Tragic Back to the Future star Matt Clark reunited with his castmate Michael J. Fox just last year, only months before he died. According to TMZ, Clark appeared at the Back To The Future reunion at the Dallas Fan Expo last year to celebrate the film's 40th anniversary, and caught up with Fox, who is ill with Parkinson's disease, backstage. He was best known for playing the role of Chester the bartender in the Wild West version of Hill Valley set in 1885.
He died on Sunday, March 15, in Austin, Texas, after breaking his back a few months ago, his producer daughter Amiee Clark confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. His family issued a tribute, saying: "He built his own house with his own hands. He kept his closest friendships for sixty years. He showed up for the work and for his people every time. He was complex. He was tough. He could be gruff. But the moral compass never wavered, and the love was never in doubt. You could see it — in his eyes, in his performances, in the family he loved to keep together. He lived. He lives, forever."
Clark worked in a huge number of Western classics throughout his decades-long career, saying in 1991: "I just loved ’em! Just like you always wanted to do as a little kid, you put on chaps and boots and tie on spurs that jingle when you walk."
Some of his best known films include starring alongside Robert Redford in Sydney Pollack’s Jeremiah Johnson (1972) and Brubaker in 1980. He portrayed Purcell, the former warden’s clerk, in the latter, which would become one of his best known roles. He also appeared opposite Eastwood in Don Siegel’s The Beguiled in 1971, and Honkytonk Man in 1982.
Hacks director Gary Rosen paid tribute, saying in a statement: "He was the kind of actor that defined Hollywood filmmaking in its greatest era, the utterly unique character player who made every scene he appeared in memorable, often stealing them from stars like Rod Steiger, Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood and John Wayne.
"His roles in In the Heat of the Night, Jeremiah Johnson, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Cowboys, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, among many others, helped to elevate those films to classic status. He leaves the stage, but his performances will be remembered forever."
In addition to his daughter Amiee, he is also survived by his third wife, Sharon, whom he married in January 2000; his sons, Matthias Clark (a musician), Jason Clark (a producer on the Peacock series Ted) and Seth Clark (a film editor); grandchildren Sequoia, Dylan, Elizabeth, Miles, Emily, Izzy, Dax, Emanuel and Lucas; great-grandson Claude; and stepchildren Michelle, Joyce and Ray. He was preceded in death by another daughter, Alexandria.
