{{short description|American folk musician (1925–2008)}} {{Infobox person | name = Clark Allen | birth_date = February 14, 1925 | birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland | death_date = {{Death date and age|2008|01|20|1925|02|14}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California | occupation = Entertainer, artist, businessman | spouse = Margarita Cordova }} '''Clark Allen''' (February 14, 1925 – January 20, 2008) was an American entertainer, artist, and businessman.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qVMfAQAAIAAJ&q=clark+allen|title=Playbill|date=1960|publisher=Playbill, Incorporated|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Taubman|first=Howard|date=September 15, 1960|title=The World of Carl Sandburg Explored|page=44|work=New York Times|id={{ProQuest|<!-- Add ProQuest data here -->}} }}</ref>
==Early life== Allen was born in Baltimore.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1960-01-19|title=Sandburg's Songs to Be Key Facet of Production|pages=12|work=The Town Talk|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77318381/sandburgs-songs-to-be-key-facet-of/|access-date=2021-05-08}}</ref> He attended Grossmont High School in El Cajon, California, graduating in 1942. His drawing of the original Grossmont's "Granite Castle" has become a symbol of the school's early history, and has appeared on their commemorative bronze plaques ever since.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Clark Allen, Class of 1942 – Grossmont High School Museum|url=https://www.foothillermuseum.com/hall-of-honor/153-clark-allen-class-of-1942.html|access-date=2020-07-09|website=www.foothillermuseum.com}}</ref>
== Performing career == In the early 1950s, Allen hosted and performed on his own radio and television show entitled: ''Songs of the Wanderer'' on the NBC network.<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 6, 1958|title=Margarita and Clark Allen To Give Program at Bowl|work=The Desert Sun|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19580806.2.29&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1|access-date=July 12, 2020}}</ref>
In 1958, Allen and his wife Margarita Cordova opened for a show starring Jean Arnold at the Cabaret Concert Theatre in Los Angeles. ''Variety'' described the couple as "Spanish dance exponents who take the trouble to explain what they're doing during their 30-minute stint. Education has not always been at home in a nitery, but it's a pleasure here [...] the team divides its work with the male member flicking the Spanish guitar and singing..."<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 20, 1958|title=Reviews: Cabaret Concertheatre, L.A.|volume=211|page=71|work=Variety|issue=12|id={{ProQuest|<!-- Add ProQuest data here -->}} }}</ref>
In 1959–1960, he performed in Norman Corwin's adaptation of ''The World of Carl Sandburg'' which was a stage presentation from the works of the poet Carl Sandburg. The production starred Bette Davis. There was a 21-week national tour which co-starred Davis's husband Gary Merrill, and later Barry Sullivan. The final performances played for a month at the Henry Miller Theatre on West 43rd St in New York City during the fall of 1960. Allen played guitar and sang during the interludes of the production. He performed on-stage during the entire two-year run. Ilka Chase described him as a "talented young guitar player".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Chase|first=Ilka|date=April 17, 1960|title=Free Admission: Last Day in Hollywood|page=B5|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|<!-- Add ProQuest data here -->}} }}</ref> Richard L. Coe called him "an ably ingratiating folk singer" after a performance at Constitution Hall.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Coe|first=Richard L.|date=October 27, 1959|title='World' Does Glitter, Indeed: Individual Artists|page=C6|work=The Washington Post and Times-Herald|id={{ProQuest|<!-- Add ProQuest data here -->}} }}</ref>
In 1960, he and Cordova had a 30-minute show in New York. ''Variety'' wrote: "Although likeable (sic) in their current New York debut at Julius Monk's Downstairs at the Upstairs, they're not particularly outstanding. It could be that Allen's folksong selection lacks a powerhouse item".<ref>{{Cite news|date=November 2, 1960|title=Reviews: New Acts – Margarita & Clark Allen|volume=220|page=53|work=Variety|issue=10|id={{ProQuest|<!-- Add ProQuest data here -->}}}}</ref>
As a screen actor, he was known primarily for guest appearances on television, some of which included ''The Twilight Zone'' in the 1961 episode "Five Characters in Search of an Exit"<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Presnell|first1=Don|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MqtTBQAAQBAJ&q=clark+allen+five+characters+in+search+of+an+exit&pg=PA113|title=A Critical History of Television's The Twilight Zone, 1959–1964|last2=McGee|first2=Marty|year=2015|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-1038-2|language=en}}</ref> and ''Peter Gunn'' episodes "The Coffin" (1959) and "Mask of Murder" (1960).
