From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia John Clarke (April 14, 1931 – October 16, 2019) was an American actor. Clarke is recognized for originating and portraying Mickey Horton on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives for 39 years, beginning with the debut of the program in 1965, until his retirement in 2004. He was nominated for the 1979 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series. In 2015 he was awarded the Daytime Emmys Lifetime Achievement Award.