Westcott Bailey Clarke (September 27, 1886 – January 26, 1959), also known as Westcott Clarke, W.B. Clarke, Westcott B. Clarke and W.B. Westcott, was an American actor who worked in the theater and in film. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he grew up in nearby Bayonne where he began his acting career in a local repertory theatre company in the early 1900s. He toured North America in Brown of Harvard in 1908-1909, and then worked as an itinerant actor in a variety of theatre troupes in the 1910s, including George M. Cohan and Sam H. Harris's company. He starred in Captain Kidd Junior on Broadway in 1917-1918, and by 1920 was working in Los Angeles as a stage actor. He worked as silent film actor in Hollywood during the 1920s.
Biography
The son of Mr. and Mrs. William Clarke, Clarke was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on September 27, 1886. He grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey, and began his career performing in repertory theatre in his native town with the Bayonne Opera House Stock Company. He joined the Spooner Stock Company, and in the 1908-1909 season toured North America in Brown of Harvard. In 1909-1910 season he performed in a production of Owen Wister's The Virginian. He starred in a production of The Great Ruby staged in Jersey City in 1910.
By 1914 Clarke was a member of the Selwyn & Co. theatre troupe starring in American regional theater as Detective Sergeant Cassidy in Bayard Veiller's Within the Law. In 1915 he became a member of George M. Cohan and Sam H. Harris's theatre troupe with whom he toured as The Dead Man in Elmer Rice's On Trial; ultimately taking over the larger part of Trask. In February 1916 he married Helen L. Shaffer. The marriage ended in divorce in June 1919.
In June 1916 Clarke starred in the premiere of Rida Johnson Young's Buried Treasure (later renamed Captain Kidd Junior) at the Apollo Theatre in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He starred in this play on Broadway in 1916-1917 at the Cohan & Harris Theatre in the role of the Expressman. By 1920 he was working in Los Angeles at the Symphony Theatre as a live performer before the presentation of silent films. He worked as a silent film actor in the 1920s; appearing in 12 films during his career. He was best known for his role in Safety Last! from 1923.
In 1948 he was a criminal defendant in the "atomic gold" conspiracy trial, and convicted by a jury on conspiracy charges. He was sentenced to three months in prison.
123Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
