Anthony Clark, ‘Yes, Dear’ Star and Boston Comic, Dies at 62

The comedian became a familiar face on CBS television as Greg Warner, but long before his sitcom success he was selling out clubs in Boston. His former co-star Mike O’Malley said they spoke just three weeks before his death

Before television audiences knew him as Greg Warner on Yes, Dear, Anthony Clark had already made a name for himself in Boston’s demanding stand-up comedy scene, where he regularly sold out shows and developed a reputation as one of the city’s most distinctive performers. He died on November 10 at the age of 62, his former co-star and longtime friend Mike O’Malley announced the following day.

The news came with a particularly poignant detail: O’Malley had spoken to Clark by phone just three weeks before his death. They were still laughing together, just as they had throughout their years working on the CBS sitcom.

“He was so unique — one of those comics who is laughing along with you at the absurdity of his stories and observations, and it just made you laugh harder because he was laughing,” O’Malley wrote in a tribute shared on social media. “I was a fan before I was a friend.”

O’Malley also recalled how popular Clark had already become in Boston during the mid-1990s, when he and his future wife, Lisa, first watched him perform at the Comedy Connection. His sets were regularly sold out. The two actors later shared the screen for six seasons of Yes, Dear, which ended in 2006 after 122 episodes.

Clark had invested his earnings well and, according to O’Malley, had largely retired after the sitcom wrapped. “He invested his money well and essentially retired after we wrapped,” his former co-star wrote, adding a final message: “Rest in peace, Tony.”

The official cause and place of death have not been publicly disclosed. Deadline has reported that Clark died from complications related to pneumonia, although no official confirmation of the cause has been released by his family or representatives.

From Boston’s comedy clubs to network television

Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, on April 4, 1964, Clark graduated from Emerson College in Boston in 1986 with a degree in mass communications. His talent for comedy was already evident during his college years: he won the Top College Comedian Award presented by the American Collegiate Talent Showcase.

Stand-up remained the foundation of his career even as opportunities in television and film began to emerge. His first television appearance came in 1991, in the PBS production American Playhouse. That same year, he made his feature-film debut in Dogfight, playing a Marine named Oakie alongside River Phoenix.

He appeared again with Phoenix in The Thing Called Love (1993), a drama about aspiring country musicians that also starred Sandra Bullock. Other early credits included the television sitcom Ellen, in which he had a recurring role, and the 1996 action film The Rock, starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage.

His first major television opportunity came with NBC’s Boston Common, which ran for two seasons between 1996 and 1997. Clark played Boyd Pritchett, a young man who moves from Virginia to Boston to keep an eye on his sister after she enrolls in college. His plans take an unexpected turn when he begins working at the student union, setting the stage for the show’s comic situations.

He subsequently joined the cast of Soul Man, appearing from 1997 to 1998 alongside Dan Aykroyd.

The role that made him familiar to millions

Clark’s greatest television success arrived in 2000 with Yes, Dear. Across six seasons and 122 episodes, he played Greg Warner, a film-industry executive whose family life is disrupted when his sister-in-law Christine and her husband Jimmy, played by Liza Snyder and Mike O’Malley, move into the guest house with their children.

The sitcom revolved around the contrasting approaches to parenting adopted by the two couples. Clark starred opposite Jean Louisa Kelly, who played his wife, Kim, while O’Malley portrayed Jimmy, the brother-in-law whose presence provided much of the show’s comic friction.

The series became his defining television role, making him recognizable to audiences well beyond the stand-up circuit where his career had begun.

Comedy, however, was never simply a stepping stone to acting. In 1995, Clark appeared in HBO’s Young Comedians special, hosted by Garry Shandling and featuring performers including Dave Chappelle and Louis C.K. In 2006, the year Yes, Dear ended, he hosted the fourth season of NBC’s comedy competition Last Comic Standing, returning to the discipline that had first established his reputation.

His other credits included the films Say Uncle, My Uncle Rafael and several additional television appearances, including the German-American spy drama West of Liberty in 2019.

Tributes from fellow comedians

The announcement prompted tributes from friends and colleagues who remembered Clark not only for his television performances but also for his standing among comedians.

Nick Swardson, who described Clark as one of his closest friends, recalled years of performing together and opening for him. He remembered him as a performer whose ability to make people laugh was matched by the friendship they shared away from the stage.

Dane Cook also paid tribute, recalling their early days in Boston and describing Clark as one of the best live performers he had ever seen. Cook said watching him perform so effortlessly could make another comedian question his own abilities.

His longtime manager, Barry Katz, also remembered him as an exceptional performer. In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, Katz described Clark as “one of the funniest and most talented comedians and actors I have ever had the pleasure of watching.”

He added that the joy, happiness and affection Clark brought to the people around him would be deeply missed by colleagues and audiences alike.

Although his television work eventually made him a familiar face across the country, Clark’s reputation had been built in comedy clubs, in front of audiences who knew him first as a stand-up performer. For O’Malley, that was the quality that continued to define him long after their years on Yes, Dear: a comedian who could make other people laugh simply by laughing at his own stories.

(Photo: © AndKronos)