Anthony Clark, Comedian and ‘Yes, Dear’ Actor, Dies at 62

Anthony Clark, the stand-up comedian and actor who starred in the sitcoms Yes, Dear and Boston Common, died on Tuesday at the age of 62.

Clark is best known for starring as Gregory Warner in the CBS comedy Yes, Dear, which ran for six seasons between 2000 and 2006. Created by Greg Garcia and Alan Kirschenbaum, the show followed two couples living under the same roof and featured Clark across all 122 episodes of the series alongside Jean Louisa Kelly, Liza Snyder, and Mike O’Malley.

The cast also included Billy Gardell and Joel Homan, while the program featured guest performances from Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence, and Jerry Van Dyke.

Before anchoring the CBS show, Clark led the NBC comedy Boston Common, playing Boyd Pritchett across all 32 episodes of the series from 1996 to 1997. The series followed Boyd moving from Virginia to Boston to keep tabs on his sister, landing a job at the student union where he frequently stirred up trouble.

His small-screen credits also included starring as Rev. Todd Tucker opposite Dan Aykroyd’s Rev. Mike Weber in ABC’s Soul Man, which ran for two seasons from 1997 to 1998.

He made recurring appearances on Ellen DeGeneres’ sitcom Ellen between 2004 and 2005, voiced a role in the animated comedy Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist in 1995, hosted the fourth season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing in 2006, and made a guest appearance in a 2019 episode of the German and Swedish series West of Liberty.

Born on April 4, 1964, in Lynchburg, Virginia, Clark grew up raised by parents who worked as a factory worker and a general store owner. He launched his entertainment career as a stand-up comedian while attending Emerson College in Boston, where he earned a mass communication degree in 1986 and won the Top College Comedian Award from the American Collegiate Talent Showcase.

Clark transitioned into feature films in the early 1990s, making his debut as a marine named Oakie in the 1991 drama Dogfight, starring River Phoenix. He reunited with Phoenix in the 1993 drama The Thing Called Love, which also starred Sandra Bullock.

Mike O’Malley posted a tribute recalling his early days watching Clark perform in Boston.

He was so unique—one of those comics who is laughing along with you at the absurdity of his stories and observations. I was a fan before I was a friend. We spoke on the phone three weeks ago. He had us laughing loudly as he always did.

Mike O’Malley

Executive producer Greg Garcia also remembered Clark’s humor.

I’ve been very lucky to be friends with some of the funniest people in the world, and Anthony Clark had the most insane sense of humor of all of them. The things that would come out of his mouth were so unexpected and hilarious.

Greg Garcia, Yes, Dear executive producer

Talent manager Barry Katz described Clark as “one of the funniest and most talented comedian/actors I have ever had the pleasure of watching” in a statement provided to TVLine.

Other comedy figures added their respects, with Dane Cook saying he performed with Clark during their early years at the Faneuil Hall Comedy Connection. Nick Swardson, who opened for Clark’s stand-up shows for years, also posted a tribute on Instagram remembering him as one of his best friends and a source of non-stop laughs.