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Clark Santee was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1940 and studied theater at the University of Oregon. After two years in U. S. Army Television at Ft. Monmouth. NJ, he embarked on a career as a producer and director of performing arts programs for television and video. His productions have run the gamut of musical expression, from symphony, opera and ballet to rock, folk and jazz.
Shortly after PBS was founded in 1968, Santee enjoyed quick success with such public television programs as The Show, Austin City Limits and In Performance at Wolftrap. In symphonic music he televised the performances of numerous orchestras including The National Symphony, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Minnesota Orchestra and The Nashville Symphony. He also directed Leonard Bernstein's landmark music education series The Unanswered Question and Aaron Copland's opera, The Tender land, with the composer himself conducting. Also at this time Santee was active in PBS children's programing, working with Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, Zoom and later, Barney.
Once the cable industry arrived in the 1980s it became the destination for a number of Santee's directorial efforts including MTV's music history series Rock Influences, Lou Reed at the Bottom Line and Frank Zappa's legendary Halloween Concert at the New York Palladium. At CBS he directed The Song Writers, a mini-series on the work of Broadway composers, and for NBC directed Kenny Rogers Classic Weekend special. His PBS work continued with The Great Performances' A Beatles Songbook concert, and in home video he directed the archival Jazz at the Smithsonian series. He also was responsible for the television portions of Martin Scorsese's feature film, The King of Comedy. Among Santee's special projects were America's Jr. Miss Pageant, Farm Aid, and both the Dove Awards and the W. C. Handy Blues Awards. During this time he also help create Graffiti Rock, the first television program devoted to the hip-hop phenomenon.
Tributes Santee directed for television in the 1990s include Lincoln Center Tribute to Leonard Bernstein, A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Company's Coming, a tribute to Porter Wagoner's 50 years at the Grand Old Opry. Internationally Santee directed Sting's Nothing Like the Sun concert from Buenos Aires, and ONE: The World Trade Spectacular from Singapore with an international cast headed by Sara Brightman.
As part of the Nashville music scene Santee became involved in a number of country music productions including the BBC's Country Night at the Ryman with Ricky Scaggs, Live from the Wildhorse Saloon and recently won an Emmy producing & directing the annual PBS holiday special, Christmas at Belmont. Santee has also been active in the production of biographies, Including My Life, My Music chronicling the accomplishments of Metropolitan Opera star, Kallen Esperian and "How Bad Do You Want It?," a look at the life of World Water Speed Record holder, Ken Warby.
Over the years there are few in television and video who have directed a broader range of musical artists. Beginning with Bill Haley and his Comets, James Taylor and Grand Funk Railroad, then continuing with legends such as Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Dion Warwick, Lionel Hampton, Beverly Sills, and B. B. King, and finally working with contemporaries Wynton Marsallis, Bonny Raitt, Vince Gill, Whitney Houston, Yo Yo Ma the over-all list stands as a "who's who" of contemporary musical entertainment.
After a 40 year career in Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Los Angeles and Nashville, Santee is now semi-retired back in his home town of Portland.
