Louise Caire Clark (born 1949) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

Life and career

Clark was born in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing t ...

in 1949 and moved back to her mother's home in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

in 1950. Her mother, Audrey Caire, was a National AAU Champion and an actress and model. Her father, William Doran Clark, a decorated hero of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, was the son of General

Mark Wayne Clark Mark Wayne Clark (May 1, 1896 – April 17, 1984) was a United States Army officer who saw service during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. He was the youngest four-star general in the US Army during World War II. During World War I ...

. When Clark was age 5, the family moved back to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. In her early years, her mother was a contract player at

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

and she was exposed to the film industry. Her mentor was

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head ...

who arranged for speech and voice lessons. At age 15, the family moved to New York where Clark developed an interest in acting. After graduating from college, she attended and graduated from the

Neighborhood Playhouse A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural ar ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, studying under Sanford Meisner. She went on to attend the Actors Studio, studying with

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931 ...

. Clark married Peter Gries in 1974, son of the film director

Tom Gries Tom Gries (December 20, 1922 – January 3, 1977) was an American TV and film director, writer, and film producer. Life and career Gries was born in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Ruth, later remarried to jazz musician Muggsy Spanier, who ...

, and moved back to California. She did not enjoy acting in California. She and her husband started a small production company and had two sons, Mathew, born in 1976 and Michael, born in 1980. Clark and her husband eventually divorced. In 1983, at age 34, Clark decided to go back to work as an actress. Her first audition was for Disney Cable's then upcoming TV series, ''

Five Mile Creek ''Five Mile Creek'' is a western television drama series adapted from Louis L'Amour's novel ''The Cherokee Trail'' and produced in Australia. It starred Liz Burch, Louise Caire Clark, Rod Mullinar, Jay Kerr, Michael Caton, Peter Carroll, Gu ...

'' which was to be filmed in Australia. She was given the role and relocated. She remained in Australia for two years until the show was cancelled. In 1985, she returned to the United States with her two sons. Clark has acted sporadically in smaller roles in film and television and has also appeared in over 300 television commercials. Her sister is the actress

Doran Clark Doran Clark (born August 8, 1954) is an American actress. Early life and education Clark was born to actress/model Audrey Caire and William Clark. She has two sisters and two brothers, including actress Louise Caire Clark, Louise Clark Goddard ...

, married to the producer Peter Abrams. Clark later married Ben Goddard, who wrote and produced the " Harry and Louise" advertisements, in which she played Louise, paid for by private health insurance companies to help defeat the

Clinton health care plan of 1993 The Clinton health care plan was a 1993 healthcare reform package proposed by the administration of President Bill Clinton and closely associated with the chair of the task force devising the plan, First Lady of the United States Hillary Clinto ...

. In 2000, they produced the movie '' The Testimony of Taliesin Jones''. Goddard died 15 June, 2018.

Filmography

;Actress *''

Get Christie Love! ''Get Christie Love!'' is an American crime drama TV series starring Teresa Graves as an undercover African-American female detective which originally aired on ABC from January 22, 1974, until April 5, 1975. The starring television role made Gr ...

'' (1974) 1 episode (Karen Clark) *''The Catamount Killing'' (1974) (Iris Loring) *'' Helter Skelter'' (1976) TV *'' She's Dressed to Kill'' (1979) TV *''

'' (1983–1985) TV - 39 Episodes, 3 Seasons (Maggie Scott) *''

Hardcastle and McCormick ''Hardcastle and McCormick'' is an American action crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 18, 1983, through May 5, 1986. The series stars Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle and Daniel Hugh Kelly as ex-con and rac ...

'' (1985) TV - Season 3, Episode 12 *'' Cobra'' (1986) woman in car *'' Matlock'' (1987) TV - 1 episode (Jesse Peters) *'' Stingray'' (1987) TV - 1 episode (Autumn) *''Programmed to Kill'' (1987) film (Sharon - A.K.A. "The Retaliator") *''

Head of the Class ''Head of the Class'' is an American sitcom television series that ran from 1986 to 1991 on the ABC television network. The series follows a group of gifted students in the Individualized Honors Program (IHP) at the fictional Millard Fillmor ...

'' (1990) TV - 1 episode (Joanna) ;Producer *'' The Testimony of Taliesin Jones'' (2000) film

References

External links

*
2002 Five Mile Creek Fan Club interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Louise Caire 1949 births American film actresses American television actresses Living people 21st-century American women