[20] Reviewing Clifford's performance on April 16, 1923 at the Palace Theatre in New York, Billboard deemed it "as fine a characterization of an old rube detective as may be boasted of either on the vaudeville or the legitimate stage.

"[32] In December 1923, reviewing his latest vaudeville routine, "Camera Eye Carter," at the Orpheum in Champaign, Illinois, Daily Illini critic Rudolph Kagey ranked Clifford, "without doubt, as one of the best solo comedians that has appeared on the Orph stage this year.

"[33] For much of 1925, Clifford's sketch, alternately titled "The Idle Hour" and "Moving Picture Shows Twenty Years Ago," a well-received parodic recreation of cinema's early days, was presented as part of Fanchon and Marco's latest "Idea" (as the sister-and-brother team referred to each of its revues).

[34][35][36][37][38] Returning to the legitimate stage in 1926, Clifford appeared in Garrett Chatfield Pier's The Jeweled Tree, a lavishly produced but poorly received period piece that closed after 37 performances.

"[42] The Clifford/Tryon onscreen pairing/rivalry was reprised—with Clifford now cast as Tryon's "Grandpa"—in the 1926 two-reeler 45 Minutes from Hollywood,[43] a film now best known as one of the rare instances of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy appearing in the same film—albeit independently—prior to the team's official debut in 1927.

[48] He also has a significant role as the dog catcher in the 1931 Academy Award-nominated film Skippy,[49] and plays the sheriff in the 1945 Three Stooges western farce, Rockin' in the Rockies.

[58] More than one author has suggested that Clifford's "sheriff"–as heard on radio and/or witnessed in vaudeville reviews–served at least in part as the original inspiration for Warner Brothers' cartoon protagonist, Foghorn Leghorn.

[59] Voice actor Mel Blanc, speaking with radio historian Ben Ohmart, recalled: When I created Foghorn, I remembered something that had happened as a kid.

[60]In April 1950, near the end of his prolific but low-profile onscreen career, Clifford—assisted by his then wife, Virginia Meldrum—made a bid to recapture his stage success, performing at the Orpheum in Los Angeles.

"[62] On September 17, 1953, Clifford and several other veterans of vaudeville and silent film were featured on an episode of the weekly TV series, Before Your Eyes, broadcast on KTTV in Los Angeles.