Westcott Clarke

Westcott Bailey Clarke (September 27, 1886 – January 26, 1959), also known as Westcott Clarke, W.B. Clarke, Westcott B. Clarke and W.B. Westcott, was an American actor who worked in the theater and in film. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he grew up in nearby Bayonne where he began his acting career in a local repertory theatre company in the early 1900s. He toured North America in Brown of Harvard in 1908-1909, and then worked as an itinerant actor in a variety of theatre troupes in the 1910s, including George M. Cohan and Sam H. Harris's company. He starred in Captain Kidd Junior on Broadway in 1917-1918, and by 1920 was working in Los Angeles as a stage actor. He worked as silent film actor in Hollywood during the 1920s.

Biography The son of Mr. and Mrs. William Clarke, Clarke was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on September 27, 1886. He joined the Spooner Stock Company, In 1909-1910 season he performed in a production of Owen Wister's The Virginian. In 1915 he became a member of George M. Cohan and Sam H. Harris's theatre troupe with whom he toured as The Dead Man in Elmer Rice's On Trial; ultimately taking over the larger part of Trask. In February 1916 he married Helen L. Shaffer. The marriage ended in divorce in June 1919.

In June 1916 Clarke starred in the premiere of Rida Johnson Young's Buried Treasure (later renamed Captain Kidd Junior) at the Apollo Theatre in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He starred in this play on Broadway in 1916-1917 at the Cohan & Harris Theatre in the role of the Expressman. By 1920 he was working in Los Angeles at the Symphony Theatre as a live performer before the presentation of silent films. He worked as a silent film actor in the 1920s; appearing in 12 films during his career. He was best known for his role in Safety Last! from 1923. He was sentenced to three months in prison.

Death Clarke died in Los Angeles, California, in 1959. He is interred in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1922 Saturday Night Bill – The Plumber Uncredited North of the Rio Grande Clendenning (as W.B. Clarke) Lost film1923 Safety Last! The Floorwalker (as Westcott B. Clarke) Why Women Remarry Dan Hannon's sister's first husband (as W.B. Clarke)1924 At First Sight L.R. Grandy Short film The Dramatic Life of Abraham Lincoln Thomas Lincoln (as Westcott B. Clarke) Shadows of Paris Laroque Uncredited The Breaking Point Sheriff Wilkins (as W.B. Westcott) Sweet Daddy Unknown role (as Westcott B. Clarke) 1927 Finnegan's Ball Lawyer O'Connell (as Westcott B. Clarke) 1929 The Trial of Mary Dugan Captain Price Father and Son Police Inspector Uncredited, final film role