Johnson Clark was born in1886 in Ripley, quite possibly at Peasehill Farm which his father Richard seems to have been renting. He grew up in Belper and at 14 got a job at Cox and Malin’s in Derby.
On holiday in Blackpool, he bought from a performer a book entitled “How to Become a Ventriloqist” for twopence and began to practise. Aged about 18 whilst in Skegness, he managed to join the troupe of Pierrots run by Fred Clements, performing on the beach or on a “pitch” adjoining Hildred’s Hotel. He told a story of how he had bought a set of 5 ventrioloquist’s dolls, but one day on the beach a high tide swept them out to sea. Friends in the party bought him a new boy puppet, which remained with him for the rest of his career.
He made his first appearance in London in 1904 in Waltham Green, using the stage name Vernando. Later he reverted to his own name, using his mother’s maiden name as his forename.
His act was as “The Sportsman Ventriloquist”, with a “naughty boy” dummy named Hodge. He performed successfully on radio and became a regular on the variety theatre circuit in the mid-20th century. He toured America in 1909-10 and eventually took part in the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium in 1931.
His brother, Henry Clark, also became an entertainer, taking the stage name Hal Bryan and appearing in variety shows and as a pantomime dame.
Johnson died in 1956, having been taken ill whilst performing at the Opera House in Workington, and was cremated in Carlisle, where he had been due to open in a pantomime later that year.
