Celebrity Biographies
Bob Clark
Film director Bob Clark never achieved critical acclaim, nor does he have an impeccable filmography. But despite his patchy career, he could turn out to be a competent director, for he has the odd title or two to his credit. The life of the unknown filmmaker had a tragic end, as he died on April 4 after colliding head-on with a drunk driver without a license, while traveling on the highway with his 22-year-old son Ariel, who also lost his life in the accident.
Born on August 5, 1939, in New Orleans, Benjamin Clark studied at Hillsdale College, a prestigious Michigan institution. Clark was an excellent football player, so he got a sports scholarship that allowed him to study Drama at the University of Miami. There he began a great friendship with Alan Ormsby , a screenwriter with whom he worked on several occasions. Although he was initially going for an actor, he soon realized that he stood out more as a writer or director than other actors. He soon managed to debut as an independent filmmaker with The Emperor’s New Clothes , a forgotten low-budget film starring John Carradine , about which little is known because it was never released. His next job did not succeed either,She-Man dramatic comedy about a soldier blackmailed by a violent transvestite, apparently of very low quality.
Better fortune was obtained by Bob Clark as director of B-series horror films, with titles such as Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Thinks (Children shouldn’t play with dead things), a zombie film that did not reach Spain, but enjoys Of some fame among the unconditional, Deathdream , and especially Black Christmas , a precursor film of the subgenre known as ‘slasher’, which basically consists of a psychopath who progressively ends the lives of a group of people. The film moved forward four years toHalloween night , which popularized this type of cinema.
In the late 1970s, Bob Clark directedMurder by decree , a film far superior to the rest of his filmography, in which Sherlock Holmes investigates the murders of Jack the Ripper, with Christopher Plummer , James Mason and John Gielgud . If he had continued directing movies like this, Bob Clark would be remembered today as an excellent craftsman, but he went in the direction of mindless comedy. He had great success with Porkys and its sequel Porkys 2: The Next Day , boring imitations ofAmerican rampage , which, although based on the most coarse humor imaginable, was successful in the video store. She didn’t direct part three, Porkys Strikes Back! , which had less pull.
He then changed the register completely with Historias de Navidad , aimed at family audiences, and which was widely accepted in the United States. He also directed Rhinestone , an irreplaceable comedy that brought together Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton and the episode ‘The man with the remote control’ of the seriesAmazing tales . From that moment on, Clark was relegated to middling productions, such asIt happens in the best families ,Some great little ones and its sequel:The Superbabies . At the time of his death, Bob was still active, with some admittedly unpromising projects like the Porkys remake .