In 1960, actor Don Murray came to St. Louis to film the movie The Hoodlum Priest on Father Clark's effort to create Dismas House.
In 1919 he entered the Jesuits (the Society of Jesus) at St. Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1932.
During World War II, Father Clark served as an Army chaplain at Camp Bowie, Texas.
He made more visits to City Jail and discovered more mistreatment of prisoners and injustices in the court system.
With the help of prominent St. Louis criminal defense lawyer Morris Shenker, Clark created Dismas House.
In the weeks before his death, he had worked hard in a futile fight to save a young man from Missouri's gas chamber.
[4] Also appearing, on Father's Day, June 20, 1965,[5] were Count Basie and his orchestra, and a young Quincy Jones, as the conductor of the Frank Sinatra musical portion of the show, Kaye Stevens, and Trini Lopez.
A tape of the show was rediscovered, screened at the Museum of Television and Radio from 11 April 1997, and later broadcast on Nick at Nite and TV LAND.