[Dixielandjazz] Mahlon Clark Obituary

[Stan Brager]

Reedman Mahlon Clark who played with Gus Bivona, Carmen McRae, Frank
Sinatra, Ray McKinley, Dick Cathcart, Jack Teagarden and others has died.
Here's the obituary from the Los Angeles Times.

Stan
Stan Brager
...................................................

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.