In 1962, Allen and Cordova opened and operated El Cid, a flamenco nightclub on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Our Story – EL CID|url=https://www.elcidsunset.com/our-story/|access-date=2020-07-09|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Ogden|first=Tom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yk8iCgAAQBAJ&q=Clark+Allen+flamenco&pg=PA280|title=Haunted Hollywood: Tinseltown Terrors, Filmdom Phantoms, and Movieland Mayhem|year=2015|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4930-1578-8|language=en}}</ref> Allen completed at least some of the renovations himself.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kirk|first=Russell|date=November 22, 1968|title=Entertainment in Los Angeles|page=3|work=The Progress-Index|location=Petersburg, Virginia|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> They would also be the featured performers at the club for more than 18 years. In 1972, Allen was shot in the chest during a robbery at El Cid and nearly died from the wound.<ref>{{Cite news|date=October 2, 1972|title=Robber Wounds Restaurant Owner|page=B1|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|<!-- Add ProQuest data here -->}} }}</ref> He was in and out of the hospital for three years.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Scobas|first=Brigette|date=2013-10-11|title=The Fire of Flamenco: El Cid Turns 50|url=https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/the-fire-of-flamenco-el-cid-turns-50|access-date=2020-07-11|website=KCET|language=en}}</ref> He later sold El Cid, which remains a flamenco venue.<ref name=":0" />
Allen and Cordova performed traditional Spanish and Mexican song and dance at other venues in the Los Angeles area, including Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City<ref>{{Cite news|date=September 22, 1963|title=Valley Philharmonic Group Plans Musicales|page=J1|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|<!-- Add ProQuest data here -->}}}}</ref> and at the Ebell of Los Angeles Theater.<ref>{{Cite news|date=September 27, 1963|title=Flamenco Show Booked at Ebell|page=D11|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|<!-- Add ProQuest data here -->}}}}</ref>
== Art career == Allen was a fine artist and sculptor. Over the years, he painted in oils, watercolor, tempera, and ink. He had several successful art exhibitions, particularly at the Bowman-Mann Gallery on La Cienega in Beverly Hills.<ref>{{Cite news|date=November 22, 1964|title=Weekly Calendar|page=550|work=Los Angeles Times|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> He painted abstracts, portraits, and landscapes, but his most common subjects were flamenco dancers and musicians. Actor Vincent Price was an avid collector of Allen's paintings.<ref>{{Cite news|date=January 21, 2008|title=Obituaries|work=Los Angeles Times|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
== Personal life and death == Allen was married to television actress Margarita Cordova. Allen and Cordova lived and studied in Granada, Spain for more than a year where they learned the culture of the Spanish Romani and flamenco music. The couple had two children: a daughter named Angela, who became a fine artist, and a son named David, who became a professional musician and photographer. Angela and David were members of the 1970s band Carmen.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Discography|url=https://www.davidclarkallen.com/discography|access-date=2020-07-11|website=davidclarkallen|language=en}}</ref> Allen and Cordova later divorced.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Vida Flamenca Newsletter – January 28th|url=https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1409638866/|access-date=2021-05-08|website=MyNewsletterBuilder|language=en}}</ref>
Allen died on January 20, 2008, in Los Angeles of respiratory failure at the age of 82.<ref name=":1" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMDb name|id=2316332}} * {{IBDB name|id=29639}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Clark}} Category:1925 births Category:2008 deaths Category:American folk guitarists Category:American folk singers Category:Grossmont High School alumni Category:20th-century American sculptors