Mr. Clapsadle studied film, video, painting and theater at the Albright Art Institute at the University of Buffalo, the Art Student's League and the New York School for Social Research.
In 1968 he founded The Company, an Off Broadway repertory group producing and directing a variety of plays, including several of his own works. His Promises to Keep was called "One of the year's ten best" by The Village Voice. The Company also produced original works by such Innovative playwrights as Marge Mahle, Joe Chaiken, and Sam Shepard.
Mr. Clapsadle has worked as an actor, production manager, film editor, and set designer. For the past 35 years he has headed up Paradise Cove Productions (formerly Ghost Dance Productions), an independent film company specializing in film noir, documentaries on political activism, and sensitive themes relating to Native Americans: The Ride to Wounded Knee won "Best Feature Documentary" at the Philadelphia Film Festival, opened the 1991 American Indian Film Festival, and received excellent reviews.
He wrote and directed Paradise Cove, completed in 2002, a major motion picture intended for theatrical release. It is a film noir starring Ben Gazzara, Karen Black, and Jacob Nathanial.
He has created several short prizewinning films, based on his original poems, including Ghost Train, The Island, and The Snake.
Mr. Clapsadle recently finished principal photography on his script Hotel Refinement and is currently editing, having completed a rough cut.