Matt Clark, known for his supporting role in Back to the Future III, has died at age 89. His family confirmed the actor’s death on Sunday, March 15, due to complications from surgery.
According to TMZ, Clark’s family revealed the actor had died in his Austin, Texas home following complications from a back surgery that morning. They told the outlet that Clark was an “actor’s actor” who didn’t care much for fame or to be a big star. Instead, the actor cared more about working with good people and felt “lucky” in his career. He also “died the way he lived, on his terms.”
Fans may remember Clark for his supporting role as Chester the Bartender in the third and final Back to the Future installment, starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. He appears when Fox’s character is confronted in a Western bar by Buford “Mad Dog” Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson). Clark appears as the scared bartender who cowers away from Tannen when they’re looking for someone in particular.
In his extensive career, Clark became known for other films, largely Westerns. He began his film career in the early ’60s playing a mugger in the 1964 movie Black Like Me. He went on to star in The Cowboys, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Hearts of the West, The Legend of the Lone Ranger, and Let’s Get Harry. He even played a role in theJamie Lee Curtis film Love Letters,Charlie Sheen‘s Cadence, Laurence Fishburne‘s Class Action, and Luther in 42.
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Clark’s last credited big screen role was in the 2014 film A Million Ways to Die in the West as an Old Prospector. When it came to TV, Clark also had various roles in hits like Bonanza, N.Y.P.D., The Rookies, Little House on the Prairie, Dog and Cat, Magnum P.I., and more. In 1993, he starred as Emmet Kelly in the Brett ButlersitcomGrace Under Fire. For 12 episodes, Clark also played Walt Bacon in The Jeff Foxworthy Show, with is last TV role having been on Chicago Hope in 2000.
The actor was born in Washington, D.C. and served in the U.S. Army before attending George Washington University, where he later dropped out. He directed the 1988 film Da and wrote the storyline for the 1970 film Homer. Clark leaves behind his wife, Sharon Mays, whom he married in 2000, and five children. His daughter-in-law is also Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter and Independence Day actor Kimberly Beck.
