Talk:George Clarke (comedian)

Merge proposal

I recently discovered we have two articles on the same person. George Clark (producer) and George Clarke (comedian) are the same man. Part of the reason this wasn't discovered earlier is that the date of birth in the producer article was wrong (I fixed it recently), and for some odd reason whoever created that article in 2013 used the less common spelling of his last name, Clark. Clarke is the spelling used in biographical entries in reference works that I have located. Regardless, the producer article over emphasized the film aspect of this man's career as he was principally known as a comedian in variety entertainments in vaudeville and music halls and as a musical comedy actor based on all of his obituaries in multiple publications. For that reason, I propose merging to the article titled "George Clarke (comedian)" because it is the more often used spelling of the last name, and it is the career he was best known for (his obits used that career description in the title).4meter4 (talk) 16:42, 16 December 2024 (UTC)

• Merge per nom. I will say that you don't actually have to personally notify every individual editor who's ever touched either article at all — literally the only thing I ever did here was modify its stub template from the overly general {{UK-film-bio-stub}} to the more specific {{UK-film-producer-stub}} in a round of general stub-sorting cleanup, which doesn't at all suggest that I would have any special personal expertise for the purposes of needing to be notified about such a thing. But since I was notified, it's quite obvious that the nominator is correct on all counts here. Bearcat (talk) 16:54, 16 December 2024 (UTC)
• Merge. Fascinating - I created the article on the comedian (in 2022) and had no idea there was another article on (apparently - though this needs double checking) the same person. Ghmyrtle (talk) 18:47, 16 December 2024 (UTC)
• Comment. Based on the feedback, I am going to be WP:BOLD and perform the merge.4meter4 (talk) 18:55, 16 December 2024 (UTC)

  Let me just say up-front that I am not convinced that George Clark, who set up Lucky Cat Films (later George Clark Productions) with Guy Newall (after the two met while serving in World War I), is the same person as George Clarke, the comedian. The article about George Clark (producer) is certainly riddled with information about George Clarke (comedian), but that does not mean they are one and the same person. Please refer to the article about Guy Newall (basically researched, re-written and expanded by me), particularly the sections 'The war years', 'Lucky Cat Films' and 'George Clark Productions', which contains more (accurate and referenced) information about George Clark (the producer) than the George Clark (producer) article. Before any merging of articles is carried out, it needs to be determined whether George Clark (producer) in the Guy Newall article is the same person as George Clarke (comedian).

  Can I suggest a good starting point would be to locate, if possible, George Clark's WWI enlistment record. Clark and Newall met at Dover while both men were serving in the Royal Garrison Artillery as anti-aircraft gunners. If Clark's service record could be located, that should show his date of birth (as well as other details) to enable a determination of whether the producer and the comedian are the same person.

  My reasons for doubting they are the same person: Lucky Cat Films and George Clark Productions made mostly drama and romance films in the period 1919 to 1923 and built new film studios at Beaconsfield in 1922. They were serious film-makers. Yet (apparently) in the periods before and after 1919-1923 Clark was a well-known comedian who hardly appeared in films (if any). In none of my research for the Guy Newall article did I find any reference to Clark having a previous career as a comedian. Furthermore, the image is certainly that of the producer, but I am not convinced that the producer and the comedian are the same person. Ikeshut2 (talk) 19:15, 16 December 2024 (UTC)

  Please do not use the image presently appearing in this article. The person in the image is George Clark, film producer, published in The Picture Show, 6 March 1920, page 19. It has not been established that they are the same person (see my previous comments). An image of George Clarke (comedian) is published here: page 37 of British Music Hall: An Illustrated Who's Who from 1850 to the Present Day by Roy Busby (1976). Ikeshut2 (talk) 20:19, 16 December 2024 (UTC)

@Ikeshut2 If that is the case then this is a confusion that has multiplied at IMDB where the name is spelled Clarke and they have identical dob and dod dates. The comedian's birth and death record are clear in the literature (the obits are all about the comedian), so if the film producer is a different person, then there has been confusion there. The silent film necrology source has the same dates as the comedian's obituaries (which talk about the comedian) and so the confusion appears to have been extended into print if there is indeed confusion. FYI, I think they look alike with the Clarke photos from the 1930s in Busby simply being an older version of the younger man in other photo. 4meter4 (talk) 20:28, 16 December 2024 (UTC)

@Ikeshut2 It looks like Clarke didn't just do comedy. In looking at his Broadway work on IBDB see here he was doing comedies and tragedies by Shakespeare, musical comedy, and straight dramas. Ditto with his silent film work in America (both comic and dramatic work) in the years just prior to WWI. The British bio sources mention he performed in America but wave it off with no details. My guess is that his work on the New York stage and American film was never researched by UK academics, and I would guess his experiences working in American film would have given him an interest and expertise in starting a film company in the UK.4meter4 (talk) 20:42, 16 December 2024 (UTC)

