly, Tom Bower, John Ashton, and Cynthia Nixon. It is based on the 1985 murder of Linda Bailey Brown and Ann Rule's book ''If You Really Loved Me'' ...

'' (1991), ''

The Stepford Husbands ''The Stepford Husbands'' is a 1996 American made-for-television thriller-drama film inspired by the Ira Levin novel '' The Stepford Wives''. It was directed by Fred Walton with a screenplay by brothers Ken Wheat and Jim Wheat and starring Do ...

'' (1996).

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Caitlin 1952 births 2004 deaths Actresses from Pittsburgh American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Mount Holyoke College alumni Deaths from ovarian cancer Yale School of Drama alumni Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania 20th-century American actresses Sewickley Academy alumni 21st-century American women