Comedian Anthony Clark, who spent six seasons playing Greg Warner on the CBS sitcom “Yes, Dear,” has died at 62. His longtime friend and former co-star Mike O’Malley announced his death Wednesday, November 11th, saying Clark had died the previous day. O’Malley shared photographs from their years working together and recalled discovering Clark’s comedy long before they became television colleagues.
On “Yes, Dear,” Clark starred alongside O’Malley, Jean Louisa Kelly and Liza Snyder in a family comedy that premiered in 2000. Kelly played Greg’s wife, Kim, while Snyder and O’Malley portrayed her sister Christine and brother-in-law Jimmy, who moved into Greg and Kim’s guesthouse with their children. The two families’ different approaches to raising children supplied the show’s central conflict, with Greg’s tightly wound personality frequently colliding with Jimmy’s more relaxed habits.
Clark’s path to television began with a career in stand-up. Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, in April 1964, he attended Emerson College in Boston and earned a degree in mass communications. He built an audience performing comedy, and by the mid-1990s, O’Malley remembered, Clark was already attracting sellout crowds in Boston before the two would share a sitcom set.
As Trending Politics reported, O’Malley and his wife, Lisa, first saw Clark perform at the Comedy Connection while they were dating. O’Malley recalled how Clark would laugh along with his own stories and observations, making the audience laugh even harder. Their friendship continued after their series ended. “We spoke on the phone three weeks ago,” O’Malley wrote. “He had us laughing loudly as he always did.”
In his tribute, which TheWrap reported, O’Malley wrote, “I was a fan before I was a friend.” He accompanied the announcement with snapshots from the final episode of “Yes, Dear,” which completed 122 episodes before ending in 2006. Created by Greg Garcia and Alan Kirschenbaum, the series gave Clark a regular network television role following earlier work on “Boston Common” and “Soul Man.”
Clark also appeared in HBO’s 1995 “Young Comedians” special, whose lineup included Dave Chappelle and Dave Attell, with Garry Shandling hosting. His film work included “The Thing Called Love” in 1993 and “The Rock” in 1996, the action film starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage. In 2006, he hosted the fourth season of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing,” taking on a different television assignment as contestants competed through their stand-up performances.
Watch Clark perform in a clip from his stand-up routine here:
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Clark’s longtime manager, Barry Katz, also confirmed his death to Us Weekly on Wednesday. Katz described him as “one of the funniest and most talented comedian/actors I have ever had the pleasure of watching.” He said representing Clark had been an honor and recalled the happiness the performer brought to colleagues and audiences throughout his career.
Comedian Nick Swardson shared his own photograph with Clark in a Wednesday tribute, according to ABC News. Swardson said he had opened for Clark for years and described a close friendship that extended beyond their performances together. “I had so many great times with this dude,” he wrote. “Non stop laughs. I hope he is at peace now. RIP Tony.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.