[Atlas Sneezed]

IMDB.com describes his role as "liason man".

At first, I thought he was one of the guys to go out to Muroc to find test pilots to be astronauts, then I realized that they had been played by Jeff Goldblum and Harry Shearer (a nice comic contrast of the ignorant wimps with the mannly pilots they sought.)

Those who enjoyed "The Right Stuff" will undoubtedly enjoy the HBO miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon" in which he plays Cal Tech geology professor Lee Silvers, who was mentor to Astronaut Harrison Schmitt, and who helped to teach the astronauts how to become geological observers.

In answer to your question, Clennon appears as Press Liason to the Air Force, in the scene in Pancho's Happy Bottom Riding Club. He, and Air Force Major, and two Bell engineers are looking for a pilot to break the sound barrier in the X-1. They are negotiating with a pilot named "Slick," who demands $150,000 to make the attempt.

The Liason then tells the officers about Chuck Yeager, sitting in the corner of the room, describing him as a war hero, and that the only problem with selecting him for the mission will be "holding him back." Yeager accepts the mission for nothing more than his Air Force salary of less than $300 per month. The Liason character serves nicely as a knowing observer who can expose the viewer to Yeager's history and character.

The liason next appears just after Yeager has broken the sound barrier, attempting to call out from a nearby hangar to his press contacts to put the word out ("this is big news!") about the historic achievement, when an Air Force officer hangs up the phone, explaining that the supersonic capability would be kept secret from the Russians.

His final scene is at Pancho's, having a drink that evening with the same officer who kept him from calling out. He predicts how the news will never be kept quiet among the military pilot community, and that soon, every top pilot would want to come out to Muroc to "reach the top of the pyramid." This creates a nice transition for us to meet future astronaut Gordon Cooper (Dennis Quaid) driving with his wife out to Muroc (Edwards AFB), which opens the next chapter of the movie about the Mercury Astronauts.

Excellent film!

[Inspectorette]

Wow - thanks. Now I remember him. That WAS a great movie - it had everything: adventure, some humor, heroism, and what a cast. Sam Shepard was great as Chuck Yeager, Dennis Quaid as Scott Carpenter, Fred Ward as Gus Grissom. And, of course, Ed Harris, who I used to like, as John Glenn.