Veteran Actor Matt Clark Dies at 89

Veteran character actor Matt Clark, best known for his role as the Old West bartender Chester in the 1990 film Back to the Future Part III, died on Sunday at his home in Austin, Texas. He was 89.

Clark's death followed complications from back surgery after he broke his back several months earlier, his daughter, producer Amiee Clark, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. His wife, Sharon Mays, whom he married in 2000, also verified the details to Variety. The actor, who built a career spanning more than five decades with over 150 credits in film and television, passed away peacefully at home, family members said.

Born on November 25, 1936, in Washington, D.C., and raised in Arlington, Virginia, Clark served two years in the U.S. Army before studying business administration at George Washington University. He soon dropped out to pursue acting, joining a theater group in the city and later moving to New York, where he trained at the HB Studio under Herbert Berghof and William Hickey. He understudied Martin Sheen in the 1964 Broadway production of The Subject Was Roses, beginning a lifelong friendship. Clark made his film debut in 1964's Black Like Me and gained notice in 1967's In...