@4meter4 I've never based my opinion on GC (comedian) only ever doing comedy, but I appreciate the extra info you found. Your guesses are interesting but not compelling. I have no doubt the DOB and DOD belong to the comedian. As far as I can tell the George Clark (producer) article relates wholly to the comedian (apart from the filmography). In my opinion the IMDb bio is also suspect, and basically relates to the comedian. As far as I'm concerned the only accurate info about GC (producer) is found in the Guy Newall article. If the George Clark (producer) article disappears, I won't be sorry. I'll just delete the article link in Guy Newall. My main objection is the use of the image, which is clearly of GC (producer). Without conclusive proof that they are one and the same, this image should not be used for GC (comedian). I gather you're Canadian or American. I'm from Australia. I will endeavour to research GC's WWI record (if it exists), and get back to you. By the way, here is another image (top-left, page 68) of GC (comedian) from January 1921 (in the same period that GC producer was busy with George Clark Productions and building the Beaconsfield studios). Ikeshut2 (talk) 21:06, 16 December 2024 (UTC)

There is clearly some confusion and, until it is resolved, we should revert to the status quo ante - before today's merge and the editorial changes. Ghmyrtle (talk) 21:06, 16 December 2024 (UTC) PS: I also think that IMDb and IBDb should not be used as definitively reliable sources - they are usually pretty reliable, but are not infallible. We need better evidence that would show that the two articles are about the same person, in my view. Ghmyrtle (talk) 21:15, 16 December 2024 (UTC)

@Ghmyrtle I restored some of the content, because those sources overlap with Busby and are clearly about the comedian. I removed all the film content which is where we have a questionable overlap. Best.4meter4 (talk) 23:58, 16 December 2024 (UTC)

• Update.@Ghmyrtle and Ikeshut2 I removed all the film content from the comedian article. The theatre content is about the comedian and is not controversial in the comedian article as there is source congruence across Busby and Park in their biographical entries on the comedian, and Wearing overlaps with one or the other. I removed content about the comedian from the producer article. That includes removing the dates of birth and death from the producer article, as those dates are the ones for the comedian based on multiple sources. I believe I have reliably sorted the verifiable content between the two articles. The only questions remaining: 1) are these two the same person? 2) did Clarke the comedian have a pre WWI film career in the United States? 3) Was the film producer a different person and active as an actor in the USA pre WWI? If there is WWI record, it might be under the surname Broome or under Clark/Clarke. Best,00:15, 17 December 2024 (UTC)

Additional evidence

Here are a few sources to consider:

• Lesko, Kathleen Menzie (2017). Jeanne Devereaux, Prima Ballerina of Vaudeville and Broadway: "She Ran Between the Raindrops". McFarland & Company. p. 94-95. ISBN 9781476627496. Refers to George Clarke as a "popular stage and screen comedian" with a 1930s UK poster advertising him that way.4meter4 (talk) 00:52, 17 December 2024 (UTC)

GC (producer) appears to have had family members living in the US in 1921. This reference (p. 43, bottom-left) from February 1921 refers to George Clark visiting the US "to visit his family and to study film conditions". In addition, he may have ended up in Hollywood after the heyday of George Clark Productions. The World Film Encyclopedia: A Universal Screen Guide (first published in 1933) has a reference to GC (producer), stating "George Clark now produces for P.D.C. distribution" (p. 486). "P.D.C. distribution" seems to be the Producers Distributing Corporation. I will try to follow-up on this. I'm waiting on word re British WWI records, which are available through Ancestry.com (I'm not a subscriber myself). Ikeshut2 (talk) 08:07, 17 December 2024 (UTC)

Just a couple of points. Was Clarke the comedian ever referred to as Clark (with no e)? And genealogy information (which I realise we are not supposed to use, but includes primary sources such as his baptism record) gives his birth name as George Henry Broome. Ghmyrtle (talk) 10:43, 17 December 2024 (UTC) PS: A 1919 Freemasons Register gives his name as George Henry Broome (Clarke) [sic], Actor. In the 1939 Register, he is George B. Clarke, Variety artist. Ghmyrtle (talk) 10:51, 17 December 2024 (UTC)

Yes. His name was spelled more often with an e, but sometimes without, such as his obituary in The New York Times.4meter4 (talk) 20:04, 17 December 2024 (UTC)

Please refer to this 1916 reference (bottom-right of p. 771 & over-page). This GC is clearly the person to which the IBDB entries cited above refer. In my opinion this is GC (producer) - a serious theatre actor, theatre manager for Charles Frohman, and an early involvement in film-making (a year or two before he meets Guy Newall and collaborates to establish a film production company, that ended up making serious critically-acclaimed films). As a sideline I have been researching the tour of Australia & New Zealand by GC (comedian) in the period Aug 1911 to Feb 1912. He and another comedian named 'Tom Mostol' (the stage name of Harold Price) had an vaudeville act called Clarke and Mostol. They were known as "fine patter comedians and dancers" who could give "astonishing exhibitions of rapid dancing" and tell jokes. I am more convinced than ever that these are two different people. Ikeshut2 (talk) 01:59, 18 December 2024 (UTC)

This reference (20 Oct 1917) refers to GC (in the US): "an actor now in the Plattsburg training camp". Ikeshut2 (talk) 02:20, 18 December 2024 (UTC)

This reference (23 Sept 1916) refers to GC: "He was born in Birmingham, England, and is a direct descendant of Sir George Downing, after whom the far-famed Downing street of London, is named". Ikeshut2 (talk) 02:29, 18 December 2024 (UTC)