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Dick Clark’s brief film career: ‘Spy Kids,’ ‘Killers Three’ psycho

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Dick Clark, who died Wednesday at 82, is best known for his starring roles on the small screen from ‘American Bandstand’ through to ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,’ but he did make a handful of appearances on the big screen early in his 60-year career.

Most were dramatic turns, showing Clark’s effort to avoid being pigeonholed in the teen music genre. His first film role came in the 1960 youth drama “Because They’re Young,” directed by Paul Wendkos, about a young high school teacher who tries to help the troubled students at the school. In 1961, he starred as one of the titular ‘Young Doctors,’ alongside Fredric March and Ben Gazzara, in a story about romance and lifesaving decisions at a hospital.

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Perhaps his most unusual role came in the low-budget 1968 crime drama ‘Killers Three,’ in which Clark played a backwoods psycho killer. He also served as a producer and writer on the film.

PHOTOS: Stars react to the death of Dick Clark

Clark had only one more movie role, which came decades later in 2001’s family movie ‘Spy Kids,’ in which he played a nameless ‘financier.’

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Dick Clark: From ‘American Bandstand’ to ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ [video]

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— Ben Fritz and Susan King

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