# Angela Clarke (American actress)

Angela Clarke (August 14, 1909 – December 16, 2010) was an American stage, television and film actress.

## Career

Clarke entered film acting at a relatively late age. She was nearly forty when she landed a series of uncredited roles, beginning with Her Sister's Secret (1946). Her first screen credit was for The Undercover Man (1949). She then proceeded to corner the market on grey-haired, matriarchal characters, such as her performance as Mama Caruso in The Great Caruso (1951).
In the course of forty years, Clarke appeared on screen over sixty times, counting her work in films and in guest spots on TV series episodes. Although she generally had background roles and bit parts, the films where she made a more substantial impression included Darling, How Could You! (1951), The Harlem Globetrotters (1951), The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952), House of Wax (1953), Houdini (1953), and The Seven Little Foys (1955), in which she had a sizable supporting role as Bob Hope's disapproving sister-in-law.
Clarke's acting career came to a halt after The Seven Little Foys was released in June 1955. That was the month she testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). She was previously named as a Communist to the HUAC by Judith Raymond, and by Carin Kinzel Burrows (wife of Abe Burrows). In her testimony, Clarke admitted she had been a member of the Communist Party USA from 1942 to 1949. She said she drifted away from the Party "because acting was more important". However, she would not "name names" of her Communist associates, and for that she was blacklisted. She didn't work again in films until 1962. The year before, she had obtained her first TV acting job (on the premiere episode of Ben Casey) and would continue to supplement her film work with guest appearances on TV series.

## Death

Angela Clarke died on December 16, 2010, in Moorpark, California. She was 101.

## Filmography

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1946 | Her Sister's Secret | Cafe Cashier | (uncredited) |
| 1947 | Backlash | Mrs. O'Neill | (uncredited) |
| 1947 | Night Song | Woman | (uncredited) |
| 1947 | A Double Life | Lucy | (uncredited) |
| 1948 | The Snake Pit | Greek Patient | (uncredited) |
| 1949 | The Undercover Man | Theresa Rocco | |
| 1949 | House of Settlement | Clara Christopher | |
| 1949 | The Doctor and the Girl | Miss Rourke | (uncredited) |
| 1949 | Mrs. Mike | Sarah Carpentier | |
| 1950 | Captain Carey, U.S.A. | Serafina | |
| 1950 | Woman in Hiding | Clara May's Mother | (uncredited) |
| 1950 | The Gunfighter | Mac's Wife | (uncredited) |
| 1950 | Outrage | Madge Harrison | |
| 1950 | The Killer That Stalked New York | Mrs. Dominic | (uncredited) |
| 1950 | Undercover Girl | Babe Snell | |
| 1951 | The Great Caruso | Mama Caruso | |
| 1951 | The Harlem Globetrotters | Sylvia Saperstein | |
| 1951 | Darling, How Could You! | Nurse | |
| 1951 | It's a Big Country | Mama Esposito | |
| 1951 | My Favorite Spy | Gypsy Fortune Teller | |
| 1952 | The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima | Maria Rosa Abóbora dos Santos | |
| 1952 | The Savage | Pehangi | |
| 1953 | House of Wax | Mrs. Andrews | |
| 1953 | Houdini | Harry's Mother | |
| 1953 | Beneath the 12-Mile Reef | Mama Petrakis | |
| 1954 | The Egyptian | Kipa | (uncredited) |
| 1954 | The Bounty Hunter | Señora Maria Dominquez | (uncredited) |
| 1955 | The Seven Little Foys | Aunt Clara Morando | |
| 1962 | The Interns | Mrs. Emma Auer | |
| 1966 | Blindfold | Lavinia Vincenti | |
| 1973 | The Girl Most Likely To... | Actress | TV movie |
| 1974 | Nightmare Honeymoon | Lady in the Park | |
| 1974 | Harrad Summer | Mrs. Kolasukas | |
| 1978 | The Ghost of Flight 401 | Mrs. Collura | TV movie |
| 1986 | Killer in the Mirror | Mrs. Wilkens | TV movie |
| 1988 | Memories of Me | Mrs. Petrakis | (small part) |

