Editing Caitlin Clarke

{{about|the American actress|the American basketball player|Caitlin Clark}}
{{short description|American actress (1952–2004)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{More citations needed |date=February 2022}} 
{{Infobox person
| name          = Caitlin Clarke
| image         = CaitlinClarke.jpg
| caption       = Clarke in ''[[Dragonslayer (1981 film)|Dragonslayer]]'' (1981)
| birth_name     = Katherine Anne Clarke
| birth_date     = {{Birth date|1952|5|3}}
| birth_place    = [[Pittsburgh]], Pennsylvania, U.S.
| death_date     = {{Death date and age|2004|9|9|1952|5|3}}
| death_place    = [[Sewickley, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| occupation     = Actress
| years_active   = 1978–2001
| education     = {{plainlist|
* [[Mount Holyoke College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
* [[Yale University]] ([[Master of Fine Arts|MFA]])
}}
}}

'''Caitlin Clarke''' (born '''Katherine Anne Clarke''';<ref>{{cite news |last1=Batz |first1=Bob Jr. |title=Obituary: Caitlin A. Clarke / Stage-screen actress and teacher |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04257/378123.stm |access-date=July 16, 2023 |work=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |date=September 13, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603230525/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04257/378123.stm |archive-date=June 3, 2011}}</ref> May 3, 1952 – September 9, 2004)<ref name=ibdb/> was an American actress best known for her roles as Valerian in the 1981 fantasy film ''[[Dragonslayer (1981 film)|Dragonslayer]]'' and Charlotte Cardoza in the 1998–1999 [[Broadway theater|Broadway]] [[musical theater|musical]] ''[[Titanic (musical)|Titanic]]''.

==Early life and education==
Clarke was born in [[Pittsburgh]], the oldest of five sisters, the youngest of whom is [[Victoria Clarke]].<ref name="Anderson1981-06-25">{{cite news |last=Anderson |first=George |date=1981-06-25 |title=She leaps from PPT to movies in just six years |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/pittsburgh-post-gazette/153107792/ |newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |accessdate=2024-08-11 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240811235431/https://www.newspapers.com/article/pittsburgh-post-gazette/153107792/ |archivedate=2024-08-11 }}</ref><ref name="Blank1986-08-03">Blank, Ed. (1986-08-03). "Movie brings Caitlin Clarke back to her roots" (pages [https://web.archive.org/web/20240812000322/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pittsburgh-press/153108507/ 1] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20240812000649/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pittsburgh-press/153108854/ 2]). ''[[The Pittsburgh Press]]''. Archived from the original (pages [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pittsburgh-press/153108507/ 1] and [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pittsburgh-press/153108854/ 2]) on 2024-08-12. Retrieved 2024-08-12 – via [[Newspapers.com]].</ref>  Her family moved to [[Sewickley, Pennsylvania|Sewickley]] when she was ten.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Caitlin Clarke Page: Biography |url=http://www.andywest.org/cc/miscellany/biography.html |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=www.andywest.org}}</ref> 

Clarke received her B.A. in theater arts from [[Mount Holyoke College]] in 1974 and her M.F.A. from the [[Yale School of Drama]] in 1978.  During her final year at Yale, Clarke performed with the [[Yale Repertory Theater]] in such plays as ''[[Tales from the Vienna Woods (play)|Tales from the Vienna Woods]]''.{{Citation needed |date=December 2023}}

==Career==

Clarke starred in the 1981 fantasy film ''[[Dragonslayer (1981 film)|Dragonslayer]]''.<ref name="Anderson1981-06-25"/>

After appearing in three [[Broadway theater|Broadway]] plays in 1985,<ref name="ibdb">{{cite web |title=Caitlin Clarke |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/caitlin-clarke-73590 |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |access-date=February 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207064055/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/caitlin-clarke-73590 |archive-date=December 7, 2021}}</ref> Clarke moved to Los Angeles for several years as a film and television actress.

In 1986, she appeared in the film ''[[Crocodile Dundee]]'' as Simone, a friendly prostitute. That same year, Clarke appeared in the television series ''[[The Equalizer (1985 TV series)|The Equalizer]]'' as Jessie Moore, the mother of Laura, played by nine year-old [[Melissa Joan Hart]], who asks McCall for protection from an abusive ex-husband in "[[The Equalizer (1985 TV series) season 1#ep17|Torn]]."

She returned to theater in the early 1990s, and to Broadway as Charlotte Cardoza in ''[[Titanic (musical)|Titanic]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Titanic at LuntFontanne Theatre 1997-1999 |url=https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/22023-titanic-at-luntfontanne-theatre-1997-1999 |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=www.abouttheartists.com}}</ref>

From 1997 to 2000, Clarke had a reoccurring role on ''[[Law & Order]]'' as [[List of Law & Order characters#Defense attorneys|Defense Attorney Linda Walsh]].

