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Educator. He is best remembered as the former principal of Eastside High in Paterson, New Jersey. He was the inspiration for the movie "Lean on Me" which starred Morgan Freeman in 1989. The movie was loosely based on Clark's tenure at Eastside. He gained fame after restoring order to the inner city school as he often roamed its hallways with a bullhorn and sometimes a baseball bat. Clark once expelled 300 students for fighting, vandalism, abusing teachers and drug possession in a single day while challenging those that remained to do better. He retired from Eastside in 1989, then published a book Laying Down the Law: Joe Clark's Strategy for Saving Our Schools, detailing his methods for turning around Eastside High. His tactics earned him the nickname "Batman". After his success at Eastside President Ronald Reagan offered Clark a White House policy adviser position, a offer he declined. After retiring from Eastside, he worked six years as the Director of Essex County Juvenile Detention Center in Newark. After many years of living in New Jersey, he relocated to Florida. He passed away surrounded by family at his home from an undisclosed illness.

Lean on Me is a 1989 American biographical drama film directed by John G. Avildsen, written by Michael Schiffer, and starring Morgan Freeman. It is based on the story of Joe Louis Clark, a real life inner city high school principal in Paterson, New Jersey, whose school is in danger of being placed into receivership of the New Jersey state government unless students improve their test scores on the New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills Test. This film's title refers to the 1972 Bill Withers song of the same name, which is used in the film. Parts of the film, including the elementary school scenes, were filmed in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.