Clark Johnson

Clark Johnson (born September 10, 1954),[1] sometimes credited as Clark 'Slappy' Jackson, Clarque Johnson, and J. Clark Johnson, is an American actor and director who has worked in both television and film.

Johnson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to an African American father and a White mother. The family eventually moved to Canada.[2] He attended Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. He has three siblings[2] including jazz singer Molly Johnson and actress and singer Taborah Johnson.

Johnson attended Eastern Michigan University on a partial athletic scholarship for football, but he was expelled after he was caught stealing turkey frankfurters from the school cafeteria.[citation needed] He attended several other universities including Loyola and the University of Ottawa before ending up at the Ontario College of Art as a film major.

Johnson was drafted by the Canadian Football League, and even played short stints with the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers before he decided he had "better try and get some sort of job."

Johnson started in film doing special effects, including David Cronenberg's The Dead Zone. This behind-the-scenes work often served as a "backup" for him during the early stages of his acting career.

He began performing in feature films in 1981, landing roles in the movies Killing 'em Softly, Colors, Wild Thing, Adventures in Babysitting, and Nowhere to Hide. He also acted in a number of television shows early in his career, including The Littlest Hobo, Night Heat, Hot Shots and E.N.G.