Landrus Clark is an American writer and occasional actor best known publicly as the former husband of actress and singer Jo Marie Payton, the woman millions of television viewers remember as Harriette Winslow on Family Matters. Unlike his famous former wife, Landrus spent most of his life away from television fame. A contemporary Los Angeles Times report described him as a novelist, while entertainment records credit him with an acting appearance in the 2001 movie Echos of Enlightenment. He married Jo Marie Payton on June 17, 1998, and their relationship lasted into the 2000s before ending in divorce.
Landrus Clark Quick Bio
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Landrus Clark |
| Longer Name Seen in Some Records | Landrus Steven Clark |
| Nationality | American |
| Famous For | Former husband of Jo Marie Payton |
| Profession | Writer/novelist; occasional actor |
| Known Acting Credit | Echos of Enlightenment |
| Film Role | Cast ’n’ Cane Dude |
| Former Wife | Jo Marie Payton |
| Marriage Date | June 17, 1998 |
| Divorce | Sources differ between 2004 and 2007 |
| Children With Jo Marie | None documented |
| Stepdaughter During Marriage | Chantale France |
| Birth Date | Not reliably published |
| Age in 2026 | Not publicly confirmed |
| Net Worth | Not reliably verified |
| Current Personal Life | Mostly private |
Encyclopedia.com identifies Clark as a writer and records his June 17, 1998 marriage to Payton. The Los Angeles Times independently called him a novelist in 2000. IMDb confirms his acting credit in Echos of Enlightenment and his former marriage to Payton.
Who Is Landrus Clark?
Landrus Clark is one of those people whose name became familiar because he married a television star, even though he had his own creative interests outside her career.
Jo Marie Payton was already famous when the two married.
She had spent years playing Harriette Winslow, first on Perfect Strangers and then on the hugely popular spin-off Family Matters. By the late 1990s, she was one of television’s best-known sitcom mothers.
Landrus, however, was not another sitcom actor.
Contemporary reporting described him as a writer and novelist.
He later earned a small film credit, but there is no evidence that he tried to build a large Hollywood acting career.
That difference makes their relationship interesting.
Jo Marie worked in front of millions of viewers.
Landrus generally stayed behind the scenes.
What Is Landrus Clark’s Full Name?
Entertainment records usually identify him simply as Landrus Clark.
Other public records use the longer name Landrus Steven Clark.
A current California real-estate profile also exists for a Landrus Steven Clark, and public business filings use that full name. However, because online records can sometimes combine people with similar names, it is best to be careful about automatically connecting every Landrus Steven Clark record to Jo Marie Payton’s former husband unless another source confirms the link.
What is firmly confirmed is the name Landrus Clark in his marriage and entertainment records.
When Was Landrus Clark Born?
Landrus Clark’s exact date of birth has not been reliably published in major entertainment or biographical databases.
Rotten Tomatoes, for example, lists both his birthday and birthplace as unavailable. IMDb also does not provide a date of birth.
That means his exact age in 2026 cannot responsibly be calculated.
Some celebrity biography websites may assign him an age, but without a documented birth record or direct interview, those figures should not be treated as established facts.
Where Was Landrus Clark Born?
His birthplace is also not firmly established in the strongest public sources.
Because Landrus has maintained a relatively private life, basic childhood details such as his hometown, parents, siblings and schooling have never received the same public attention as Jo Marie Payton’s biography.
This is common with spouses of celebrities who never pursued fame themselves.
There is no need to fill those gaps with guesses.
Was Landrus Clark a Writer?
Yes. This is one of the strongest facts about him.
Encyclopedia.com identifies Landrus as a writer in its biographical profile of Jo Marie Payton.
Even more importantly, the Los Angeles Times called him a novelist in a September 2000 article about the couple selling their Los Angeles-area home.
That contemporary newspaper description is valuable because it was published while Landrus and Jo Marie were actually together.
So his association with writing is not simply a modern internet rumor.
He was publicly described as a novelist during the marriage.
Did Landrus Clark Publish a Novel?
A book titled Southern Shadows was published under the name Landrus Clark in 2017.
A bookseller listing gives a September 13, 2017 publication date, an ISBN of 9781549740145 and a length of 355 pages.
However, one important caution is necessary.
