Paul Johnston McCullough (March , â€" March , ) was an American actor
and comedian who was one half of the comedy duo Clark and McCullough,
along with fellow comedian Bobby Clark.Born in Springfield, Ohio,
McCullough met his future partner Bobby Clark in elementary school.
The two became friends and attended tumbling classes at a local YMCA
together. Their childhood friendship grew into an adult partnership
when they decided to pursue a career as a comedic duo. Billing
themselves as "Clark and McCullough", they began their career
performing in minstrel shows in the early s. From to , the pair
performed in circuses before entering vaudeville in . Due to the White
Rats strike of , Clark and McCullough were forced to enter into the
burlesque circuit to continue working. During their time in burlesque,
the duo would create some of their most well known sketches.In their
act, Clark was the dominant, motor-mouthed jokester while McCullough
was the quieter straight man. In , the team achieved mainstream
stardom in Irving Berlin's Broadway show Music Box Revue. They went on
to appear in the Broadway hit The Ramblers, which was filmed as the
musical comedy The Cuckoos (), a vehicle for Wheeler & Woolsey. In
mid-, Clark and McCullough moved to Hollywood where they signed with
Fox Films Corporation for a reported $, a week. The studio hoped the
duo's stage popularity would transition to films and set about casting
them in a series of two-reel comedy shorts known as The Clark &
McCullough Comedies. In many of their films, McCullough's input was
severely limited to a supporting role as Clark's antics generated the
bulk of the humor. Their occupations in the films usually dictated
what Clark's character name was: when photographers, such as in Alibi
Bye Bye, Clark was named "Flash"; when chefs, Clark was "Cook"; when
lawyers, Clark was "Blackstone", etc. According to the July issue of
Picture Play magazine, the shorts were poorly received by critics and
audiences alike. Around the Fox studio lot, the duo's film series were
mockingly referred to as The Clark and McCullough Tragedies. After
filming fourteen shorts, Fox dropped Clark and McCullough in early .
and comedian who was one half of the comedy duo Clark and McCullough,
along with fellow comedian Bobby Clark.Born in Springfield, Ohio,
McCullough met his future partner Bobby Clark in elementary school.
The two became friends and attended tumbling classes at a local YMCA
together. Their childhood friendship grew into an adult partnership
when they decided to pursue a career as a comedic duo. Billing
themselves as "Clark and McCullough", they began their career
performing in minstrel shows in the early s. From to , the pair
performed in circuses before entering vaudeville in . Due to the White
Rats strike of , Clark and McCullough were forced to enter into the
burlesque circuit to continue working. During their time in burlesque,
the duo would create some of their most well known sketches.In their
act, Clark was the dominant, motor-mouthed jokester while McCullough
was the quieter straight man. In , the team achieved mainstream
stardom in Irving Berlin's Broadway show Music Box Revue. They went on
to appear in the Broadway hit The Ramblers, which was filmed as the
musical comedy The Cuckoos (), a vehicle for Wheeler & Woolsey. In
mid-, Clark and McCullough moved to Hollywood where they signed with
Fox Films Corporation for a reported $, a week. The studio hoped the
duo's stage popularity would transition to films and set about casting
them in a series of two-reel comedy shorts known as The Clark &
McCullough Comedies. In many of their films, McCullough's input was
severely limited to a supporting role as Clark's antics generated the
bulk of the humor. Their occupations in the films usually dictated
what Clark's character name was: when photographers, such as in Alibi
Bye Bye, Clark was named "Flash"; when chefs, Clark was "Cook"; when
lawyers, Clark was "Blackstone", etc. According to the July issue of
Picture Play magazine, the shorts were poorly received by critics and
audiences alike. Around the Fox studio lot, the duo's film series were
mockingly referred to as The Clark and McCullough Tragedies. After
filming fourteen shorts, Fox dropped Clark and McCullough in early .
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