Warren Clarke Passes On

Warren Clarke, who played Dim in A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel on the TV show Dalziel and Pascoe, died on 12 November 2014 at age 67 after a brief illness.

Warren Clarke was born  Alan James Clarke on 26 April 1947 in Oldham, Lancashire. After leaving school at age 15 he started work as a copy boy at the Manchester Evening News.  He performed as an amateur at the Huddersfield Rep and the Liverpool Playhouse before taking up acting full time. It was at this time that he took "Warren Clarke" as a stage name.

Mr. Clarke made his television debut on ITV Play of the Week in 1966. In the  Sixties he went onto appear on television in such programmes as Pardon the Expression, The Avengers, Coronation Street, On the Rocks, and Callan. He made his film debut in an uncredited, bit part in The Virgin Soldiers (1969) and appeared in a role in The Breaking of Bumbo (1970).

In 1971 he appeared as Dim in Stanley Kubrick's controversial film A Clockwork Orange. In the Seventies he would appear in such films as Antony and Cleopatra (1972), O Lucky Man! (1973), The Great Riviera Bank Robbery (1979), Victims (1979), and Hawk the Slayer (1980). He had regular roles on the TV series Softly Softly: Task Force, Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill, Our Mutual Friend, and The Onedin Line. He appeared on such shows as Six Days of Justice, Armchair Theatre, The Sweeney,  Z Cars, and Hammer House of Horror.

In the Eighties Warren Clarke guest starred on such shows as Tales of the Unexpected, Crown Court, Bergerac, All Creatures Great and Small, and Black Adder the Third. He was a regular on the series Shelley, The Home Front, The Jewel in the Crown, Wish Me Luck, Nice Work, and The Manageress.
He appeared in the films From a Far Country (1981), Firefox (1982), Enigma (1983), Real Life (1984), Lassiter (1984), Top Secret! (1984), Ishtar (1987), and Crusoe (1988).

In the Nineties Mr. Clarke was a regular on the TV shows Sleepers, All Good Things, Gone to the Dogs, The Secret Agents, Gone to Seed, Conjugal Rites, The House of Windsor, Moving Story, and Down to Earth. It was in 1996 that he began his long run as Det. Supt. Andy Dalziel on Dalziel and Pascoe. He guest starred on Lovejoy and In the Red. He appeared in the film I.D. (1995).

 In the Naughts Warren Clarke continued to appear on Dalziel and Pascoe and Down to Earth. He also appeared in the mini-series Bleak House and the TV series The Invsibles. He guest starred on the shows Agatha Christie's Marple and Inspector Lewis. He appeared in the films Blow Dry (2001), Arthur's Dyke (2001), and The Man Who Married Himself (2010). 

In the Teens Mr. Clarke was a regular on the TV shows In with the Flynns and Chugginton. He guest starred on the shows Midsomer Murders, Inspector George Gently, Just William, Wild at Heart, and Call the Midwife. He starred in the series Poldark, set to air next year.

Warren Clarke was a very versatile actor. He appeared in a wide variety of films, everything from dystopic science fiction (A Clockwork Orange) to Shakespeare (Antony and Cleopatra) to low budget sword and sorcery (Hawk the Slayer). He also played a wide variety of roles over the years, from the overly camp "Sophie" Dixon in The Jewel in the Crown to the rather old fashioned and even downright sexist Dalziel in Dalziel and Pascoe. Regardless of the film or television show in which he was appearing or the role he was playing, Warren Clarke always gave a good performance. His was a great talent whose career was cut all too short.