Matt Clark obit

'Back to the Future' ActorMatt Clark Dead

 He was not on the list.

Matt Clark -- whose acting career spanned decades in film and TV working alongside some of Hollywood's biggest stars -- has died.

His family tells TMZ ... Clark -- arguably best known for his bartender role in "Back to the Future: Part III" and the TV sitcom "Grace Under Fire" -- died in his Austin, Texas home Sunday morning from complications after back surgery.

Clark appeared in several Westerns on the big and small screens alongside the likes of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne ... and he appeared in the '80s cult classic "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension."

He also appeared on the series "Grace Under Fire" ... along with classic shows including "Bonanza," Kung Fu," and "Dynasty."

His family tells us ... Clark was an "actor's actor" who loved and respected the job, but was not concerned with stars and fame. He was impressed when working with good people who loved their families. He felt "lucky" about his career ... and "he died the way he lived, on his terms."

He was 89.

After working at various jobs, he joined a local D.C. theatre group. He later became a member of New York's Living Theatre company and worked off-Broadway and in community theatre in the late 1950s.

Clark directed the 1988 film Da, as well as one episode from the television series CBS Schoolbreak Special and two episodes from the television series Midnight Caller. He also wrote the story for the 1970 film Homer.

Clark died on March 15, 2026 at his home in Austin, Texas from complications of spinal surgery at the age of 89.

 

Filmography

Film

Year     Title     Role     Notes

1964    Black Like Me            Mugger in Alley         

1967    In the Heat of the Night          Packy Harrison           

Will Penny      Romulus Quint           

1969    The Bridge at Remagen          Corporal Jellicoe        

1970    Macho Callahan          Jailer   

Monte Walsh   Rufus Brady   

1971    The Beguiled   Scrogins         

The Grissom Gang      Joe Bailey       

1972    The Cowboys  Smiley

Pocket Money American Prisoner     

The Culpepper Cattle Co.       Pete    

The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid           Bob Younger  

Jeremiah Johnson        Qualen

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean         Nick the Grub

1973    Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid  J.W. Bell         

Emperor of the North Pole      Yardlet

White Lightning          Dude Watson  

The Laughing Policeman        Coroner          

1974    The Terminal Man      Gerhard          

1975    Hearts of the West       Jackson           

1976    The Outlaw Josey Wales         Kelly  

1977    Vengeance       Grover

Outlaw Blues  Billy Bob       

1978    The Driver       Red Plainclothesman  

1979    Dreamer          Spider 

1980    Brubaker         Roy Purcell    

Ruckus            Cece   

1981    The Legend of the Lone Ranger         Sheriff Wiatt   

An Eye for an Eye      Tom McCoy   

1982    Some Kind of Hero     Mickey           

Honkytonk Man          Virgil  

1983    Love Letters    Chuck 

1984    The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension       Secretary of Defense  

Country           Tom McMullen          

1985    Tuff Turf          Stuart Hiller    

Return to Oz   Uncle Henry   

1986    Let's Get Harry           Walt Clayton  

1989    House III: The Horror Show  Dr. Tower       

1990    Back to the Future Part III      Chester the Bartender

Cadence          Bean Sr.          

1991    Class Action    Judge Symes  

A Seduction in Travis County Dobbs 

1992    Frozen Assets  J. F. Hughes   

1993    The Harvest     Hank  

1995    Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh       Honore Thibideaux    

Mother Ben Wilson     

1997    Hacks  Bus Driver      

1998    Homegrown    Sheriff Stanley Kroopf           

Claudine's Return        Pauline           

1999    Five Aces        Phillip 

A Stranger in the Kingdom     Judge Forest Allen     

2000    South of Heaven, West of Hell           Burl Dunfries 

2004    Killer Diller     Barge Captain

2007    Rocking the Boat: A Musical Conversation and Journey       —N/a  Documentary

2010    The Way          Father Frank   

2013    42        Luther 

2014    A Million Ways to Die in the West     Old Prospector           

Television

Year     Title     Role     Notes

1966    Ben Casey       Patient Episode: "Where Did All the Roses Go?"

1966    Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre        Paco Perez       Episode: "One Embezzlement and Two Margaritas"

