Clarence Williams III

Clarence Williams III

Biography: 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.

Place of Birth: Not available

Birthday: August 21, 1939

Deathday: June 04, 2021

Popularity:

7.942

Known For

Reindeer Games
Reindeer Games

2000-02-25

Perfect Victims
Perfect Victims

1988-08-18

Hoodlum
Hoodlum

1997-08-27

Against the Wall
Against the Wall

1994-03-26

Tales from the Hood
Tales from the Hood

1995-05-24

Half Baked
Half Baked

1998-01-16

The Love Bug
The Love Bug

1997-11-29

The Brave
The Brave

1997-07-30

Mindstorm
Mindstorm

2001-02-28

Purple Rain
Purple Rain

1984-07-27

The Immortals
The Immortals

1995-10-05

Sugar Hill
Sugar Hill

1994-02-25

52 Pick-Up
52 Pick-Up

1986-11-07

Happy Here and Now
Happy Here and Now

2002-06-08

Mystery Woman: Game Time
Mystery Woman: Game Time

2005-08-21

Mystery Woman: Redemption
Mystery Woman: Redemption

2006-11-06

My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys

1991-03-01

Mystery Woman: Vision of a Murder
Mystery Woman: Vision of a Murder

2005-06-05

The Butler
The Butler

2013-08-16

Mystery Woman: In the Shadows
Mystery Woman: In the Shadows

2007-01-13

Mystery Woman: Mystery Weekend
Mystery Woman: Mystery Weekend

2005-01-07

Mystery Woman: Sing Me a Murder
Mystery Woman: Sing Me a Murder

2005-02-25

Mystery Woman: Oh Baby
Mystery Woman: Oh Baby

2006-08-18

Father & Son: Dangerous Relations
Father & Son: Dangerous Relations

1993-04-19

Blue Hill Avenue
Blue Hill Avenue

2001-08-03

The Last Innocent Man
The Last Innocent Man

1987-04-19

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis

1970-03-24

Mystery Woman: At First Sight
Mystery Woman: At First Sight

2006-01-21

Deadfall
Deadfall

1993-10-08

The Cool World
The Cool World

1963-09-02

The Legend of 1900
The Legend of 1900

1998-10-28

George Wallace
George Wallace

1997-08-24

The General's Daughter
The General's Daughter

1999-06-18

Deep Cover
Deep Cover

1992-04-15

Ali: An American Hero
Ali: An American Hero

2000-08-01

The House of Dies Drear
The House of Dies Drear

1984-06-01

Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault

1996-11-23

The Silencers
The Silencers

1996-04-23

Frogs for Snakes
Frogs for Snakes

1998-08-14

Ritual
Ritual

2000-07-13

American Gangster
American Gangster

2007-11-02

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka

1988-11-10

Mystery Woman: Snapshot
Mystery Woman: Snapshot

2005-01-28

The Way of War
The Way of War

2009-04-20

Maniac Cop 2
Maniac Cop 2

1990-07-18

Nasty Boys, Part 2: Lone Justice
Nasty Boys, Part 2: Lone Justice

1990-01-01

Mystery Woman: Wild West Mystery
Mystery Woman: Wild West Mystery

2006-03-18

A Day in the Life
A Day in the Life

2009-07-07

Tough Guys Don't Dance
Tough Guys Don't Dance

1987-09-18

The Return of Mod Squad
The Return of Mod Squad

1979-05-18

Judgement
Judgement

1995-12-31

Starstruck
Starstruck

1998-04-18

Constellation
Constellation

2007-02-01

Sprung
Sprung

1997-05-14

Civility
Civility

2000-04-01

American Nightmares
American Nightmares

2018-10-11

Life
Life

1999-04-16

The Road to Galveston
The Road to Galveston

1996-01-24

Impostor
Impostor

2001-12-03

The X Team
The X Team

2003-01-01

Encino Woman
Encino Woman

1996-04-20