John Clarke (born April 14, 1932 in South Bend, Indiana) is an American actor. Clarke was the first actor to play Mickey Horton on the NBC soap opera, Days of Our Lives, beginning with the debut of the program in 1965, until he retired early in 2004 because of health concerns. He was replaced in the role by John Ingle, who left the program in 2006. His daughter is actress Melinda Clarke, who started out on Days of our Lives and later played Julie Cooper-Nichol on the television series, The O.C.. She played Amanda on Nikita.