Susan Clark: Movies & Box Office

Susan Clark (born Nora Golding) entered the world on March 8, 1943 in the port city of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, and was raised in nearby Toronto where she attended Northern Secondary School. At only fifteen she stepped onto the professional stage in the musical Silk Stockings, sharing the bill with Don Ameche, an experience that sparked a lifelong passion for performance. Determined to hone her craft, she earned a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where she studied classical technique and soon after appeared in the West End production Poor Bitos, winning commendation from critics. While living in England she made guest appearances on British television series such as The Plane Makers, The Sentimental Agent and The Benny Hill Show, building a transatlantic résumé that would soon draw the attention of Hollywood studios. Returning to Canada in 1965, Clark was recruited by Universal Pictures and made her big‑screen debut in the 1967 drama Banning. The following year she secured the female lead in Co‑ogan's Bluff opposite Clint Eastwood, establishing her as a rising star. Over the next decade she delivered memorable performances in a string of popular films, including the Western Valdez Is Coming with Burt Lancaster, the comedy‑adventure The Apple Dumpling Gang with Bill Bixby, the disaster thriller Airport 1975, and the cult classic Porky's, where she famously portrayed Cherry Forever. Television also proved a fertile arena: her portrayal of sports legend Babe Didrikson Zaharias in the 1975 TV movie Babe earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress, and a year later her turn as Amelia Earhart garnered a second Emmy nomination. From 1983 to 1989 she co‑starred with husband Alex Karras as Katherine Papadopolis on the hit sitcom Webster, a role that brought a Golden Globe nomination in 1985. After a distinguished career that spanned more than four decades, Clark returned to the stage in the mid‑2000s, appearing in productions such as The Retreat from Moscow and The Importance of Being Earnest before retiring from acting in 2007. She and Karras remained married until his death in 2012, and their only child, daughter Katie, was born in 1980.