Oliver Clark
 | This biography of a living person includes a list of general references, but it remains largely unverified because it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (June 2021) |
Oliver Clark | |
|---|---|
 Clark with Beverly Archer in We've Got Each Other, 1977. | |
| Born | Richard Mardirosian January 4, 1939 Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1964–2003 |
Oliver Clark (born January 4, 1939) is an American character actor.[1]
Life and career[]
Clark was born Richard Mardirosian in Buffalo, New York, the son of Afro (née Karahos) and Matthew Mardirosian.[citation needed] He is of Armenian heritage.[citation needed] His brother, Tom Mardirosian, is also an actor. Clark made numerous appearances in film and television, particularly in the 1970s (notably as Mr. Farcus in the 1970 movie The Landlord, as Mr. Small in the 1971 film They Might Be Giants, and in the 1976 remake of A Star Is Born). Two of his best-known TV characters were John Doe #6 on the NBC drama St. Elsewhere, a likeable and humorous psychiatric patient, and Mr. Herd, a patient of psychologist Bob Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show, a long-running CBS situation comedy. He played Mr. Belding in the original pilot of the series Good Morning Miss Bliss but was subsequently replaced by Dennis Haskins.
Clark also played Roger Barton on an episode of The Golden Girls, and played Joe Carruthers, the man who later becomes Santa Claus, in the holiday comedy film Ernest Saves Christmas. He portrayed his Santa role again in the 1996 animated Christmas in Cartoontown.
Clark also appeared on two episodes of M*A*S*H, Season 5, Episode 16 "38 Across" as Hawkeye's college buddy who's now a Navy Doctor on board an aircraft carrier off the Korean coast, and a whiz at crossword puzzles. Hawkeye contacts him via telephone when he gets stuck on the final word to finish a puzzle, but a continual error in communication leads the buddy to believe a medical emergency is going on at MASH. He arrives in the company of a Naval medical officer, an Admiral, (Dick O'Neill) only to discover the real reason for the call. He also appears in Season 6, Episode 20 "Mail Call Three" as a second Captain Benjamin Pierce (an Infantry Officer), where each Captain had been mistakenly receiving the other's mail.
Clark also played roles on Barney Miller, appearing in six episodes:
- "The Layoff" (1975) ... Fur Thief
- "Noninvolvement" (1976) ... Charles "Charlie" Yusick
- "Hostage" (1978) ... Vern Bidell
- "The Dentist" (1979) ... Dr. Gesslin
- "The Doll" (1981) ... Eugene Corbin
- "Landmark: Part 3" (1982) ... Carl Ebling
Clark was a regular on the 1975 situation comedy Karen. In 1977, he appeared in an episode of the ABC crime drama The Feather and Father Gang.
References[]
- ^ Rooney, Jim. "Oliver Clark: Behind Closed Doors in NYC". Throomers. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
External links[]
- Oliver Clark at IMDb
 | This article about a United States film and television actor born in the 1930s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
- 1937 births
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- American people of Armenian descent
- Living people
- 20th-century American male actors
- Ethnic Armenian male actors
- Male actors from Buffalo, New York
- American screen actor, 1930s birth stubs