Marlene Clark, ‘Sanford & Son’ Actress, Has Died

Hollywood is in mourning once again, as Sanford and Son actress Marlene Clark died on May 18, Deadline reports. The triple threat, who was an actress, animator, and fashion model, is best known for portraying Ganja Meda in 1973’s horror film Ganja & Hess and Janet Lawson in the NBC sitcom Sanford and Son. The cause of her death is unknown at this time.

Clark joined the entertainment industry in the 1960s, and throughout her career, she appeared in The Bill Cosby Show, Night of the Cobra Woman, Mod Squad, Slaughter, Enter the Dragon. Her final acting credit is a 1988 episode of Head of the Class portraying Mrs. Merriman in Season 2. After acting, she was part of the crew on General Hospital for six episodes and appeared as herself in the 2016 short My Final Girl: Black Women in American Horror.

Fans were quick to take to Twitter to share tributes to Marlene Clark and the impact she made. “Rest in eternal power to Marlene Clark,” LovelyZena wrote. “I’m so grateful for her stunning performance in Bill Gunn’s brilliant Ganja & Hess (1973). She was so talented and beautiful.” 

“Rest in eternal power to Marlene Clark,” said TheApolloTwin. “A stunning presence in many an exploitation film, the best combination of her striking beauty and dramatic talent was best utilized in Bill Gunn’s masterful and brilliant GANJA & HESS in 1973.” Jamellpelle wrote about how much of an impact Marlene Clark had on them as an actor, saying, “Marlene Clark was so important to me as an actor and as a paragon of the divine in us. I wish her the best in her journey to the house of the next and Cinema will miss what it never really gave.”

Marlene Clark definitely left a mark on the world, and it’s evident by the tributes. “Rest in Peace Marlene Clark,” wrote classicmovieblg. “There are few actresses I admire as much as her. She was rarely given the opportunity to show all she could do, but Bill Gun got her, and that’s why Ganja & Hess was her best performance. I hope the world gets to see her in Gunn’s Stop! some day.”

Hollywood truly lost an icon in both film and TV, and it’s clear that Clark will forever be in the hearts and thoughts of so many people. Luckily, with streaming, fans will be able to watch some of her best work, including Ganja & Hess, which is streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime as well as Sanford and Son for free on Pluto TV. So, Clark will live on forever.