Public book records do not clearly state that the author is definitely the same Landrus Clark who was married to Jo Marie Payton.
The connection is possible, especially because contemporary reporting had already called Payton’s husband a novelist years earlier.
But matching names alone are not enough for absolute confirmation.
Therefore, the most careful wording is that a novel titled Southern Shadows exists under the Landrus Clark name, while the author’s connection to Jo Marie Payton’s former husband is not independently proven by the book listing itself.
There is another source of confusion here: Jo Marie Payton herself released a jazz project also called Southern Shadows. Her biography records the album around 1999–2000.
So the identical title should not be used as automatic proof that the later book belongs to her former husband.
Landrus Clark’s Acting Career
Landrus also has a verified acting credit.
IMDb identifies him as an actor known for Echos of Enlightenment, released in 2001.
Apple TV independently lists him in the movie’s cast.
His character is credited as:
Cast ’n’ Cane Dude.
That unusual role name is one reason the credit stands out.
Still, Landrus did not go on to build a long, highly documented filmography.
IMDb currently shows this as his main acting credit.
What Is Echos of Enlightenment?
Echos of Enlightenment is a 2001 American drama, mystery and science-fiction film directed by Dan Coplan.
Apple TV describes the story as following a woman who begins searching for her husband after he disappears and makes an unexpected discovery.
Rotten Tomatoes lists the film with a runtime of approximately 86 minutes and credits Coplan as both director and screenwriter.
Landrus appears among a large supporting cast.
It was not a starring role.
But the credit confirms that his connection with entertainment extended beyond simply being married to an actress.
Jo Marie Payton Was Also in Echos of Enlightenment
An especially interesting part of the story is that Jo Marie Payton also appears in the film.
Film databases list Payton among the project’s performers, meaning Landrus and his then-wife shared a professional connection to the same production during their marriage.
This creates a nice overlap between their two careers.
Jo Marie was the established television actress.
Landrus was the writer who occasionally stepped into acting.
For one project, those worlds came together.
Who Is Jo Marie Payton?
Jo Marie Payton is an American actress and singer born on August 3, 1950.
She became famous for playing Harriette Winslow.
The character first appeared on Perfect Strangers before becoming the mother at the center of Family Matters.
She later became well known to younger viewers as the voice of Suga Mama in Disney’s The Proud Family.
Her other television work includes appearances on Will & Grace, Moesha, Reba, Girlfriends and Desperate Housewives.
By the time she married Landrus, she had already spent years in the entertainment industry.
When Did Landrus Clark Marry Jo Marie Payton?
The most specific established marriage date is June 17, 1998.
Encyclopedia.com records that exact date and describes Landrus as a writer.
That marriage came soon after Jo Marie’s previous marriage to Rodney Noble ended.
Landrus became her third husband.
At the time, Jo Marie had recently completed her long run on Family Matters and was beginning a new phase of her career.
Landrus and Jo Marie Payton’s Ladera Heights Home
A rare glimpse into their married life appeared in the Los Angeles Times in September 2000.
The newspaper reported that Jo Marie and novelist Landrus Clark were selling their home in the hills of Ladera Heights.
The property was listed for $1.8 million.
It was described as a Cape Cod-style home with five bedrooms, a recreation room, fireplaces, a large redwood deck, a gazebo, an outdoor kitchen and space for large gatherings.
The article said the couple planned to move to Las Vegas, where Jo Marie wanted to spend more time developing her singing career.
This article is one of the best contemporary sources for understanding Landrus during the marriage.
It confirms both his writing identity and his shared home life with Jo Marie.
Did Landrus and Jo Marie Own the House Before Marriage?
The Los Angeles Times reported in 2000 that the couple had owned the Ladera Heights house since it was built in 1993.
That date is interesting because their marriage did not occur until 1998.
It suggests their lives may have been connected before the wedding, although the newspaper article alone is not enough to reconstruct the exact beginning of their romantic relationship.
Some relationship databases place their relationship beginning around 1997.
The safest conclusion is simply that they knew each other before the 1998 marriage.
Did Landrus Clark and Jo Marie Payton Have Children?
No children together are documented.
Jo Marie Payton has one known daughter, Chantale France, born during her earlier marriage to Marc France. IMDb clearly identifies Chantale as Jo Marie’s daughter from her first marriage.
