Betty Clark

Talent and Model Land (TML Agency)

When single mom, Betty Clark, arrived in Nashville from Detroit in the early 1960s, she took the first job she could find to support herself and her son- working at Tennessee Pride Country Sausage. When that wasn't enough, she landed a $45 per week receptionist job at Culbertson-King Agency, eventually working her way up to media buyer then producer. She didn't even know what an agent did. In 1964 Betty founded Spotland, the first recording studio in Nashville devoted to radio commercials. All the commercials in those days were done by disc jockeys, and one DJ told her she would be a good agent. A quick learner, she formed Talent and Model Land (TML Agency) in 1972. When she retired 40 years later, the agency was Nashville's oldest agency sanctioned by the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG/ AFTRA).

She represented thousands of actors, helping them land roles in commercials and films. Among the films were Robert Altman's Nashville, Coal Miner's Daughter, and Robert Redford's The Last Castle. Former clients include the late Jim Varney (Ernest in several films and commercials) and Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon, whom she represented from the time she was a child. Her actors have worked in such films as Remember the Titans and Forrest Gump, and her TV credits include In The Heat of the Night and Walker Texas Ranger, among many others. Betty was instrumental in bringing SAG and AFTRA to Nashville. She is retired.