Talk:Dane Clark

Editing down
I've edited out the following paragraphs: "Dane Clark's future as an actor began in Northport, Long Island, New York after a notable actor and manager Charles M. Fritz who ran The Little Red Theater there and being Edward G. Robinson's and Paul Muni's cousin, saw talent in what to that date was Bernard Zanville, a starving truck driver having problems getting a job. Mr. Fritz managed the theater, gave Dane a job and took him to live at his marital residence to live with Charles' wife. Mr. Fritz taught him the art of acting. He used his own furniture as props to mount plays in which Dane Clark, which Zanville had taken as his stage name, played. He performed many performances where he gained his confidence and the guidance of Charles M. Fritz. It was then that Mr. Fritz gave him the name of Dane Clark from Bernard Zanville. Mr. Fritz realized that this man was going to be a famous star. Time went by and Mr. Fritz had not heard from Dane Clark. It wasn't until one evening in the late 60s early 70s that Dane Clark was appearing at the Miniola Theatre on Long Island, and it was a very emotional evening for his family as they had a reunion backstage. There were many hugs and tears were running. A very emotional time for all. Certainly a night to remember.

Clark's career led to appearances in numerous plays and movies and, in a very short time, took him to stardom and to become one of the most renowned and famous actors and performers of his time."

Aside from being unattributed/without a citation, more about the teacher than the student, and poorly written, the first paragraph is way, way, way too much information about an actor whose height of stardom was as a supporting character on a television programme that was cancelled after one season. And the second paragraph is -- well, perhaps the author has mistaken this actor for John Barrymore. Accounting4Taste 18:20, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Date of birth
It was always shown as 18 February (the year varied) in reference books until fairly recently. Now, the choice seems to be between:


 * 18 Feb 1913 (as per IDBD, Find-a-Grave, and our primary source van Gelder): 6,140 google hits
 * 18 Feb 1915 (as per Allmovie): 6,430 google hits
 * 26 Feb 1912 (as per IMDB): 8,370 google hits.

I don’t believe the slight Google preference for 26 Feb 1912 entitles us to be certain of his birthdate. If we had to pick one over the others, the one that our primary source and one of our external links – 18 February 1913 – would be the one. But it’s still their word vs. the others, and I’d much prefer to be up-front about the uncertainty, rather than stating one of the options as if it were established fact. This is the sort of case where recourse to Bernard Zanville’s birth certificate would be the only way to be certain. Anyone got it? In the meantime, I’ve edited the article as per above. -- JackofOz (talk) 07:10, 12 July 2008 (UTC)

I don't know either but the 1915 date sounds like a non-starter.

From the article: "During the Great Depression, he worked as a boxer, baseball player, construction worker, and model." 1915 would have made him 14 at the start of the depression. That seems too young to have had that range of jobs during the depression.Davefoc (talk) 09:52, 18 September 2009 (UTC)