another Mahlon Clark obituary

Here's a sweet obit, from a hometown angle, on the late Mahlon Clark. Good to know he had Southern roots, even though Virginia is up "nawth" to this Louisiana girl.

Post Script: Even among the stars, Virginia put a twinkle in his eye

By JIM WASHINGTON, The Virginian-Pilot
© October 2, 2007

PORTSMOUTH

You've heard Mahlon Clark's work, even if you don't know his name.

Think of the toodling clarinet in Henry Mancini's "Baby Elephant Walk."

If you ever watched an Elvis Presley or Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis movie, or enjoyed the Frank Sinatra albums "In the Wee Small Hours" and "Songs for Swingin' Lovers," you know what he can do.

That's not to mention his performances with Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme, Lawrence Welk, Dolly Parton and Madonna, and his work on movies and TV shows like "Dragnet," "Adam-12," "Dick Tracy," "Rear Window" and "When Harry Met Sally."

Clark died Sept. 20 in Van Nuys, Calif. He was 84.

A Portsmouth native, Clark launched his music career after graduating from Wilson High School in 1939, eventually rising to the top of the jazz world in Hollywood.

"My dad knew he was different growing up," said Julie Clark De Blasio, one of Clark's daughters. "Music was his passion. That was his true calling. There was no other choice."

As a teen, Clark spent more than a year touring the country with several big bands. On the road, he met a big-band singer named Imogene Lynn. They got married and moved to California when Clark enlisted in the Merchant Marine during World War II.

After the war, Clark signed a contract with Paramount Studios, where he played music for dozens of movies and television shows. He did numerous studio recordings with Dean Martin, Fitzgerald, Sinatra and Elvis.

The latter two giants didn't interact much with musicians, he told his daughter later, but he did get the occasional wink or thumbs up from The King after a session.

Later, Clark joined the Lawrence Welk orchestra. He and Lynn had divorced by then, and he met and married Kathy Lennon. She was one of the four Lennon Sisters, the family group that performed on the Welk show.

Clark continued working into the '80s, collaborating with Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton and Madonna.

"He didn't really know who they were," his daughter said.

Clark returned occasionally to Portsmouth to perform. According to his daughter, he remembered Virginia fondly in the waning weeks of his life.

"He really liked going back there," she said. "He loved the Atlantic seaboard, the slower pace of life and the Southern hospitality. That was his home."

Jim Washington, (757) 446-2536, jim.washington@pilotonline.com


Source

Mahlon Clark 1923 - 2007

Sad to hear the news Mahlon Clark, respected clarinetist, and ex-husband of Kathy Lennon, passed away on Sept. 20, 2007. He was 84. My condolences to his family and friends.

Here's a nice obituary from The Los Angeles Times. It includes an audio clip of his very memorable clarinet playing on The Elephant Walk.

Mahlon Clark, 84; clarinetist played with Welk, Sinatra and Madonna

By Jocelyn Y. Stewart, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 3, 2007

Mahlon Clark, the clarinetist who performed on the soundtracks of numerous Hollywood movies and recorded with artists as varied as Lawrence Welk and Madonna, has died. He was 84.

Clark, who also played a well-known clarinet solo in recordings of "Baby Elephant Walk," died Sept. 20 of natural causes at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, his family announced.

At Capitol Records, Clark developed a friendship with Nelson Riddle, arranger, composer and conductor for Frank Sinatra. Clark, who also played alto saxophone, performed on many Sinatra albums, including "In the Wee Small Hours."

"The days with Capitol Records and Nelson Riddle were very special," said Clark's son-in-law, Ron De Blasio.

"Mahlon said Frank knew what he wanted. He always gave the band lots of credit, which is why the musicians loved working for him," De Blasio said.

"Baby Elephant Walk" was featured on the soundtrack for the 1962 Oscar-nominated movie "Hatari!" starring John Wayne.

The song was a hit for Henry Mancini's orchestra, which recorded the soundtrack. When Welk later recorded it, he also used Clark.

Born in Portsmouth, Va., on March 7, 1923, Clark performed in vaudeville with his sister Jane when they were children.

When he was 16, Clark landed a professional job as a big band musician with the Dean Hudson Band. That gig was followed by stints with the Will Bradley Band and the Ray McKinley Band.

Beginning in 1942, Clark served in the U.S. merchant marine. He married Imogene Lynn, a vocalist with the McKinley band. Stationed on Santa Catalina Island, Clark was assigned to the merchant marine band, which entertained troops on furlough.

After the war, Clark found work as a musician with the permanent orchestra at Paramount Studios. At Paramount he performed on soundtracks for movies starring Elvis Presley, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and in films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Clark was an advocate for musicians in the mid-1950s, a time when many worried for their jobs and salaries at Hollywood studios. Musicians feared the studios would end the practice of hiring musicians to play live, opting instead to use prerecorded music.

During this debate, the leadership of the American Federation of Musicians was challenged by a newly created rival union, the Musicians Guild of America. Los Angeles Musicians Local 47 responded by purging members believed to be associated with the rival group, including Clark, who later served on the new guild's board.

From 1962 until 1968, Clark performed in Welk's orchestra, which appeared on his television show. After Clark's first marriage ended in 1966, Clark married Kathy Lennon of the Lennon Sisters, who appeared regularly on Welk's show.

Clark continued performing until the early 1990s, playing on the soundtracks for movies including "Dick Tracy," and "When Harry Met Sally." He also played on Linda Ronstadt recordings and Madonna's 1990 album "I'm Breathless."

Clark is survived by two daughters, Deborah Clark of Sherman Oaks and Julie Clark De Blasio of Los Angeles; a son, Kevin Clark of Aptos, Calif.; and four grandchildren.

jocelyn.stewart@latimes.com

photo post

I was going through some old files of Lennon Sisters clippings and decided to scan some miscellaneous pics, ads and a postcard. The one on the left I used as a blog logo, and here are the rest. :)

A nice autographed postcard.


Cute picture of Kathy and husband Mahlon Clark.
Dee Dee and hubby Dick Gass.


A nice family portrait of Janet, husband Lee and son Billy.
Peggy and husband Dick Cathcart.


Dee Dee and Kathy in the rain.
The Lennon Sisters and their mom Sis in a 1977 ad.


All 11 Lennon siblings.
Lennon Sisters at work.


Kathy and Mahlon, Janet and Lee.
Lennon Sisters and Mahlon.

Kathy gets engaged

The topic of Kathy's first marriage is something of a touchy subject as I found out on the Yahoo group. It's apparently not something the family wishes to have discussed, nor do they mention it in any official capacity, almost as though the marriage never occured.

It's kind of hard to ignore, given that the marriage took place during the hayday of the magazine coverage of The Lennon Sisters. So without further ado, here's a rather pleasant article about the newly engaged couple, Kathy Lennon and Mahlon Clark from TV Radio Mirror May 1967. Peggy has some really nice things to say about her sister, and the importance of her place in the family. There are some great color photos in this issue. And may I just say that Dee Dee's husband was seriously handsome? Seriously.









And just because, here's one of my favorite pictures of Kathy, with Mahlon in 1969. Don't they look glamorous?