Dane Clark Biography

Fast Facts

• Graduated from Cornell University and St․ John's Law School in the mid-1930s
• Was originally credited under his real name, Bernard Zanville, before he was given the stage name Dane Clark by Humphrey Bogart
• After he had a hard time finding work as a lawyer during the Great Depression, he began working as a boxer, construction worker, and salesman before becoming a model, which was his gateway to acting
• Made his Broadway debut in Friedrich Woolf's "Sailors of Catarro" in 1934
• Quote: "(On joining Warner Brothers): "An average-looking guy like me has a chance to get someplace, to portray people the way they really are, without any frills․․․The only thing I want to do in films is to be Mr․ Joe Average as well as I know how․""
• Quote: "(On his fellow actors): "They fascinated me at first․ Then suddenly it struck me that their constant snobbish talk about the 'theatah' was a little on the phony side․ I decided it give it a try myself, just to show them anyone could do it․""
• Best known for his role as Slate Shannon in "Bold Venture" and as Danny Hawkins in "Moonrise․"
• The film he was most proud of was 1954's "Go, Man, Go!," in which he played Harlem Globetrotters founder Abe Saperstein, because it criticized racial discrimination