Gary D. Clark; Former L.A. Radio Newsman Helped Found AP Network

Gary D. Clark, 61, former KNX-AM radio newsman who helped establish the Associated Press Radio Network. Clark was much admired by colleagues, one of whom described him as “one of the hardest-working guys in the business [who] never let anything slow him down.” That “anything” was polio, which struck Clark at age 10 and left him needing canes and leg braces to walk. He began his radio news career at KSPI in Stillwater, Okla., and KBIX in Muskogee, Okla., before moving to Santa Barbara, where he worked at stations KDB and KTMS from 1968 to 1978. Clark next moved to KNX, where he remained until 1988. Known for doing stand-up reports on Southern California brush fires right next to the flames, Clark became one of the all-news station’s top reporters. He worked in the lead truck in 1988 when KNX provided extensive coverage of the Los Angeles Marathon. Clark also made broader contributions to his profession, working on a panel to update the Associated Press stylebook and, as a member of the wire service’s Radio Committee, helping to form the AP Radio Network. Clark also served as president of the California Associated Press Television and Radio Assn. On Saturday in Tollhouse, Calif., of cancer.