Mahlon Clark, 84; clarinetist's career spanned 5 decades

LOS ANGELES - Mahlon Clark, a clarinetist who performed on the soundtracks of numerous Hollywood movies and recorded with artists as varied as Lawrence Welk and Madonna, died Sept. 20 at a California hospital, his family said. He was 84.

Mr. Clark also played a well-known clarinet solo in recordings of "Baby Elephant Walk," which was on the soundtrack of the 1962 Oscar-nominated movie "Hatari!" starring John Wayne. The song was a hit for Henry Mancini's orchestra, which recorded the soundtrack. When Welk later recorded it, he also used Mr. Clark.

Born in Portsmouth, Va., Mr. Clark performed in vaudeville as a child with his sister Jane.

Beginning in 1942, Mr. Clark served in the merchant marine and married Imogene Lynn. After the war, Mr. Clark relocated to Southern California and played with the permanent orchestra at Paramount Studios. At Paramount he performed on soundtracks for movies starring Elvis Presley, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and Alfred Hitchcock.

At Capitol Records, where he also recorded, Mr. Clark developed a friendship with Nelson Riddle, an arranger, composer, and conductor for Frank Sinatra. Mr. Clark, who also played alto saxophone, performed on many Sinatra albums, including "In The Wee Small Hours."

Mr. Clark continued performing until the early 1990s, playing on the soundtracks for movies such as "Dick Tracy," and "When Harry Met Sally." He also played on Linda Ronstadt recordings and Madonna's 1990 album "I'm Breathless."