Henry Clive

Henry Clive (born Clive O'Hara,^[1] October 3, 1883–December 12, 1960) was an Australian-born American graphic artist and illustrator who created illustrations for The American Weekly and cover series, which were posed for by screen celebrities.

Clive was born in Melbourne, Australia, the son of a prominent doctor,^[2] and spent his childhood on a sheep ranch outside Melbourne. As Clive O'Hara he became well-known as a magician; Melbourne Punch said in 1900 that 'As an amateur young O'Hara has paralysed audiences around Melbourne by the dexterity of his card tricks and the weirdness of his experiments.' ^[3] In 1913 the same magazine told readers that:

Mr. Clive O'Hara, now known as Henry Ciive, after a highly successful season in America, left New York last month for a seven months' vaudeville season with a new act of his own designing! As a hobby, Mr. O'Hara has taken up oil painting, in which he shows remarkable results after two years' study.^[4]

In later years Clive moved to Hollywood, acted in silent films and became an art director in Charlie Chaplin's productions, including City Lights.^[5] Clive was chosen by Chaplin to play the part of the millionaire in the film, but was fired during production for refusing to jump into cold water and replaced by Harry C. Myers.

In 1950, Clive married former actress Acquanetta who then returned to acting for several years.^[6][7] When she retired from the movies in 1953, she became a disk jockey for radio station KPOL (AM) in Los Angeles.^[6]

Clive's 1925 Art Deco illustration Sultana for the Louis F. Dow Calendar Company was once sold for $22,705.^[8] Housed in the Estate of Charles Martignette, in 2010 Sultana was put on sale again at Heritage Auctions.^[9] Sultana was reproduced in The Great American Pin-Up by Charles G. Martignette and Louis K. Meisel.

• Fighting Odds (1917)
• On the Jump (1918)

• Henry Clive and The American Weekly
• Henry Clive at IMDb.com