Biography
Mark Clem's first acting experience came as a result of his three older sister's desire to perform. When he was five, the four siblings would often sing a Capella hymns for family and friends. Throughout his childhood, he and his sisters would sing with the TV, radio, and the family's sizeable collection of records and 8-track tapes.
His father, a former disc jockey, had a collection of 45 records, which Mark listened to and memorized, including hits from the Andrews Sisters, Stan Freeberg, the Mills Brothers and the Four Freshmen. Meanwhile, his sisters introduced him to more modern sounds, such as the Carpenters, the Bee Gees, Rush, Queen, and dozens of others, giving Mark a well-defined appreciation of music.
Mark's earliest comedic influences included Bill Cosby and Robin Williams. He watched "Mork and Mindy" religiously, and committed copious amounts of Cosby's comedy albums to memory, reciting them at dinner, school, church...anywhere it was inappropriate.
By his teens, Mark became a devotee of "Weird Al" Yankovic, again memorizing and performing every song from every album at every opportunity. Mark also began creating his own parodies, short stories and cartoons. He played percussion in Junior and Senior High School bands, and performed in plays, including the role of Snoopy in "You're a good man, Charlie Brown."
The family got their first Camcorder when Mark was 16, and he immediately set to shooting short films (usually horror), starring his long-suffering family and friends. He also took a typing class in high school, during which he honed his typing skills by writing endless short stories, poems, etc.
In college, Mark sang Bass in several choral groups, and performed in plays, such as "Animal Farm" (Benjamin), "South Pacific" (Stewpot) and the title role in "Tartuffe." He majored in Broadcasting, and was a DJ for the college radio station and newsreader for the campus TV station.
In his 20s, Mark did freelance voiceover work, performed in various choral and Barbershop harmony groups, worked as a DJ and in management for a number of radio stations in Indiana and Missouri, and did tech work at various TV stations in Indiana and Kentucky. He also attempted his first "real" film, an action-comedy about a meteor hitting the Earth. After weeks of shooting, the project fell apart. He did, however, complete a short film in 1997, which he submitted to the Indianapolis Film and Video Festival. As far as he knows, it is still being used by them as a doorstop.
By his 30s, Mark had more or less given up his dream of being in show business, and settled into a career in private security, a out a million miles from where he thought he'd be by this age. However, in 2008, following a series of personal tragedies, he decided to pack up and head West. Over the next 19 months, he worked mostly security jobs, but managed to find occasional work as an extra in some TV shows.
In 2009, Mark returned to Indiana, and had to find "real" work again. It was only through a text from his sister that he found out about auditions for a locally-produced independent film: "Green River Road," and the indie film scene in his area. Now fully entrenched and t-shirts by the showbiz bug, Mark continues to dip his fingers and toes into assorted projects--while working security.
