Deena Clark

Deena Clark, born Ruby Constandina Speliakos in La Jolla, California in 1913, was an American journalist, television host, and performer. She died on August 1, 2003, at Sibley Memorial Hospital of sepsis, having been diagnosed with cancer. Clark attended San Diego State University and later earned a master's degree in English from Vanderbilt University, which she pursued after returning to the United States from Hawaii in 1942.

Clark's early life involved several career shifts. In 1932 she traveled to Hawaii to work as a teacher, and it was during the voyage there that she met Blake Clark, whom she later married in Honolulu. The marriage ended in divorce in 1973. Following her time in Hawaii, Clark traveled to South America, where she performed interpretations of traditional Hawaiian hula with a dance group. During World War II she modeled for the John Robert Powers Modeling Agency in New York, representing both contemporary fashions and women's military support uniforms. In 1944 she served as secretary to the director of the Stage Door Canteen.

Her stage work included a role in the musical comedy Viva O'Brien!, in which she played the character Senorita. The production, set in Miami, Florida and the Yucatán, Mexico, ran for twenty performances between October 9 and October 25, 1941, before closing following poor reviews. The database record for Clark lists this production among her Broadway credits for 1941, though the external biographical record characterizes it as an off-Broadway production.

Clark began her journalism career as a freelance writer, with work appearing in National Geographic magazine. Her 1960 article "La Jolla, a Gem of the California Coast" was later cited as a source in the registration of the La Jolla Post Office as a historic site. Her television career began when she appeared as a guest mediator on Meet the Press in 1954, during which she interviewed John F. Kennedy. She subsequently hosted two of her own programs: Deena Clark: A Moment With… on NBC and The Deena Clark Show on CBS. While at NBC, she also wrote a column called "Deena Clark's Social Sparks" for The Diplomat. Guests on Deena Clark: A Moment With… included Lady Bird Johnson, Judy Agnew, and Bob Hope, while The Deena Clark Show featured interviews with Attorney General William B. Saxbe, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, and White House Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Treasury Donald Regan.

Outside her professional work, Clark was noted for athletic achievements later in life. At age 58 she swam the Corinth Canal, a distance of nearly four miles between the Ionian and Aegean seas in southern Greece, becoming the first recorded woman to complete the feat. In 1977, at age 64, she swam the width of the Hellespont in 63 minutes. After retiring in the 1980s, Clark remained active in the Chevy Chase, Sulgrave, and National Press clubs, as well as the Philhellenes Society.