Clarence Williams III (August 21, 1939 – June 4, 2021) was an American actor. Williams was the son of a professional musician, Clarence "Clay" Williams Jr., and grandson of jazz and blues composer/pianist Clarence Williams and his singer-actress wife, Eva Taylor. Raised by his paternal grandmother, he became interested in acting after accidentally walking onto a stage at a theater below a Harlem YMCA.
Clarence Williams III (August 21, 1939 – June 4, 2021) was an American actor. Williams was the son of a professional musician, Clarence "Clay" Williams Jr., and grandson of jazz and blues composer/pianist Clarence Williams and his singer-actress wife, Eva Taylor. Raised by his paternal grandmother, he became interested in acting after accidentally walking onto a stage at a theater below a Harlem YMCA.
Williams began pursuing an acting career after spending two years as a U.S. Army paratrooper in C Company, 506th Infantry, of the 101st Airborne Division. He first appeared on Broadway in The Long Dream (1960). Continuing his work on stage, he appeared in Walk in Darkness (1963), Sarah and the Sax (1964), Doubletalk (1964), and King John. His breakout theatrical role was in William Hanley's Slow Dance on the Killing Ground, for which he received a Tony Award nomination. The New York Times drama critic Howard Taubman wrote of his performance, "Mr. Williams glides like a dancer, giving his long, fraudulently airy speeches the inner rhythms of fear and showing the nakedness of terror when he ceases to pretend." He also served as artist-in-residence at Brandeis University in 1966.
Williams' breakout television role was as undercover cop Linc Hayes on the popular ABC counterculture police television series The Mod Squad (1968), along with fellow relative unknowns Michael Cole and Peggy Lipton. After the series ended in 1973, he worked in a variety of genres on stage and screen, from comedy (I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, Half-Baked) to sci-fi (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), and drama (Purple Rain).
Spanning over forty years, his career included the role of Prince's tormented father, who was also a musician, in Purple Rain (1984), A guest appearance in Miami Vice (1985), a recurring role in the surreal TV series Twin Peaks (1990), a good cop in Deep Cover (1992), a rioter in the mini-series Against the Wall (1994), and Wesley Snipes' chemically dependent father in Sugar Hill (1993). His other roles on television include Hill Street Blues, the Canadian cult classic The Littlest Hobo, Miami Vice, The Highwayman, Burn Notice, Everybody Hates Chris, Justified, Cold Case, and Law & Order. He can be seen in films such as 52 Pick-Up, Life, The Cool World, Deep Cover, Tales from the Hood, Half-Baked, King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis, Hoodlum, Frogs for Snakes, Starstruck, The General's Daughter, Reindeer Games, Impostor, and as the early jazz musician Jelly Roll Morton in The Legend of 1900. He also played a supporting role as George Wallace's fictional African-American butler and caretaker in the 1997 TNT film George Wallace.
From 2003 to 2007, Williams had a recurring role as Philby Cross in the Mystery Woman film series on the Hallmark Channel. He appeared in all but the first of the eleven films alongside Kellie Martin (J.E. Freeman played Philby in the Mystery Woman first film). In the seventh (Mystery Woman: At First Sight) film, he reunited with his Mod Squad co-star Michael Cole. He played Bumpy Johnson in the film American Gangster. From 2005 to 2007 Williams had another recurring role as the voice of Councilor Andam on the Disney animated series American Dragon: Jake Long.
