# Clark Allen
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{{short description|American folk musician (1925–2008)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Clark Allen
| birth_date = February 14, 1925
| birth_place = [Baltimore, Maryland](/source/Baltimore%2C_Maryland)
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2008|01|20|1925|02|14}}
| death_place = [Los Angeles, California](/source/Los_Angeles%2C_California)
| occupation = Entertainer, artist, businessman
| spouse = [Margarita Cordova](/source/Margarita_Cordova)
}}
'''Clark Allen''' (February 14, 1925 – January 20, 2008) was an American entertainer, artist, and businessman.[{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qVMfAQAAIAAJ&q=clark+allen|title=Playbill|date=1960|publisher=Playbill, Incorporated|language=en}}][{{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|}} }}]
==Early life==
Allen was born in Baltimore.[{{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}}] He attended [Grossmont High School](/source/Grossmont_High_School) in [El Cajon, California](/source/El_Cajon%2C_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.[{{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}}]
== 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.[{{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}}]
In 1958, Allen and his wife [Margarita Cordova](/source/Margarita_Cordova) opened for a show starring Jean Arnold at the [Cabaret Concert Theatre](/source/Cabaret_Concert_Theatre) in Los Angeles. [''Variety''](/source/Variety_(magazine)) 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](/source/Nightclub), but it's a pleasure here [...] the team divides its work with the male member flicking the Spanish guitar and singing..."[{{Cite news|date=August 20, 1958|title=Reviews: Cabaret Concertheatre, L.A.|volume=211|page=71|work=Variety|issue=12|id={{ProQuest|}} }}]
In 1959–1960, he performed in [Norman Corwin](/source/Norman_Corwin)'s adaptation of ''[The World of Carl Sandburg](/source/The_World_of_Carl_Sandburg)'' which was a stage presentation from the works of the poet [Carl Sandburg](/source/Carl_Sandburg). The production starred [Bette Davis](/source/Bette_Davis). There was a 21-week national tour which co-starred Davis's husband [Gary Merrill](/source/Gary_Merrill), and later [Barry Sullivan](/source/Barry_Sullivan_(actor)). The final performances played for a month at the [Henry Miller Theatre](/source/Stephen_Sondheim_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](/source/Ilka_Chase) described him as a "talented young guitar player".[{{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|}} }}] [Richard L. Coe](/source/Richard_L._Coe) called him "an ably ingratiating folk singer" after a performance at [Constitution Hall](/source/DAR_Constitution_Hall).[{{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|}} }}]
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](/source/Julius_Monk)'s Downstairs at the Upstairs, they're not particularly outstanding. It could be that Allen's folksong selection lacks a powerhouse item".[{{Cite news|date=November 2, 1960|title=Reviews: New Acts – Margarita & Clark Allen|volume=220|page=53|work=Variety|issue=10|id={{ProQuest|}}}}]
As a screen actor, he was known primarily for guest appearances on television, some of which included ''[The Twilight Zone](/source/The_Twilight_Zone_(1959_TV_series))'' in the 1961 episode "[Five Characters in Search of an Exit](/source/Five_Characters_in_Search_of_an_Exit)"[{{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}}] and ''[Peter Gunn](/source/Peter_Gunn)'' episodes "The Coffin" (1959) and "Mask of Murder" (1960).
In 1962, Allen and Cordova opened and operated El Cid, a [flamenco](/source/flamenco) nightclub on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.[{{Cite web|title=Our Story – EL CID|url=https://www.elcidsunset.com/our-story/|access-date=2020-07-09|language=en-US}}][{{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}}] Allen completed at least some of the renovations himself.[{{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}}] 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.[{{Cite news|date=October 2, 1972|title=Robber Wounds Restaurant Owner|page=B1|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|}} }}] He was in and out of the hospital for three years.[{{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}}] He later sold El Cid, which remains a flamenco venue.[{{Cite news|date=September 22, 1963|title=Valley Philharmonic Group Plans Musicales|page=J1|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|}}}}] and at the [Ebell](/source/Ebell_of_Los_Angeles) of Los Angeles Theater.[{{Cite news|date=September 27, 1963|title=Flamenco Show Booked at Ebell|page=D11|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|}}}}]
== 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.[{{Cite news|date=November 22, 1964|title=Weekly Calendar|page=550|work=Los Angeles Times|via=Newspapers.com}}] He painted abstracts, portraits, and landscapes, but his most common subjects were flamenco dancers and musicians. Actor [Vincent Price](/source/Vincent_Price) was an avid collector of Allen's paintings.[{{Cite news|date=January 21, 2008|title=Obituaries|work=Los Angeles Times|via=Newspapers.com}}]
== Personal life and death ==
Allen was married to television actress [Margarita Cordova](/source/Margarita_Cordova). Allen and Cordova lived and studied in [Granada, Spain](/source/Granada) for more than a year where they learned the culture of the [Spanish Romani](/source/Gitanos) 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](/source/Carmen_(band)).[{{Cite web|title=Discography|url=https://www.davidclarkallen.com/discography|access-date=2020-07-11|website=davidclarkallen|language=en}}] Allen and Cordova later divorced.[{{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}}]
Allen died on January 20, 2008, in Los Angeles of respiratory failure at the age of 82.