Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, the son of Larkin Harry Brown (1866-1942) a cotton manufacturer and Katherine Ann Brown (née Gaw) (1865-1954), Brown moved to Tennessee when he was 11 years old. He attended Knoxville High School and the University of Tennessee, both in Knoxville, Tennessee, graduating from the university at the age of 19 with two degrees in engineering. An early fascination in automobiles led Brown to a job with the Stevens-Duryea Company, then to his own Brown Motor Car Company in Alabama. He later abandoned the car dealership after developing an interest in motion pictures around 1913. He was hired by the Peerless Studio at Fort Lee, New Jersey, and became an assistant to the French-born Director Maurice Tourneur.
Clarence Brown was married five times. Firstly in 1913 to Paul Herndon Pratt (1894-1966) which lasted from 1913 until their divorce in 1920. The couple produced a daughter Adrienne Brown (1917-2013). Secondly, Brown married Ona Wilson (1884-1960) which lasted from 1922 until their divorce in 1927. Thirdly, Clarence Brown married Mona Maris (1903-1991) from 1929 until their divorce in 1931. Fourthly, Clarence Brown married Alice Joyce (1890-1955) from 1933 until their divorce in 1945. Lastly, Clarence Brown married his last ever wife Marian Spies (1910-2004) from 1946 which lasted until his death in 1987.
After serving in World War I, Brown was given his first co-directing credit (with Tourneur) for The Great Redeemer (1920). Later that year, he directed a major portion of The Last of the Mohicans after Tourneur was injured in a fall.
Brown moved to Universal in 1924, and then to MGM, where he stayed until the mid-1950s. At MGM he was one of the main Directors of their female stars; he directed Joan Crawford six times and Greta Garbo seven.
NOTE: In 1929/1930, Brown received one Academy Award nomination for two films. According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, "As allowed by the award rules for this year, a single nomination could honor work in one or more films."
In 1957, Brown was awarded The George Eastman Award, given by George Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film. Brown retired a wealthy man due to his real estate Investments, but refused to watch new movies, as he feared they might cause him to restart his career.
On February 8, 1960, Brown received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1752 Vine Street, for his contributions to the motion pictures industry
Clarence died at the Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California from kidney failure on August 17, 1987, at the age of 97. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
