James B. Clark

James B. Clark Jr. (May 14, 1908 – July 19, 2000) was an American film director, film editor, and television director. His career as a film editor began in 1937, and he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing in 1941 for How Green Was My Valley. He continued to work as a film editor until 1960, but in 1955 also began a career as a film and television director. He tended to focus on works involving people's relationships with animals. Among the more popular and notable projects he directed were the films A Dog of Flanders, The Sad Horse (1959), Misty (1961), Flipper (1963), Island of the Blue Dolphins (1964), and My Side of the Mountain (1969), and episodes of the television series My Friend Flicka (1955–1956), Batman (1966–1967), and Lassie (1969–1971).

Life and career Clark was born in Stillwater, Minnesota, on May 14, 1908. His father, James B. Clark Sr., owned a restaurant, and he had a brother, Asa. He was educated in the public schools in Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

He began his career in his family's restaurant business. But in 1937 he moved to California and found work as a film editor at 20th Century Fox, and later married Isabel O'Brien. Clark acted as associate director on all six of these videotaped episodes, assisting the directors with technical issues regarding videotape and helping to keep the production on track. The episodes he worked on were "Long Distance Call", "Static", "Twenty Two", "The Lateness of the Hour", "The Whole Truth", and the Christmas episode "The Night of the Meek". Clark worked with director Jack Smight on four of these episodes.

In 1966, Clark was associate director alongside director Alex Segal on the made-for-television movie Death of a Salesman, based on the play of the same name by Arthur Miller. They shared a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing for a Television Film in 1967 for this effort.

In the 1960s, Clark frequently collaborated with producer Robert B. Radnitz. Throughout the late 1950s and the 1960s, Clark continued to direct films, although just 15 pictures bear his name. His most popular and critically praised motion pictures focused on people's relationships with animals and the wild: A Dog of Flanders (1959), The Sad Horse (1959), Misty (1961), Flipper (1963), Island of the Blue Dolphins (1964), and My Side of the Mountain (1969). A Dog of Flanders was widely praised for its performances and lush, painterly cinematography, while Flipper proved highly popular and led to a long-running television series (with which Clark was not associated).

James B. Clark retired from the entertainment industry in 1974. Clark died at his home in Woodland Hills, California, of unspecified causes at the age of 92.

Selected filmography Editor 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956) Captain Eddie (1945) How Green Was My Valley (1942) (nominee, Best Film Editing Academy Award) So This Is London (1939) Keep Smiling (1938)

Director

ABC Afterschool Specials (TV Series; 1 episode) (1974) Firehouse (TV Series; 1 episode) (1974) The Little Ark (1972) (film was nominated for best song Academy Award, "Come Follow, Follow Me") Lassie (TV Series; 4 episodes) (1969–71) Lassie: Well of Love (TV Movie) (1970) The High Chaparral (TV Series; 2 episodes) (1969–70) Bonanza (TV Series; 1 episode) (1969) My Side of the Mountain (1969) The Wild Wild West (TV Series; 4 episodes) (1967–68) Here Come the Brides (TV Series; 1 episode) (1968) Daniel Boone (TV Series; 2 episodes) (1965–68) Batman (TV Series; 15 episodes) (1966–67) The Monroes (TV Series; 6 episodes) (1966–67) And Now Miguel (1966) The Legend of Jesse James (TV Series; 4 episodes) (1965–66) The Loner (TV Series; 1 episode) (1966) Death of a Salesman (TV movie) (1966) (winner, Best Director in Television Directors Guild of America; award shared with Alex Segal) Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV Series; 1 episode) (1965) The Long, Hot Summer (TV Series; 1 episode) (1965) Island of the Blue Dolphins (1964) (film won Golden Globe award for best new actress, Celia Kaye) Flipper (1963) Drums of Africa (1963) Adventures in Paradise (TV Series; 4 episodes) (1961–62) Bus Stop (TV Series; 1 episode) (1962) Misty (1961) The Big Show (1961) One Foot in Hell (1960) Buick-Electra Playhouse (TV Series; 1 episode)(1960) The Gambler, the Nun, and the Radio (TV Movie)(1960) A Dog of Flanders (1959) The Sad Horse (1959) Pursuit (TV Series; 1 episode) (1958) Villa!! (1958) Studio One in Hollywood (TV Series; 3 episodes) (1958) Sierra Baron (1958) Playhouse 90 (TV Series; 1 episode) (1957) Under Fire (1957) My Friend Flicka (TV Series; 2 episodes) (1955–56)

Accolades Award Category Subject ResultAcademy AwardBest Film EditingHow Green Was My ValleyBoxoffice Magazine AwardBlue Ribbon for Best Picture of the Month for the Whole Family Island of the Blue DolphinsDGA AwardOutstanding Directorial Achievement in TelevisionDeath of a Salesman