L.A. journalist Jerry Clark dies at 70

Jerry Clark, 70, a reporter for the old Los Angeles Mirror newspaper and Times staff member who in retirement was chairman of a loose gathering of former Los Angeles newspaper men and women, died suddenly Tuesday morning at his home in Glendale, said his niece Joni Clark.

The cause was not immediately known, but he had diabetes and heart problems.

Jerry Clark was a police reporter at the Los Angeles Mirror, an afternoon tabloid owned by The Times. After the Mirror folded in 1962, he worked for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, City News Service and The Times, where he was a proofreader and held various production posts. He retired in 1993.

He also was affiliated with the Southern California Sports Broadcasters, was a past president of the L.A. Press Club, and was chairman of the so-called Old Farts Society of retired L.A. journalists.

"Jerry was the one who kept us all together," said retired photojournalist Bonnie Burrow.

In one of his last mass e-mails to the group, Clark passed on the news that former Times staff writer Sue Avery, who primarily worked in the San Gabriel Valley suburban section, had died May 26.

Born Jan. 27, 1940, in Los Angeles, Clark attended Glendale College and served in the Army.

Survivors include his brother John.

Services are pending.

-- Claire Noland

Photo: Jerry Clark