Harry Corson Clarke (January 13, 1861 – March 3, 1923) was an American theatre actor and manager who played a single game of Major League baseball in 1889.
Clarke was born in New York City, the son of H. G. Clarke and Adele Clarke, both actors. His grandfather
Corson W. Clarke was also a noted actor, and the stage manager at
Barnum's Museum. Harry Clarke began his stage career in his youth by playing with his mother and acting as advance agent for various companies, but made his real debut as an actor in 1884, when he played a part in ''
The Lights o' London
''The Lights o' London'' is a melodramatic play, by George R. Sims, first produced in London on 10 September 1881 at the Princess's Theatre, produced by and starring Wilson Barrett. The play was a hit, running for 226 nights, and was frequentl ...
''. He next played a season of repertoire with
Maud Granger's company and then appeared in the initial production of ''
Beauty
Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is the main subject of aesthetics, o ...
'' at
Wallack's Theatre
Three New York City playhouses named Wallack's Theatre played an important part in the history of American theater, as the successive homes of the stock company managed by actors James W. Wallack and his son, Lester Wallack. During its 35-ye ...
, New York. His next role was that of the Stage Manager in ''Mam'zelle''. For several years thereafter he played in various stock companies, and he is said to have played 250 roles eccentric roles in as many consecutive weeks.
He worked as comedian and stage manager of the stock company at the Lyceum Theatre, Denver, and comedian of the Columbia Theatre Stock Company, San Francisco. With the latter company he had two successful seasons in Honolulu. In 1897 he first appeared as a star in ''
What Happened to Jones'', which lasted for three seasons. He then starred in ''What Did Tompkins Do?'' in the 1900–01 season and subsequently spent several seasons in stock companies. Clarke went into
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
in 1906, and appeared in several comedy sketches.
In 1907 he began a series of years-long world-traveling tours, appearing on stage in Europe, Asia, Australia, and elsewhere.
He died in Los Angeles on March 3, 1923. He was married to actress Margaret Dale Owen, who was with him at his death. He was previously married to Alice Deming, of a wealthy San Francisco family, whom he divorced in 1904.
He played in one game for the
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...
of the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
on August 28, 1889. He played
right field and failed to get a hit in three at-bats.
References
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External links
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1911 Hawaiian Opera House Programarchived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Harry
1861 births
1923 deaths
Male actors from New York City
American stage actors
Washington Nationals (1886–1889) players