## Television

| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
| 1961 | Ben Casey | Mrs. Salazar | Episode: To the Pure |
| 1962 | Going My Way | Mama Cipollaro | Episode: Not Good Enough for my Sister |
| 1962 | Alcoa Premiere | Mama | Episode: The Potentate |
| 1963 | Combat! | Madame Michelin / Claire Brouchard | Episode playing Mme. Michelin: No Hallelujahs for Glory Episode playing Claire Brouchard: Reunion (both 1963) |
| 1962 - 1963 | The Untouchables | Catherine Chavis / Mrs. Santos | Episode playing Catherine Chavis: Come and Kill Me (1962) Episode playing Mrs. Santos: The Spoiler (1963) |
| 1964 | The Outer Limits | Sue Ann Beasley | Episode: Second Chance |
| 1962 - 1964 | Gunsmoke | Topsanah / Carrie Newcom / Mrs. Crabbe | Episode playing Topsanah: Quint Asper Comes Home (1962) Episode playing Carrie Newcom: The Far Places (1963) Episode playing Mrs. Crabbe: Trip West (1964) |
| 1965 | Mr. Novak | Mother General | Episode: There's a Penguin in my Garden |
| 1966 | The Virginian | Mary Tait | Episode: The Inchworm's Got No Wings at All |
| 1966 | Dr. Kildare | Dahlia Rossi | Two episodes: The Art of Taking a Powder Read the Book and then See the Picture |
| 1966 | Daniel Boone | Wanona | Episode: The Allegiances |
| 1967 | Dundee and the Culhane | Maria | Episode: The Vasquez Brief |
| 1967 | Mission: Impossible | Nancy Stoner | Episode: The Survivors |
| 1968 | The High Chaparral | Sister Luke | Episode: A Joyful Noise |
| 1965 - 1969 | Death Valley Days | Rosie Winters / Theresa Pico / Serafina | Episode playing Rosie Winters: The Trouble with Taxes (1965) Episode playing Theresa Pico: The Firebrand (1966) Episode playing Serafina: The Great Pinto Bean Gold Hunt (1969) |
| 1965 - 1970 | Bonanza | Teresa / Mrs. Marshall | Episode playing Teresa: Jonah (1965) Episode playing Mrs. Marshall: It's a Small World (1970) |
| 1970 | Arnie | Helena Nuvo | Episode: Pilot |
| 1970 | Bracken's World | Mama Finello / Norma | Episode playing Mama Finello: Focus on a Gun Episode playing Norma: Preview in Samarkand |
| 1970 | The Young Lawyers | Mrs. McGuire | Episode: At the Edge of the Night |
| 1971 | Alias Smith and Jones | Hannah Utley | Episode: Stagecoach Seven |
| 1973 | The Partridge Family | Myra Fromacher | Episode: The Partridge Connection |
| 1974 | Kojak | Mrs. Harrington | Episode: Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die |
| 1974 - 1975 | Petrocelli | Mrs. Donato / Mrs. Moran | Episode playing Mrs. Donato: An Act of Love (1974) Episode playing Mrs. Moran: Five Yards of Trouble (1975) |
| 1976 | Rich Man, Poor Man | Mrs. Jardino | Mini-series Appears in Part III: Chapter 5 |
| 1974 - 1977 | Insight | Maria Abrams / Lillian | Episode playing Maria Abrams: And the Walls Came Tumblin' Down (1974) Episode playing Lillian: Arnstein's Miracle (1977) |
| 1977 - 1978 | Baretta | Mama / Mrs. Volga | Episode playing Mama: New Girl in Town (1977) Episode playing Mrs. Volga: The Gadjo (1978) |
| 1978 | Fantasy Island | Nana | Episode: Return/The Toughest Man Alive |
| 1979 | All in the Family | Mrs. Loretta Dillon | Episode: Edith Gets Fired |
| 1983 | Voyagers! | Sara Delano Roosevelt | Episode: Destiny's Choice |
| 1983 | Brookside | Elsa | Two episodes: Better Things to Do In Clink (both 1973) |
| 1984 | St. Elsewhere | Emma Keuhnelian | Three episodes: Attack After Dark Vanity (all 1984) |
| 1985 | MacGyver | Caterina Bennett | Episode: The Prodigal |