Caitlin Clarke
Encyclopedia
Caitlin Clarke was an American theater and film actress best known for her role as Valerian in the 1981 fantasy film Dragonslayer
and for her role as Charlotte Cardoza in the 1998–1999 Broadway musical Titanic
.
. Her family moved to Sewickley
when she was ten.
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.
The first few years of Clarke's professional career were largely theatrical, apart from her role in Dragonslayer
. After appearing in three Broadway plays in 1985, Clarke moved to Los Angeles for several years as a film and television actress. She returned to theater in the early 1990s, and to Broadway as Charlotte Cardoza in Titanic
.
Clarke was diagnosed with ovarian cancer
in 2000. She returned to Pittsburgh to teach theater at the University of Pittsburgh
and at the Pittsburgh Musical Theater
's Rauh Conservatory as well as to perform in Pittsburgh theatre
until her death on September 9, 2004.
, The Equalizer
, Once A Hero
, Moonlighting
, Sex And The City
, Law & Order
("Menace", "Juvenile", "Stiff").
Movies: Mayflower Madam (1986), Love, Lies and Murder
(1991), The Stepford Husbands
(1996).
Dragonslayer
Dragonslayer is a 1981 fantasy movie set in a fictional medieval kingdom, following a young wizard who experiences danger and opposition as he attempts to defeat a dragon....
and for her role as Charlotte Cardoza in the 1998–1999 Broadway musical Titanic
Titanic (musical)
Titanic is a musical with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone that opened on Broadway in 1997. It won five Tony Awards including the award for Best Musical...
.
Biography
Clarke was born Katherine Anne Clarke in Pittsburgh, the oldest of five sisters, the youngest of whom is Victoria ClarkeVictoria Clarke
Victoria "Torie" Clarke is an American communications consultant who has served in several private sector positions and in three Republican presidential administrations, most notably as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs under Donald Rumsfeld.Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,...
. Her family moved to Sewickley
Sewickley, Pennsylvania
Sewickley is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, west northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. It is a residential suburb of Pittsburgh. The population was 3,827 at the 2010 census...
when she was ten.
Clarke received her B.A. in theater arts from Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
in 1974 and her M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...
in 1978. During her final year at Yale Clarke performed with the Yale Repertory Theater in such plays as Tales from the Vienna Woods.
The first few years of Clarke's professional career were largely theatrical, apart from her role in Dragonslayer
Dragonslayer
Dragonslayer is a 1981 fantasy movie set in a fictional medieval kingdom, following a young wizard who experiences danger and opposition as he attempts to defeat a dragon....
. After appearing in three Broadway plays in 1985, Clarke moved to Los Angeles for several years as a film and television actress. She returned to theater in the early 1990s, and to Broadway as Charlotte Cardoza in Titanic
Titanic (musical)
Titanic is a musical with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone that opened on Broadway in 1997. It won five Tony Awards including the award for Best Musical...
.
Clarke was diagnosed with ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from the ovary. Symptoms are frequently very subtle early on and may include: bloating, pelvic pain, difficulty eating and frequent urination, and are easily confused with other illnesses....
in 2000. She returned to Pittsburgh to teach theater at the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
and at the Pittsburgh Musical Theater
Pittsburgh Musical Theater
Pittsburgh Musical Theater is a professional theatre company located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1990 with the purpose of providing high-quality productions of musicals featuring local professionals at affordable prices to residents, the company has since expanded with the educational...
's Rauh Conservatory as well as to perform in Pittsburgh theatre
Theatre in Pittsburgh
Theatre in Pittsburgh has existed professionally since the early 1800s and has continued to expand, having emerged as an important cultural force in the city over the past 30 years.-History:...
until her death on September 9, 2004.
Broadway
- 1983 - Teaneck Tanzi: The Venus FlytrapTrafford TanziTrafford Tanzi is a play by Claire Luckham. Originally performed in Manchester in 1980, it later played in Liverpool before achieving commercial success in London.-Plot:...
- 1985 - The Marriage of FigaroThe Marriage of Figaro (play)The Marriage of Figaro ) is a comedy in five acts, written in 1778 by Pierre Beaumarchais. This play is the second installment in the Figaro Trilogy, preceded by The Barber of Seville and followed by The Guilty Mother. The Barber begins the story with a simple love triangle in which the Count has...
- 1985 - Arms and the ManArms and the ManArms and the Man is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's Aeneid in Latin:"Arma virumque cano" ....
