Blacklist’s Tobias Core (18 January 1973 – 9 March 2021) was an American production assistant and a crew member on the set of the TV series, The Blacklist. He is different from Clark Middleton (13 April 1957 – 4 October 2020), a 63-year-old American actor who featured in The Blacklist.
Clark Middleton passed away in 2020, while Core passed away in 2021. Both of them received tributes during the closing credits of Season 8 of the Blacklist, and this has made many assume that they are the same person, but that is not so.
Tobias Core was a Hollywood Production Assistant
Tobias Core’s real name is Tobias S. Core. He is also known as Toby Core. He was born on the 18th of January 1973 in New York. He had American nationality and Caucasian ethnicity. Tobias Core grew up in the United States and obtained a reasonable level of schooling. He also learned carpentry skills, and at some point, specifically in the early 2000s, he delved into the movie industry.
Tobias Core started as a production assistant on the set of movies and TV series such as The Dummy (2002), Perfume (2001), The Business of Strangers (2001), and Strangers with Candy (2000). As the years passed by, he joined the art department of several movies and TV series and worked as a carpenter, constructing props and sets.
Tobias Core is credited as a carpenter on several well-known movies such as The Greatest Showman (2017), John Wick (2014), The Amazing Spiderman (2012), Men in Black 3 (2012), and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014).
He was a Dedicated Crew Member of the Blacklist
Tobias Core played the role of a carpenter on the Blacklist. It must be pointed out that he did not play a role as such, as he wasn’t an actor or cast member. Rather, he was a member of the production crew, specifically the art department, and he worked as a carpenter in the department.
Tobias Core joined the production crew of the Blacklist in the very first season, i.e. season one in 2013. He stayed on the show for the next five years, during which he worked on a total of 111 episodes. He helped put together the visual artistry that contributed to the overall success of the crime/thriller show.
Tobias Core Passed Away in 2021 and Received a Tribute on Season 8, Episode 12 of the Show
Thanks to the long time that he spent on the Blacklist, as well as all the hard work he put in towards the show’s success, Tobias Core became a beloved crew member of the series. He got along with the cast and crew alike, and even when he left the series in 2018, he remained on good terms with them.
They were thus sincerely shocked when they learned that he passed away on the 9th of March 2021. They paid him tribute by dedicating an episode of the show, episode 12, season 8, to his memory in 2021. The cause of Tobias Core’s death is not known, but he passed away in Brooklyn, New York. He was much loved.
Clark Middleton was an American Actor Who Hailed from Los Angeles
As earlier pointed out, Tobias Core is not the same person as Clark Middleton. They are two entirely different real-life individuals. While Core was a crew member of the Blacklist, Clark Middleton was a member of the cast. Middleton hailed from Los Angeles, California, and suffered from rheumatoid arthritis as a child. It caused him a lot of pain.
It also affected his physical development. He had little to zero movements in his neck. One of his arms was also longer than the other. Despite all these challenges, Clark Middleton forged ahead with life. He took acting classes in college and eventually made his acting debut in Miss Lonelyhearts, a 1983 TV movie.
He Played the Role of Glen Carter in the Blacklist
Upon making his debut in 1983, Clark Middleton continued to pursue his acting career, and his hard work paid off as he landed roles in several movies and TV series. He was often typecast as a peculiar, feisty, and eccentric character. He mostly got supporting roles but was often a scene-stealer. One such scene-stealing outing came on the Blacklist.
Clark Middleton played the role of Glen Carter in the series. He is a grumpy DMV official who moonlights as a tracker for the show’s protagonist, Raymond Reddington (James Spader). He sometimes lets Reddington down, but they nevertheless remain close. Clark Middleton appeared in numerous episodes of the Blacklist. He was later written out of the show in season eight, episode 6, titled the Wellstone Agency.
What Happened To Clark Middleton?
Clark Middleton died on the 4th of October 2020 in Los Angeles. He was aged 63. The news of his death devastated his co-stars as well as the producers of the Blacklist, and they paid him tribute for his acting prowess. They also got to work on how to tie up his storyline on the show and pay him a fitting tribute.
In the end, the makers of the Blacklist decided to go with the fact that he had died of the same disease that killed him in real life. They then dedicated season eight, episode six of the show to his memory. The episode aired on the 12th of February 2021. The executive producer of the Blacklist, John Eisendrath, stated that Middleton’s death was incredibly sad and shocking and hoped that they acknowledged his passing in a worthy way.
How Did Clark Middleton Die?
Clark Middleton died of West Nile Virus, a virus that belongs to the same category as yellow fever virus, dengue virus, and zika virus. It is transmitted through mosquito bites from the Culex species. West Nile Virus causes fever, headache, vomiting, or a rash in a greater majority of suffers. In the minority, it can cause encephalitis or meningitis with associated neck stiffness, confusion, or seizures.
People that are 60 years and older and have medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and kidney disease are at greater risk of being affected severely by the disease. Clark Middleton was aged 63 when he contracted the virus. He also had issues with his neck as a result of rheumatoid arthritis he had suffered for years. All this dented his chances of survival.
How and Where did Clark Middleton Get West Nile Virus?
It is most likely that Clark Middleton contracted West Nile Virus in the backyard of his own L.A. home. When the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, the actor didn’t move around much in a bid to protect his immune system. He took to teaching online classes. He also spent a good deal of time reading in his backyard. He was likely beaten by an infected mosquito on one occasion while reading.
How Long Did Clark Middleton Have West Nile Virus?
Clark Middleton had the West Nile Virus for two weeks before he died. He developed a fever around the 30th of September 2020, and soon enough, it started affecting him mentally. He was hospitalized and spent about two weeks in the hospital before giving up the ghost.
It should be pointed out that it can take 3 to 14 days for symptoms of West Nile Virus to manifest after one is beaten by a mosquito. This means that Clark Middleton likely had the West Nile Virus for longer than the two weeks stated above. Clark Middleton was survived by his wife, Elissa Middleton, his mother, Sue Perior, and a brother, Kirby. He was praised for promoting the cause of those with rheumatoid arthritis.