Wednesday, October 04, 2023
Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Ted Clark
Fontaine Fox’s assistant, for about 28 years, was Ted Clark who was born Arthur Legrand Clark on November 14, 1904, in New York City, according to his birth certificate. His parents were Edward Baker Clark and Fanny May Moore, who lived at 108 West 109th Street in Manhattan.
The same address was recorded in the 1905 New York state census. Clark’s father was a salesman.
In the 1910 United States Census, Clark, his parents and maternal grandmother were residents of Newport, Rhode Island at 26 Rhode Island Avenue.
According to the 1915 New Jersey state census, Clark and his parents lived in East Orange, New Jersey at 537 North Grove Street. The 1920 census had the same address.
Clark was a staff cartoonist for the News, the East Orange High School newspaper. He graduated in 1922.
Clark got a job as an apprentice artist at the New York Daily News.
Around 1926, Clark married Phyllis Ora Warren, a Framingham, Massachusetts native born on September 2, 1906. A couple of years later, he was assisting Fox.
The 1930 census said Clark’s home was in Flushing, Queens, New York City at 42-35 159th Street. He was a magazine artist. By 1935 Clark had moved to Port Washington to be closer to Fox who lived in Roslyn, New York, about five miles away by car.
American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Toonerville Folks aka Toonerville Trolley ran from February 19, 1910 to February 12, 1955. Added to the Sunday strip was Little Stanley on April 3, 1932. Nemo: The Classic Comics Library #23, December 1986 published Clark’s “The World’s Longest Trolley Ride” that explained his collaboration with Fox. The article was also printed in Cartoonist Profiles #113, March 1997.
The 1940 census said Clark followed Fox to Connecticut. Clark’s address was 165 Bridge Street in Stamford, Connecticut. Fox lived at the Ituri Towers in Greenwich. In 1939 Clark earned $4,500.
On October 16, 1940, Clark signed his World War II draft card. His Stamford address was 165 Bridge Street. He was employed by Fox. Clark’s description was five feet nine inches, 143 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair.
The 1941 Greenwich city directory listed Clark as a cartoonist who worked at 1 West Elm in room 4. His home was in Stamford at 165 Bridge Street.
Clark’s residence in the 1950 census was in Stamford at 14 Dannell Road. The newspaper cartoonist’s family included his wife, twelve-year-old daughter, Loralee, and mother-in-law, Helen Warren.
When Toonerville Trolley ended in February 1955, Clark turned to advertising. Stamford city directories, from 1955 to 1965, said he produced display advertising in Port Chester, New York. Directories from 1967 to 1974 listed Clark as a photo-setter at the Herald Statesman newspaper in Yonkers, New York.
Clark passed away on June 28, 1982, in Stamford, Connecticut. His death certificate said he was a chauffeur who lived at the same 1950 address. Clark was predeceased by his wife. His daughter passed away in 2006.
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
