Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945". Pages 63-66. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.
Clarence Brown had one daughter, Adrienne (sometimes given as Arabella), by his first wife in 1917.
Directed 10 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Greta Garbo, Lionel Barrymore, Norma Shearer, Marie Dressler, Beulah Bondi, Charles Boyer, Mickey Rooney, Anne Revere, Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman. Barrymore and Revere won Oscars for their performances in one of Brown's movies.
Tied with Robert Altman and Alfred Hitchcock for the most nominations for best director (5) at the academy awards without a single win. Martin Scorsese had been part or this group before his win for the Departed on his 6th nomination.
Was a fighter pilot in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War I.
Was good friends with Erich von Stroheim