In Memoriam

Remembering DAYS’s John Clarke (ex-Mickey), Who Passed Away At 88

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John Clarke, who played DAYS’s Mickey Horton from the soap’s pilot episode in 1965 until his retirement in 2004, died on October 16 at the age of 88. The actor, who suffered a stroke in 2007 and has had declining health in the last few years, passed peacefully from complications of pneumonia. “It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of our dear friend and original cast member, John Clarke,” reads a statement from DAYS. “A beloved member of the Days of our Lives family, John will always hold a special place in our hearts and the hearts of our fans. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”

Clarke was born in South Bend, IN, on April 14, 1931, and frequently moved around as a child due to his father’s post in the Army. “I grew up with a father who was re-stationed about every year, so I was in a new school every year making new friends,” he recalled in the 1/27/98 issue of Digest. “Everyone said, ‘That must have been so bad,’ but in that situation, all the other kids were military brats, too, and they had the same problems. It was a great way to grow up. You had to work through situations that other kids didn’t have to bother with.”

After a stint at a school in Japan, Clarke returned to the States to get his master’s degree in acting and attended UCLA. “All during my master’s, I had an agent and did the nighttime episodic Westerns; I have quite a resumé of Westerns,” he said in the same interview. “I did THE FBI with Efrem Zimbalist. I did some films, then got a series called THE NEW BREED with Leslie Nielsen, who is one of my favorite actors. For a young guy with no heavy obligations to the world, this was a wonderful way to go.” Clarke had roles in some classic films, too. “I did a small part in [It’s A]