Anthony Clark, star of CBS sitcom Yes, Dear, dies at 62

Anthony Clark, the stand-up comedian who played Greg Warner across 122 episodes of the CBS sitcom "Yes, Dear," died on November 10 at 62, two decades after he largely stepped away from Hollywood.

The death was announced on November 11 by Clark's "Yes, Dear" co-star Mike O'Malley, who wrote on X and on Instagram that Clark had died the previous day. O'Malley called him "a hilarious guy." Clark's longtime manager, Barry Katz, confirmed the death to TVLine.

Deadline reported that Clark was understood to have died from complications related to pneumonia. Neither Katz nor O'Malley gave a cause, and his family has not made a statement.

Six seasons, 122 episodes

"Yes, Dear" debuted on CBS in 2000 and was created and executive produced by Greg Garcia and Alan Kirschenbaum, Deadline reported. The comedy followed two couples with opposing ideas about parenting who shared one property. Clark and Jean Louisa Kelly played married parents Greg and Kim; Liza Snyder played Kim's sister Christine, and O'Malley played Christine's husband Jimmy, who moved into the guest house, according to TVLine.

The show was never a critical favorite. Variety, in a 2005 article headlined "Another year for 'Yes, Dear'?", called the series the "little-comedy-that-could" and said it was "making a strong play for another season" after "cheating death last year." When it debuted in 2000 it had been expected to fail because of poor reviews, extratv reported.

The cast also included Billy Gardell and Joel Homan, Variety reported. The sitcom was a steady performer for CBS and signed off in 2006 after six seasons, according to TVLine.

From Emerson College to HBO

Clark was born on April 4, 1964, in Lynchburg, Virginia, and earned a mass communication degree from Emerson College in 1986, the year he won the Top College Comedian Award from the American Collegiate Talent Showcase. He got his start in Boston's comedy clubs and became one of the city's most beloved comics of his generation, extratv reported.

By the mid-1990s, Clark was selling out comedy shows in Boston, O'Malley wrote in his tribute. He recalled seeing Clark perform at The Comedy Connection while he and his wife, Lisa, were dating, and described him as "so unique," one of those comics "who is laughing along with you at the absurdity of his stories and observations."

HBO featured Clark in its 1995 Young Comedians special, hosted by Garry Shandling, on a bill that also included Dave Chappelle, Dave Attell and Louis C.K.

Clark told The Comic's Comic in 2006 that he valued stand-up for its directness. "I love stand-up because the reaction is immediate. There's no director. There's no writer. No producer. There's just you. You just get out there and vent," he said. In the same interview he said he did not know why people thought he was funny, but that he was glad they did and did not want a real job.

From Dogfight to The Rock

Clark made his film debut in 1991 in "Dogfight," opposite River Phoenix, and worked with Phoenix again in Peter Bogdanovich's "The Thing Called Love," released in 1993, extratv reported. He played Billy in that film alongside Samantha Mathis, Dermot Mulroney and Sandra Bullock, according to Deadline. His 1991 screen debut had come on "American Playhouse," and four guest spots on "Ellen" followed between 1995 and 1996.

Clark played a flamboyant barber who cuts Sean Connery's hair in Michael Bay's "The Rock," the 1996 action thriller that also starred Nicolas Cage.

Clark's first lead came in 1996 on the NBC comedy "Boston Common," in which he played Boyd Pritchett, a Virginian who drives his sister to college in Boston and stays. The show was a Top 10 hit in its first year, extratv reported, and died quickly in its second season after being rescheduled to Sunday nights, ending in 1997 after two seasons.

He was a regular on "Soul Man," the sitcom starring Dan Aykroyd, which ran from 1997 to 1998. In 2006, the year "Yes, Dear" ended, Clark hosted the fourth season of NBC's stand-up competition "Last Comic Standing." He was replaced by Bill Bellamy in the fifth season, and his other television credits included "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist," TVLine reported.

Clark worked rarely after the sitcom ended. He appeared in the films "Grad Night" in 2006 and "My Uncle Rafael" in 2012, and guested on the series "West of Liberty" in 2019, extratv reported. Earlier film credits included "Killing Cinderella" in 2000, "Paid in Full" in 2002 and "Say Uncle" in 2005.

What has not been disclosed

It was not immediately known where Clark died, and no information has been released on survivors.

Tributes from the comedy world

O'Malley wrote that he had been a fan of Clark's before the two became friends: "I was a fan before I was a friend." The pair spoke by telephone three weeks before Clark's death, and O'Malley wrote that Clark had them laughing loudly again.

Katz called Clark "one of the funniest and most talented comedian/actors I have ever had the pleasure of watching" in his statement to TVLine. He said Clark would be missed "for the joy, happiness, and love he brought to everyone he worked with and the audiences that were blessed to see his undeniable performances."

Dane Cook wrote on Instagram that he had performed with Clark during their early years in Boston at the Faneuil Hall Comedy Connection and called him "one of the best live acts I've ever seen," extratv reported. The comedian Jay Mohr wrote on Instagram that no one destroyed a crowd at Stitches in Boston the way Clark did.

The comedian Nick Swardson recalled opening for Clark at stand-up shows early in his career.

Monthly calls with Greg Garcia

Garcia told Deadline that he and Clark had reconnected over the past two or three years and spoke by phone every month to catch up and make each other laugh. Clark was full of joy and encouragement when he learned Garcia was trying stand-up for the first time, Garcia said, and liked to talk about the craft and about life on the road.

The two spoke a few weeks before Clark's death, trading jokes and telling stories, Garcia said. He called it a sad day and said he would miss him. O'Malley wrote that Clark had invested his money well and essentially retired after "Yes, Dear" wrapped. He posted snapshots from the last episode of a show that ended twenty years ago.

I've been very lucky to be friends with some of the funniest people in the world, and Anthony Clark had the most insane sense of humor of all of them.

Katz told Deadline that Clark had been buying and selling real estate after pulling away from Hollywood. In 2012 he produced a stand-up special called "Ambiguous," billed as a return to the stage after eight years away, extratv reported. Katz said it had been an honor to represent him.