Frank Clarke (pilot)

Clarke was positioned on the top wing of a Curtiss "Jenny" and after two misses, was able to catch the landing gear of the aircraft flown by fellow aviator Al Wilson.

[3] In his biography of pilot Paul Mantz, aviation author Don Dwiggins observed that the "Undisputed king of the Hollywood stunt pilots when Mantz arrived was Frank Clarke, a tall, handsome, part-Indian ex-cowboy who melted the hearts of women and froze the hearts of men.

In a lengthy career, he was able to not only fly and "double" for other actors such as James Cagney, but also operate camera aircraft and act as a cinematographer.

"In addition, Clarke insisted on writing his own scripts, calling for such suicidal stunts as landing on top of a speeding passenger train.

"[6] Clarke's first film piloting job listed by IMDb is in The Cloud Rider, in 1925, but the Los Angeles Times published details of Clark (he added the last 'e' later) flying a Curtiss JN-4D "Jenny" on December 14, 1920, "accidentally" off the roof of the incomplete 10-story Railway Building in downtown Los Angeles.

[8] His last was an uncredited appearance in RKO's Walk Softly, Stranger, filming of which was completed in June 1948 but which was not released by studio head Howard Hughes until 1950.

"[9] The San Bernardino Daily Sun reported on June 14, 1948, that sheriff's deputies "investigated the crash of a converted Army training plane in which two Hollywood movie studio workers were killed.