Therefore, during Landrus and Jo Marie’s marriage, Landrus would have been Chantale’s stepfather.
There is no reliable public record identifying a biological child shared by Landrus and Jo Marie.
When Did Landrus Clark and Jo Marie Payton Divorce?
This is where the public record becomes inconsistent.
Jo Marie Payton’s IMDb biography lists her marriage to Landrus as 1998–2004.
Other biographies also use 2004.
However, Landrus Clark’s own IMDb profile currently lists the marriage as 1998–2007.
Because IMDb’s two pages conflict with each other, it would be misleading to pretend there is no uncertainty.
The best-supported commonly repeated timeline is 1998 to 2004, but the precise legal divorce date deserves a note of caution.
Why Did Landrus Clark and Jo Marie Payton Divorce?
The private reason has not been reliably documented.
There is no major interview in which Landrus publicly explains the breakup in detail.
Likewise, there is no need to invent a dramatic story involving infidelity, money or career conflict.
What is known is simply that their marriage ended and Jo Marie later remarried.
She married Leonard Downs in December 2007, according to IMDb.
Did Landrus Clark Remarry?
A later marriage for Landrus is not clearly documented in major entertainment sources.
IMDb lists Jo Marie Payton as his former spouse but does not identify another wife.
That does not prove that he never remarried privately.
It simply means there is no strong public record that allows a confident answer.
Is Landrus Clark a Real Estate Broker?
There is a current California real-estate professional named Landrus Steven Clark.
Zillow identifies him as a broker and mortgage-loan originator with roughly 25 years of experience in the Los Angeles area.
Public business filings also show a Landrus Steven Clark operating Landrus Home Loans beginning in 2021.
The unusual name and Los Angeles connection make it possible that these records belong to Jo Marie Payton’s former husband.
However, the real-estate profiles themselves do not mention Jo Marie Payton or Echos of Enlightenment.
For that reason, this biography should not combine those identities as certain fact.
The careful answer is:
A Landrus Steven Clark with a long Los Angeles real-estate career is publicly documented, but the available professional pages do not independently prove he is Jo Marie Payton’s ex-husband.
Was Landrus Clark a Vietnam Veteran?
The same real-estate profile associated with Landrus Home Loans describes its owner as a Vietnam veteran.
Again, because the professional profile does not independently connect itself with Jo Marie Payton’s former husband, that military detail should not automatically be inserted into the actor/writer’s biography as confirmed fact.
This is exactly how online biographies can accidentally merge two people.
The more responsible approach is to keep uncertain identities separate until an authoritative connection appears.
What Is Landrus Clark Doing Today?
There is no strong recent entertainment interview with Landrus that clearly explains his current life in 2026.
His public acting record remains centered on Echos of Enlightenment.
His writing identity is established by contemporary references from his marriage period.
Beyond that, his everyday personal life is largely private.
That privacy is not unusual.
Landrus never had the kind of entertainment career that required constant press coverage.
Is Landrus Clark Still Alive?
There is no credible public obituary for the Landrus Clark who was married to Jo Marie Payton in the sources reviewed for this article.
However, an absence of an obituary alone should not be used as absolute proof of a living person’s current status.
The safest statement is that there is no reliable report of his death, while his present personal life remains lightly documented.
What Is Landrus Clark’s Net Worth?
Landrus Clark’s net worth has never been reliably published.
Celebrity websites may guess based on Jo Marie Payton’s career, possible book sales or business records.
That is not enough.
A real calculation would require details about:
book royalties,
business income,
property,
investments,
debts,
and other assets.
Those records are not publicly available in a way that supports a trustworthy number.
His net worth should therefore be listed as unverified.
Why Is Landrus Clark Still Searched Today?
Most searches begin with Jo Marie Payton.
Fans watch Family Matters.
They remember Harriette Winslow.
Then they begin learning about Jo Marie’s real life and discover that she married several times.
Landrus appears as her third husband.
That creates another question:
Who was he?
The answer turns out to be more interesting than simply “celebrity husband.”
Contemporary sources describe him as a writer and novelist.
He acted in a 2001 movie.
He shared a high-profile Los Angeles home with Jo Marie.
