Bill Clark

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Walter Clark

Promotion to Major (General Barker, Bill Clark, Walter Clark, Sr.)
Born Walter W. Clark, Jr.
May 20, 1944 (1944-05-20) (age 64)
St.John's, Newfoundland, Canada
Residence Los Angeles, California and Saratoga Springs, New York
Other names Bill Clark
Occupation Writer, Executive Producer, retired NYPD Detective
Spouse Karen Clark
Children Three

Walter "Bill" Clark (b. 1944) is a former New York Police Department first grade detective and an award-winning television writer and producer.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Walter "Bill" Clark was born May 20, 1944 in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York, in an area now known as Park Slope. He is a veteran NYPD Detective First Grade and television Writer and Executive Producer. Clark joined David Milch and Steven Bochco's NYPD Blue in the first season as technical consultant and continued to draw on his twenty-five years experience with New York undercover and homicide units to ensure that the series accurately and realistically portrayed the work of New York City detectives. He went on to win two Emmy Awards, Clark was also honored with a Writers Guild of America Award, a Peabody Award and two Humanitas Prize.[1]

[edit] Family

He is the father of two daughters, Natalie and Jennifer, and a stepdaughter Kristine. Clark and his wife Karen Clark, a former Lieutenant whom he met while working as a detective, live in both Saratoga Springs, New York and Los Angeles, California.

[edit] Education

While on the NYPD, Clark attended the New York Institute of Technology on the G.I. Bill, graduating with a B.A. in Criminal Justice.

[edit] Military

At age 17, Clark joined the United States Army, with tours of duty in Europe and Vietnam as a member of the 25th Infantry Division. While in the NYPD he joined the Army Reserve, entering at the rank of Staff Sergeant and retiring in 1989 as a major.

[edit] Television Credits

He has had featured acting roles on LA Law, John From Cincinnati, Fallen and NYPD Blue.

Clark appeared on the Charlie Rose Show in 1995 along with David Milch.

Activision consulted with Clark on their 2005 release True Crime: New York City.

[edit] N.Y.P.D.

Walter Bill Clark

Promotion to First Grade Detective N.Y.P.D. with Ray Kelly

Clark joined the New York City Police Department in 1969. He worked a special undercover assignment for two years before entering the Police Academy. In 1972 he earned his gold detective shield. On December 31, 1994, Clark retired from the Queens Homicide Detective Squad as a First Grade Detective.

One of Clark's specialties on the force was interrogation. This is a critical aspect of police work, getting suspects to tell you the truth. He developed an expertise in this area over time and was able to become a very effective interrogator, which allowed him to extract the truth from many suspects.

Clark worked on a number of headline cases ranging from the Son of Sam[2] to crackdowns against the Gambino crime family.[3]

[edit] Undercover

His first assignment -- even before he attended the Police Academy -- was to infiltrate the Young Patriots Organization, an organization of white radicals who, he soon discovered, were planning to bomb several New York City landmarks.[4]

[edit] Son of Sam

"Diligent police work can lead to tremendous results. We were following up on a lead about a parking ticket in the neighborhood where one of the murders had just taken place. It turns out, when calling through the switchboard, the operator knew David Berkowitz and mentioned that he had exhibited some strange behaviors. All this information and this random parking ticket lead helped to assist us in finally taking this killer off the streets."[5]

[edit] Awards and Recognition

[edit] Emmy Awards

[edit] Humanitas Prize

[edit] Peabody Award

[edit] Writers Guild of America Award

[edit] Edgar Award

[edit] People's Choice

[edit] U.S. Army

[edit] Author

He co-authored, along with NYPD Blue co-creator and Executive Producer David Milch, True Blue: The Real Stories Behind NYPD Blue (1995.)[6]

[edit] See also

United States Army Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ HBO: John From Cincinnati: Cast and Crew: Crew Bio: Bill Clark
  2. ^ James Logan Courier - News Every Day, Year-round » 30 years ago, `Son of Sam' terrorized New York
  3. ^ Out of N.Y.P.D., Into 'N.Y.P.D. Blue' - New York Times
  4. ^ Out of N.Y.P.D., Into 'N.Y.P.D. Blue' - New York Times
  5. ^ Behind the Crime: Bill Clark Interview & New Pics
  6. ^ Police Officer Writers - Bill Clark

[edit] External links


v • d • e
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

David E. Kelley (1990) · David E. Kelley (1991) · Diane Frolov / Andrew Schneider (1992) · Tom Fontana (1993) · Ann Biderman (1994) · Lance A. Gentile (1995) · Darin Morgan (1996) · Stephen Gaghan / David Milch / Michael R. Perry (1997) · Bill Clark / David Milch / Nicholas Wootton (1998) · David Chase / James Manos, Jr. (1999) · Rick Cleveland / Aaron Sorkin (2000) · Mitchell Burgess / Robin Green (2001) · Robert Cochran / Joel Surnow (2002) · Mitchell Burgess / David Chase / Robin Green (2003) · Terence Winter (2004) · David Shore (2005) · Terence Winter (2006) · David Chase (2007)