1967    T.H.E. Cat       Killer   Episode: "The Blood-Red Night"

Dundee and the Culhane         Smith   2 episodes

The Rat Patrol Corporal Meekin         Episode: "The Kingdom Come Raid"

Death Valley Days      Montana Joe    Episode: "Lost Sheep in Trinidad"

1969    N.Y.P.D.          Eddie Anders  Episode: "Face on the Dart Board"

Bonanza          Fantan Episode: "The Witness"

1969, 1970      The Name of the Game           Harris / Frankie           2 episodes

1973    The Waltons    Mr. Hennessey            Episode: "The Fawn"

Kung Fu          Niebo  Episode: "The Elixir"

1974    The Rookies    Joey Hughes    Episode: "The Late Mr. Brent"

The Execution of Private Slovik         Dunn   Television film

Melvin Purvis: G-Man            Charles Parlmetter

The Great Ice Rip-Off Georgie

This Is the West That Was      Buffalo Bill Cody

1975    The Kansas City Massacre      Vernon Miller

1975–1979      Little House on the Prairie      Seth Berwick / Eric Boulton   3 episodes

1977    Dog and Cat    Lieutenant Arthur Kipling       6 episodes

1978    Lacy and the Mississippi Queen         Reynolds         Television film

Lucan  Jake Jones       Episode: "Thunder God Gold"

1979    The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang      George Newcomb       Television film

1981    The Children Nobody Wanted            Bill Westbrook

1981, 1982      Dynasty           Frank Dean     2 episodes

1982    In the Custody of Strangers    Mike Raines    Television film

1983    Highway Honeys        Wolfe Crawley

The Winds of War       Hansen            Episode: "Into the Maelstrom"

ABC Afterschool Special        Phil Cranston  Episode: "Andrea's Story: A Hitchhiking Tragedy"

1985    Magnum, P.I.   Jack Damon    Episode: "A Pretty Good Dancing Chicken"

1985    Love, Mary     Fennie Groda  Television film

Out of the Darkness    John Hubbard

Hardcastle and McCormick    Sheriff Dale Cutler      Episode: "The Career Breaker"

1987    The Quick and the Dead         Doc Shabitt     Television film

CBS Summer Playhouse         Matt     Episode: "Travelin' Man"

The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues           Sergeant Grinder         Television film

1988    War and Remembrance           Chief Clark (Northampton)     Episode: "Part V"

CBS Schoolbreak Special       Pawnshop Clerk          Episode: "Gambler"

1989    Terror on Highway 91 Jim Warren      Television film

Midnight Caller           Pete Holden    Episode: "Bank Job"

Blind Witness  Lieutenant Schapper   Television film

1993    Dead Before Dawn     John DeSilva

Barbarians at the Gate Edward A. Horrigan Jr.

1993–1995      Grace Under Fire        Emmet Kelly   4 episodes

1994    Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman      Homeless Man            Episode: "All Shook Up"

1995    A Season of Hope       Wallace Porter Television film

Screen Two     Doug Kinross  Episode: "Crazy for a Kiss"

She Stood Alone: The Tailhook Scandal        Paula Coughlin           Television film

Lonesome Dove: The Series   Reverend Bantry         Episode: "The Bride"

1995–1996      The Jeff Foxworthy Show      Walt Bacon     12 episodes

1996    Raven Hawk   Ed Hudson      Television film

Trilogy of Terror II      Roger Ansford

1996, 2001      Walker, Texas Ranger Cooper's Friend / Hank Cotton           3 episodes

1997    The Visitor      Monroe            Episode: "The Devil's Rainbow"

Touched by an Angel  Markus Cavanaugh     Episode: "Venice"

1998    The Pretender  Lyle Bowman  Episode: "Crash"

The Practice    Jesse Manning Episode: "Body Count"

2000    Chicago Hope Clarence Gates            Episode: "Everybody's Special at Chicago Hope"