A one-time newspaper reporter, British actor Ernest Clark gave up the Fourth Estate when he joined a provincial repertory company. His London stage debut occurred in 1939, while he first appeared in films with 1949's Private Angelo. Clark generally appeared in small parts as narrow-minded clerks or heartless officials: his more popular films include The Dam Busters (1955), A Tale of Two Cities (1957), Sink the Bismarck (1960), Arabesque (1966) and Gandhi (1982). Ernest Clark achieved some American fame in the early '70s with his role as humorless anatomy professor Loftus on the British comedy series Doctor in the House.