- 1985 - Strange InterludeStrange InterludeStrange Interlude is an experimental play by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. O'Neill finished the play in 1923, but it was not produced on Broadway until 1928, when it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Lynn Fontanne originated the central role of Nina Leeds on Broadway...
- 1998 - Titanic: A New MusicalTitanic (musical)Titanic is a musical with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone that opened on Broadway in 1997. It won five Tony Awards including the award for Best Musical...
Off-Broadway
- 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
Regional
- 1978 - 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)
Film
- DragonslayerDragonslayerDragonslayer is a 1981 fantasy movie set in a fictional medieval kingdom, following a young wizard who experiences danger and opposition as he attempts to defeat a dragon....
(1981) - KennyKenny (1988 film)Kenny is a 1988 film featuring Kenny Easterday in a semi-autobiographical role.-Plot:The film follows how 13-year-old Kenny, his family and neighborhood deal with the intrusion of a French-speaking Quebec crew filming a documentary about Kenny's adaptation to his unusual congenital condition, the...
(aka The Kid Brother) (1985) - Crocodile DundeeCrocodile Dundee"Crocodile" Dundee is a 1986 Australian comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee and Linda Kozlowski as Sue Charlton....
(1986) - The Big PictureThe Big Picture (film)The Big Picture is a 1989 comedy film starring Kevin Bacon and directed by Christopher Guest.-Plot:In a fictionalized version of Tinseltown itself, Nick Chapman is an up and coming film director hot off the win of a student academy award for his short film. No sooner does the award bring him into...
(1989) - Penn & Teller Get KilledPenn & Teller Get KilledPenn & Teller Get Killed is a 1989 dark comedy film directed by Arthur Penn starring magicians Penn & Teller. The duo play themselves, and the plot involves them in a satirical account of what the audience would perhaps imagine the pair doing in their daily lives...
(1989) - Blown AwayBlown Away (1994 film)Blown Away is a 1994 action film starring Jeff Bridges and Tommy Lee Jones. It was directed by Stephen Hopkins.-Plot:Ryan Gaerity , an Irish terrorist, escapes from his cell in a castle prison in Northern Ireland....
(1994) - Cost of Living (1997)
- A Cure For Serpents (1997)
- Joe the KingJoe the KingJoe the King is a 1999 drama film, written and directed by Frank Whaley, based largely on his own childhood and the childhood of his brother. It stars Noah Fleiss, Val Kilmer, Karen Young, Ethan Hawke, John Leguizamo, Austin Pendleton, Camryn Manheim, Max Ligosh and James Costa...
(1999) - Never Again (2002)
Television
Series: Northern ExposureNorthern Exposure
Northern Exposure is an American television series that ran on CBS from 1990 to 1995, with a total of 110 episodes.-Overview:The series was given a pair of consecutive Peabody Awards: in 1991–92 for the show's "depict[ion] in a comedic and often poetic way, [of] the cultural clash between a...
, The Equalizer
The Equalizer
The Equalizer is an American television series that ran for four seasons, initially on CBS, between 1985 and 1989. It starred Edward Woodward as an aging New York vigilante with a mysterious past...
, Once A Hero
Once a Hero
Once a Hero was an ABC 1987 science fiction comedy television series. The series starred Milo O'Shea as Abner Bevis, a down on his luck comic strip artist whose life is turned upside down when his creation, Captain Justice , comes to life...
, Moonlighting
Moonlighting (TV series)
Moonlighting is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 3, 1985, to May 14, 1989. The network aired a total of 66 episodes...
, Sex And The City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
, Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
("Menace", "Juvenile", "Stiff").
Movies: Mayflower Madam (1986), Love, Lies and Murder
Love, Lies and Murder
Love, Lies, and Murder is a 1991 miniseries starring Clancy Brown, Sheryl Lee, Moira Kelly, Tom Bower, John Ashton, and Cynthia Nixon. It is based on the 1985 murder of Linda Bailey Brown. The names were not changed for the film. The miniseries is four hours long and aired on NBC in two parts, the...
(1991), The Stepford Husbands
The Stepford Husbands
The Stepford Husbands is a 1996 made-for-television sci-fi/horror film inspired by the Ira Levin novel The Stepford Wives. It was directed by Fred Walton with a screenplay by brothers Ken Wheat and Jim Wheat. Donna Mills, Michael Ontkean, Cindy Williams, Sarah Douglas, and Louise Fletcher all...
(1996).