In Remembrance: Robert I. Clarke

     Robert I. Clarke, the character actor who appeared in numerous B-movies- most notably 1959’s The Hideous Sun Demon, which he also wrote and produced- has passed away on June 11, 2005 in Valley Village, California. He was 85.

     Born on June 1, 1920 in Oklahoma City, Clarke decided at a young age that he wanted to be an actor, yet he suffered stage fright during school productions. Clarke’s ambitions for a military career - he even attended Kemper Military College – were curtailed when his asthma precluded service in World War II. He continued his studies at the University of Oklahoma and then the University of Wisconsin, where he began acting again, this time with greater success.

     In 1942, Clarke moved to Hollywood and, after screen testing for 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures, landed a contract at RKO Studios, making his film debut in a small role in the B-movie mystery The Falcon In Hollywood (1944). He would spend the rest of the decade in small supporting roles in many of the studio’s output including westerns like Wanderer Of The Waster land (1945) and Sunset Pass (1946), comedies like Lady Luck (1946), and programmers like Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947). He made his first appearances in the horror and monster films that he would be come best known for with bit parts in Zombies On Broadway and The Body Snatcher (both 1945).

     After his contract expired, Clarke went freelance, appearing in several low budget, independently produced features films like The Fabulous Senorita (1952), King Of The Carnival (1954) and Outlaw Queen (1957). He starred in such B-grade science-fiction fare as The Man From Planet X (1951), The Astounding She-Monster and The Incredible Petrified World (both 1957).

     Towards the end of the 50s, Clarke decided to produce his own monster film, creating the story for what would become The Hideous Sun Demon (1959). Clarke also cast himself in the lead role of a scientist who turns into a lizard-like creature when exposed to the sun after receiving a dose of radiation. As a producer he used several cost-cutting measures, such as shooting the film over 12 weekends in order to get two days worth of camera rental for the cost of one day’s rental fee. The film’s budget, including the $500.00 rubber monster suit cost less than $50,000. The film would go onto become a cult classic.

     In the 1960s and 70s, Clarke transitioned over to television work, appearing in such series as 77 Sunset Strip, Dragnet, Adam-12, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Simon & Simon, Knight Rider, Dynasty and Matt Houston.

     Clarke published his autobiography To “B” Or Not To “B”: A Film Actor’s Odyssey in 1996. His last film was the independent feature The Naked Monster (2005), which co-starred several actors known for appearing in 1950s B-movies including Kenneth Tobey and John Agar.