Gary Clarke
Gary Clarke (born Clarke Frederick L'Amoreaux; August 16, 1933) is an American actor best known for his role as Steve Hill in the NBC western television series "The Virginian" with James Drury and Doug McClure. Early life. Clarke was born in Los Angeles, California, of French and Mexican heritage, and grew up in the predominantly Chicano neighborhood of East Los Angeles. While in high school, he began pursuing the idea of an acting career, and after graduation won a role in a community theater play in San Gabriel, California. This led to work in a series of plays  in Glendale. During this time, Clarke was working as a machinist in San Gabriel, as well as a newspaper deliveryman. Film and television career. Clarke began his screen career with the 1958 film "Dragstrip Riot", recalling that agent Byron Griffith, who had seen him perform in Glendale, arranged for an audition that eventually led to his filling the lead role. Clarke recalled: He went on to work in other films, including "How to Make a Monster", and "Missile to the Moon" (both 1958), "Date Bait" (1960), and "Passion Street, U.S.A." (1964). He has said he was a contract player at  Universal Pictures. In the 1960-1961 season, he appeared as Dick Hamilton in the single-season NBC television series "Michael Shayne", based on the fictional private detective character created by Brett Halliday, opposite Richard Denning as the title character. Afterward, he appeared as Tad Kimball, a friend of the character Jess Harper, played by Robert Fuller, in the episode "The Fatal Step" of the NBC Western series "Laramie". Clarke played Steve Hill in the cast of the long-running TV Western series "The Virginian", remaining on the show from 1962 to 1964. His last series as a cast-member was  the 1967 ABC Western "Hondo", playing Captain Richards. Clarke said in an interview that his friend and co-star Steve Ihnat and he wrote the screenplay for director Ted V. Mikels' film "Strike Me Deadly" (1963), though the film's credits list only Ihnat and Mikels. Later that decade, Clarke under his birth name wrote several scripts for the NBC espionage sitcom "Get Smart", which introduced the running character Hymie the Robot. All but one of his six produced scripts for the series("Appointment in Sahara") is about Hymie. In the 1980s and 1990s, he wrote and produced television public-service  announcements including "Youth at Risk", narrated nonfiction short films including "Promoting Healthy Behavior", and appeared in TV series including "Dynasty" and "The Young Riders", in which he had a four-episode recurring role. His films in the 2010s include "The Paperboy" (2012) and "Parkland" (2013). In 2014, the production company L’Amoreaux/Bartlett/Race/Thomas sought actors for an independent TV pilot, "Bandits and Tadpoles", written by Bartlett and Thomas and directed by Clarke, about a young boy whose daydreams put him in the American Old West of the Owen Wister novel "The Virginian". It filmed June 26–30, 2014, near Austin , Texas, under the title "Billy and the Bandit", with a cast including James Drury and Roberta Shore, from Clarke's old series "The Virginian"; 11-year-old Jordan Elsass as Billy; Ava L'Amoreaux and Donny Boaz as his parents; and Buck Taylor as a ranch foreman. Singing career. While a cast-member of "Michael Shayne", Clarke released the single "Tomorrow May Never Come", backed with "One Way Ticket", for RCA Victor Records. While on "The Virginian", he sang a cover of the theme song, backed with "One Summer in a Million", for Decca Records. Personal life. In July 2003, Clarke  and Drury, along with two other "The Virginian" co-stars, Roberta Shore and singer Randy Boone, were guests at the Western Film Fair in Charlotte, North Carolina. Clarke was a teenager when he married his first wife, Marilyn, and the couple had three boys within three years, Jeff, Dennis, and David. Clarke's second wife was "Petticoat Junction" actress Pat Woodell, but they later divorced. He married his third wife, Jerrene, in 1991. They have two daughters, Ava and Natalie. As of 2011, Clarke resided in Austin, Texas. Section::::"The Virginian" episodes. Clarke appeared in these 45 episodes from 1962 to  1964: Gary Clarke is mentioned in relation to this show in a scene in Quentin Tarantino's 2007 feature "Death Proof".