Paul Mark Clark, a Hilo theater director who helped launch "Shakespeare in the Park" 30 years ago and organized other productions that brought community theater to young and old alike, died Saturday at Hilo Medical Center after a long fight with cancer and diabetes. He was 63.

Clark came to Hawai'i in the late 1960s to visit his brother, retired Honolulu Advertiser reporter Hugh Clark, and later returned to live on the Big Island, working as a criminal defense attorney. He also ran a used-book store on Mamo Street and as an animal lover was active in the Friends of the Pana'ewa Zoo.

But the arts were his main devotion, and he volunteered many hours at the East Hawai'i Cultural Center near Kalakaua Park.

"Everything he did supported both the theater and visual arts. ... He just thought it was something that should be the lifeblood of the community," said Jackie Johnson, drama professor at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo.

Together, Johnson and Clark started the "Shakespeare in the Park" program centered around Kalakaua Park that continues to this day. One of the event's highlights was an ambitious 1987 production of "Julius Caesar" that used as sets the park, the cultural center and the nearby Hilo Federal Building.

Johnson said that as a lawyer, Clark "knew how to fight for a cause" and used his communication skills to persuade county officials to support the program in its infancy by closing the streets and providing electricity and other needs.

Clark directed at least 20 plays, from Christmas events for children to serious drama such as "Long Day's Journey Into Night" by Eugene O'Neill, one of his favorite playwrights. He helped produce 80 other productions, including the "The Cave Dwellers" that concluded a performance an hour before his death.

In his earlier years, Clark performed as an actor in several productions, including the role of Tom Paine in an arduous performance in which he was hung from the ceiling at UH-Hilo Theatre during intermission while babbling about the joys gained from gin in the industrial period of old England.

In 1992, he received the Pierre Bowman Award for lifetime achievement at the Po'okela theater awards in Honolulu.

"Everyone knew Paul Clark and adored him. He loved Hilo and loved the arts so much that he supported every aspect of it," Johnson said.

Clark also was a figure in the local Democratic Party, working for years as a precinct-level official during elections.

He was born Sept. 14, 1943, in Auburn, Wash.

Hugh Clark said his brother's final years were fraught with a number of medical setbacks, but that he continued to fight to recover his health. "Paul never quit despite four major surgeries and tough rehabilitation. He had a stronger desire to live than anyone I have known. His spirit never gave up," he said.

A memorial service will be held at 5 p.m. Sept. 14, with ashes to be scattered in Hilo Bay the following day. Memorial contributions may be made to the East Hawai'i Cultural Center or other charities in which Clark was involved. The family may be contacted at P.O. Box 1956, Hilo, HI 96721.

Clark is additionally survived by his brother, Tom, and a sister, Joan.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.