==Personal life and death==

Clarke was diagnosed with [[ovarian cancer]] in 2000. She returned to [[Pittsburgh]] to teach theater at the [[Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences|University of Pittsburgh]] and at the [[Pittsburgh Musical Theater]]'s  Rauh Conservatory as well as to perform in [[Theatre in Pittsburgh|Pittsburgh theatre]] until her death on September 9, 2004.<ref name="Jones2004-09-16">{{cite magazine |last=Jones |first=Kenneth |date=2004-09-16 |title=Caitlin Clarke, Regional and Broadway Actress, Dead at 52 |url=https://playbill.com/article/caitlin-clarke-regional-and-broadway-actress-dead-at-52-com-121948 |magazine=[[Playbill (magazine)|Playbill]] |accessdate=2024-08-11 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240811235810/https://playbill.com/article/caitlin-clarke-regional-and-broadway-actress-dead-at-52-com-121948 |archivedate=2024-08-11 }}</ref>

==Stage==

===Broadway===
{{Div col}}
*1983 – ''[[Trafford Tanzi|Teaneck Tanzi: The Venus Flytrap]]''
*1985 – ''[[The Marriage of Figaro (play)|The Marriage of Figaro]]''
*1985 – ''[[Arms and the Man]]''
*1985 – ''[[Strange Interlude]]''
*1998 – ''[[Titanic (musical)|Titanic: A New Musical]]''
{{div col end}}

===Off-Broadway===
{{Div col}}
*1979 – ''Othello''
*1981 – ''No End of Blame''
*1983 – ''Summer''
*1984 – ''Total Eclipse''
*1984 – ''Quartermaine's Terms''
*1984 – ''Thin Ice''
*1994 – ''Three Birds Alighting On A Field''
*1994 – ''Unexpected Tenderness''
{{div col end}}

===Regional===
{{Div col}}
*1978 – ''[[Tales from the Vienna Woods (play)|Tales from the Vienna Woods]]'' (New Haven)
*1979 – ''The Winter's Tale'' (Washington)
*1980 – ''Bal'' (Chicago)
*1981 – ''Plenty'' (Chicago)
*1982 – ''Summer Vacation Madness'' (Minneapolis)
*1984 – ''As You Like It'' (San Diego)
*1984 – ''Not Quite Jerusalem'' (New Haven)
*1989 – ''Our Country's Good'' (Los Angeles)
*1991 – ''The Queen And The Rebels'' (Baltimore)
*1996 – ''Mrs. Warren's Profession'' (New Haven)
*1997 – ''Indiscretions'' (Dallas)
*1997 – ''The Glass Menagerie'' (Portland, Maine)
*1999 – ''Griller'' (Baltimore)
*2000 – ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf'' (Rochester, NY)
*2002 – ''The Gigli Concert'' (Pittsburgh)
*2002 – ''Aristocrats'' (Pittsburgh)
{{div col end}}

==Filmography==

===Film===
{{Div col}}
* 1981 ''[[Dragonslayer (1981 film)|Dragonslayer]]'' as Valerian
* 1986 ''[[Crocodile Dundee]]'' as Simone
* 1988 ''[[Kenny (1988 film)|Kenny]]'' (''The Kid Brother'') as Sharon
* 1989 ''[[The Big Picture (1989 film)|The Big Picture]]'' as Sharon
* 1989 ''[[Penn & Teller Get Killed]]'' as Carlotta / Officer McNamara
* 1994 ''[[Blown Away (1994 film)|Blown Away]]'' as Officer Rita
* 1997 ''Cost of Living'' as Annie
* 1997 ''A Cure For Serpents'' (Short) as Mother
* 1999 ''[[Joe the King]]'' as Pat
* 2001 ''[[Never Again (2001 film)|Never Again]]'' as Allison (final film role)
{{div col end}}

===Television===

{{incomplete list|date=March 2025}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Caitlin Clarke television credits<!-- [[WP:ACCESSIBILITY]] & [[MOS:TABLECAPTION]] -->
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1986
| ''[[The Equalizer (1985 TV series)|The Equalizer]]''
| Jessie Moore
| Episode: "[[The Equalizer (1985 TV series) season 1#ep17|Torn]]"
|-
| 1987
| ''[[Moonlighting (TV series)|Moonlighting]]''
| Elaine Johnson
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1987
| ''[[Once a Hero]]''
| Emma Greely / Emma Greeley
| 3 episodes
|-
| 1986
| ''[[Mayflower Madam]]''
| Virginia
| TV movie
|-
| 1990
| ''[[Matlock (1986 TV series)|Matlock]]''
| Sandra Townsend
| Episode: "The Witness"
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Love, Lies and Murder]]''
| Sandra Eden
| TV movie
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Northern Exposure]]''
| Irene Rondenet
| Episode: "Only You"
|-
| 1996
| ''[[The Stepford Husbands]]''
| Lisa
| TV movie
|-
| 1997–2000
| ''[[Law & Order]]''
| [[List of Law & Order characters#Defense attorneys|Defense Attorney Linda Walsh]]
| {{Hidden|{{align|left|3 episodes}}|
<br>"[[Law & Order season 7#ep145|Menace]]" {{small|(S7.E11)}}
<br>"[[Law & Order season 9#ep199|Juvenile]]" {{small|(S9.E18)}}
<br>"[[Law & Order season 10#ep228|Stiff]]" {{small|(S10.E23)}}
}}
|-
| 2000
| ''[[Sex And The City]]''
| Uptight Woman
| 1 episode
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0164680}}
* {{Find a Grave|9456399|Caitlin Clarke}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Caitlin}}
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:Actresses from Pittsburgh]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American stage actresses]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:Mount Holyoke College alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths from ovarian cancer in the United States]]
[[Category:David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:Sewickley Academy alumni]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]