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'Back to the Future' actor Matt Clark dead at 89
By Janelle Ash
Published March 16, 2026
"Back to the Future" star Matt Clark has died, Fox News Digital confirmed. He was 89.
Matt's daughter, Aimee Clark, confirmed her father's death.
According to TMZ, Matt died at his home in Austin, Texas after "complications after back surgery."
Clark's career spanned five decades, with his biggest role being the bartender Chester in "Back to the Future Part III." He also appeared in TV shows such as "Grace Under Fire," "The Jeff Foxworthy Show," and "Little House on the Prairie."
"The Jeff Foxworthy Show" star Matt Clark has died. He was 89. (Getty Images/Everett Collection)
Known especially for his work in Westerns, Clark appeared in dozens of movies and television shows from the late 1950s through the 2010s. According to Clark's obituary, obtained by Fox News Digital, his final screen role came in "A Million Ways to Die in the West," which was released in 2014.
The family describes his final role as "a fitting farewell to the genre he had inhabited for most of his career; more than thirty Westerns among the more than fifty feature films he acted in."
Matt Clark at the premiere of "A Million Ways To Die In The West" in 2014. (Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage)
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Clark's family told TMZ that he was an "actor's actor" and was not concerned with fame. "He was impressed when working with good people who loved their families," his family told the outlet.
They noted that he felt "lucky" in his career and he "died the way he lived, on his terms."
Robert Redford, Matt Clark in "Brubaker." (20th Century Fox Film Corp./courtesy Everett Collection)
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Director Gary Rosen shared a statement in Clark's obituary that read: "He was the kind of actor that defined Hollywood filmmaking in its greatest era. The utterly unique character player who made every scene he appeared in memorable, often stealing them from stars like Rod Steiger, Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, and John Wayne."
Rosen's statement continued, "His roles in ‘In The Heat of the Night’, ‘Jeremiah Johnson’, ‘The Outlaw Josey Wales’, ‘The Cowboys’, ‘Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid’, among many others, helped to elevate those films to classic status. He leaves the stage, but his performances will be remembered forever."
Matt Clark in the 1981 movie, "The Children That Nobody Wanted." (Warner Bros. / Courtesy: Everett Collection)
Clark married three times throughout his life. His first marriage was to Erica Lann from 1958 to 1966. He then married Carol Trieste for a year in 1968 before tying the knot to his third wife, Sharon Mays, in 2000.
The actor is survived by Sharon and his daughter, Aimee.
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