And then he returned to a much quieter life.
Final Thoughts on Landrus Clark
Landrus Clark’s biography shows why celebrity-family stories need careful research.
The strongest facts are straightforward.
He was a writer.
The Los Angeles Times called him a novelist in 2000.
He married actress Jo Marie Payton on June 17, 1998.
During their marriage, they lived together in the Los Angeles area and planned a move to Las Vegas as Jo Marie explored more of her singing career.
Landrus also stepped briefly into acting.
His verified screen credit came in the 2001 movie Echos of Enlightenment, where he played a character called Cast ’n’ Cane Dude.
The marriage eventually ended.
Most Jo Marie Payton biographies use 2004 as the divorce year, although Landrus’s IMDb page currently says 2007, creating a genuine record conflict.
Afterward, Landrus largely disappeared from celebrity reporting.
There are intriguing modern records connected with the longer name Landrus Steven Clark, including writing and real-estate activity.
But without direct confirmation linking each profile to Jo Marie Payton’s former husband, they should not simply be merged into one life story.
That leaves us with a biography that is smaller than some websites might like—but much more reliable.
Landrus Clark was Jo Marie Payton’s husband during an important post-Family Matters chapter, an independently documented novelist and writer, and an occasional actor who chose a life far quieter than his famous former wife.
FAQs About Landrus Clark
Who is Landrus Clark?
Landrus Clark is a writer and occasional actor best known as Jo Marie Payton’s former husband.
Was Landrus Clark a novelist?
Yes. The Los Angeles Times specifically described him as a novelist in 2000.
Who was Landrus Clark married to?
He was married to actress and singer Jo Marie Payton.
When did Landrus Clark marry Jo Marie Payton?
They married on June 17, 1998.
Was Landrus Clark Jo Marie Payton’s first husband?
No. He was her third husband.
When did Landrus Clark and Jo Marie Payton divorce?
Most biographies list 2004, although Landrus’s IMDb page currently gives 2007.
Did Landrus Clark and Jo Marie Payton have children?
No children together are publicly documented.
Was Landrus Clark Chantale France’s father?
No. Chantale is Jo Marie Payton’s daughter from her marriage to Marc France. Landrus was her stepfather during his marriage to Jo Marie.
Was Landrus Clark an actor?
Yes, although his documented acting career is very small.
What movie was Landrus Clark in?
He appeared in Echos of Enlightenment in 2001.
What role did Landrus Clark play?
He was credited as Cast ’n’ Cane Dude.
Was Jo Marie Payton also in Echos of Enlightenment?
Yes. Film records also connect Payton with the movie.
Did Landrus Clark publish Southern Shadows?
A 2017 novel titled Southern Shadows is credited to an author named Landrus Clark, but the book listing does not independently confirm that its author is Jo Marie Payton’s former husband.
Did Jo Marie Payton also have something called Southern Shadows?
Yes. She released a jazz project called Southern Shadows around 1999–2000.
Where did Landrus and Jo Marie live?
A 2000 Los Angeles Times article reported that they lived in Ladera Heights in the Los Angeles area.
Why were they selling their house?
The article said they planned to move to Las Vegas while Jo Marie pursued more of her singing career.
What is Landrus Clark’s birthday?
His exact birth date is not reliably published.
How old is Landrus Clark in 2026?
His age cannot be reliably calculated because a verified birth date is unavailable.
Is Landrus Clark a real-estate broker?
A Los Angeles broker named Landrus Steven Clark is publicly documented, but the available real-estate profiles do not independently confirm that he is Jo Marie Payton’s former husband.
Is Landrus Clark a Vietnam veteran?
A real-estate profile for Landrus Steven Clark says that individual is a Vietnam veteran, but the connection between that profile and Jo Marie Payton’s ex-husband has not been independently established.
Did Landrus Clark remarry?
No later marriage is reliably documented in major entertainment sources.
Is Landrus Clark still alive?
There is no credible public report of his death in the sources reviewed, but his current life remains private.
What is Landrus Clark’s net worth?
His exact net worth has never been reliably verified.
Why is Landrus Clark famous?
He is known mainly as Jo Marie Payton’s former husband, but contemporary sources also establish him as a writer and novelist, and he has a verified acting credit in Echos of Enlightenment.
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