Clark Howat

John Clark Howat, born January 22, 1918, in Calaveras County, California, was an American actor whose career spanned stage, film, and television. He died on October 30, 2009, in Arroyo Grande, California, at the age of 91.

Howat launched his professional career in 1947 with a Broadway appearance in The Wanhope Building, where he took on two roles: the Interviewer and the Pilot. That same year, he transitioned to film, making his screen debut in Miracle on 34th Street in July 1947, portraying a patron in Macy's Lunchroom. His early film work consisted largely of uncredited and supporting parts, though he accumulated credits across a range of productions including The Doctor and the Girl, Customs Agent, My Blue Heaven, California Passage, and Airport.

Among his more prominent film roles, Howat played Sheriff Cole in Billy Jack, Maj. Bergen in The Giant Claw, a Government Agent in The Hitch-Hiker, and George Merkle in The High Powered Rifle.

Howat began working in television in 1952, appearing in Beulah as Pete Bradley. In 1956, he took on the lead role of Dr. Jack Petrie in the short-lived sitcom The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu. His television appearances extended across numerous series, including Dragnet, Leave It to Beaver, Highway Patrol, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Navy Log, Tales of Wells Fargo, Bat Masterson, and The Millionaire. In addition to performing, he contributed to the medium as a writer, authoring the 1962 episode "Walk a Crooked Line" for the crime drama series The Detectives. Howat retired in 1985 following a final appearance in T.J. Hooker.