Williams died in Los Angeles, on June 4, 2021, at the age of 81, from colon cancer. He is buried in St Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale, New York.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0929934
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1562861
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Filmography (Movies)
American Nightmares
Character:Roscoe
Release Date:11/10/2018
The Butler
Character:Maynard
Release Date:16/08/2013
A Day in the Life
Character:Sam
Release Date:07/07/2009
The Way of War
Character:Mac
Release Date:20/04/2009
American Gangster
Character:Bumpy Johnson (uncredited)
Release Date:02/11/2007
Constellation
Character:Forest Boxer
Release Date:01/02/2007
Mystery Woman: In the Shadows
Character:Philby
Release Date:13/01/2007
Mystery Woman: Redemption
Character:Philby
Release Date:06/11/2006
Mystery Woman: Oh Baby
Character:Philby
Release Date:18/08/2006
Mystery Woman: Wild West Mystery
Character:Philby
Release Date:18/03/2006
Mystery Woman: At First Sight
Character:Philby
Release Date:21/01/2006
Mystery Woman: Game Time
Character:Philby
Release Date:21/08/2005
Mystery Woman: Vision of a Murder
Character:Philby
Release Date:05/06/2005
Mystery Woman: Sing Me a Murder
Character:Philby
Release Date:25/02/2005
Mystery Woman: Snapshot
Character:Philby
Release Date:28/01/2005
Mystery Woman: Mystery Weekend
Character:Philby
Release Date:07/01/2005
Blue Hill Avenue
Character:Benny
Release Date:19/09/2003
The Extreme Team
Character:Zachary
Release Date:01/01/2003
Happy Here and Now
Character:Bill
Release Date:08/06/2002
Impostor
Character:Secretary of Defense (uncredited)
Release Date:03/12/2001
Mindstorm
Character:Walter Golden
Release Date:28/02/2001
Civility
Character:Glitterman
Release Date:08/10/2000
Ali: An American Hero
Character:Marcellus Clay
Release Date:01/08/2000
Ritual
Character:Leron Becker
Release Date:13/07/2000
Reindeer Games
Character:Merlin
Release Date:25/02/2000
The General's Daughter
Character:Colonel George Fowler
Release Date:18/06/1999
Life
Character:Winston Hancock
Release Date:16/04/1999
The Legend of 1900
Character:Jelly Roll Morton
Release Date:28/10/1998
Frogs for Snakes
Character:Huck Hanley
Release Date:14/08/1998
Starstruck
Character:Jerry Wallace
Release Date:18/04/1998
Half Baked
Character:Samson Simpson
Release Date:16/01/1998
The Love Bug
Character:Chuck
Release Date:29/11/1997
Hoodlum
Character:Bub Hewlett
Release Date:27/08/1997
George Wallace
Character:Archie
Release Date:24/08/1997
The Brave
Character:Father Stratton
Release Date:30/07/1997
Sprung
Character:Grand Daddy
Release Date:14/05/1997
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
Character:Coach Pratt
Release Date:23/11/1996
The Silencers
Character:General Greenboro
Release Date:23/04/1996
Encino Woman
Character:Javier
Release Date:20/04/1996
The Road to Galveston
Character:Christopher, the Caretaker
Release Date:24/01/1996
Judgement
Character:Bryant
Release Date:31/12/1995
The Immortals
Character:Benny
Release Date:05/10/1995
Tales from the Hood
Character:Mr. Simms (segment "Welcome to My Mortuary")
Release Date:24/05/1995
Against the Wall
Character:Chaka
Release Date:26/03/1994
Sugar Hill
Character:Arthur Romello "A.R." Skuggs
Release Date:25/02/1994
Deadfall
Character:Dean
Release Date:08/10/1993
Father & Son: Dangerous Relations
Character:Raymond
Release Date:19/04/1993
Deep Cover
Character:Taft
Release Date:15/04/1992
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Character:Deputy Sheriff Virgil
Release Date:01/03/1991
Maniac Cop 2
Character:Blum
Release Date:18/07/1990
Nasty Boys, Part 2: Lone Justice
Character:
Release Date:01/01/1990
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
Character:Kalinga
Release Date:10/11/1988
Perfect Victims
Character:Lt. Kevin White
Release Date:18/08/1988
Tough Guys Don't Dance
Character:Bolo
Release Date:18/09/1987
The Last Innocent Man
Character:D.J. Johnson
Release Date:19/04/1987
52 Pick-Up
Character:Bobby Shy
Release Date:07/11/1986
Purple Rain
Character:Father
Release Date:27/07/1984
The House of Dies Drear
Character:Mayhew Skinner
Release Date:01/06/1984
The Return of Mod Squad
Character:Lincoln Hayes
Release Date:18/05/1979
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:24/03/1970
The Cool World
Character:Blood
Release Date:02/09/1963
Television Appearances
Justified
Character:Jones
Burn Notice
Character:Jean Pierre's Father
Everybody Hates Chris
Character:Tate
American Dragon: Jake Long
Character:
Miracles
Character:Dr. Bauer
Fastlane
Character:Mr. Hayes
The Legend of Tarzan
Character:(voice)
Judging Amy
Character:Joe McKenzie
George Wallace
Character:Archie
Millennium
Character:Patient Zero
Profiler
Character:Carl Adler
New York Undercover
Character:Donald Brooks
Walker, Texas Ranger
Character:Deputy Commissioner Luther Dobbs
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Character:Omet'iklan
Shades of L.A.
Character:
Law & Order
Character:Lateef Miller
Twin Peaks
Character:FBI Agent Roger Hardy
Nasty Boys
Character:John Culver
Tales from the Crypt
Character:Grady
Jake and the Fatman
Character:Benjamin Tatsa
The Cosby Show
Character:Mr. Thornehill
Miami Vice
Character:Maximilian 'Legba' Ildefonse
T. J. Hooker
Character:Phil Decker
T. J. Hooker
Character:Martin
T. J. Hooker
Character:Walker Redding
Hill Street Blues
Character:
The Littlest Hobo
Character:David
The Mod Squad
Character:
The Danny Thomas Hour
Character:
Tarzan
Character:
Images
