Clarence Williams III

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Clarence Williams III
Williams in 1971
Born(1939-08-21)August 21, 1939
DiedJune 4, 2021(2021-06-04) (aged 81)
Resting placeSt Charles Cemetery, East Farmingdale, New York, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1960–2018[1]
Spouse
(m. 1967; div. 1984)

Clarence Williams III (August 21, 1939 – June 4, 2021) was an American actor. He played the character of Linc Hayes in the police television series

.

Biography

Early life

Born in New York City,[2] Williams was the son of a professional musician, Clarence "Clay" Williams Jr.,[3] and grandson of jazz and blues composer/pianist Clarence Williams and his singer-actress wife, Eva Taylor.[4] Raised by his paternal grandmother, he became interested in acting after accidentally walking onto a stage at a theater below a Harlem YMCA.[2]

Career

Williams began pursuing an acting career after spending two years as a

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.[6]

Williams' breakout television role was as undercover cop Linc Hayes on the popular

).

Spanning over forty years, his career included the role of

.

From 2003 to 2007, Williams had a recurring role as Philby Cross in the

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.[7] From 2005 to 2007 Williams had another recurring role as the voice of Councilor Andam on the Disney animated series American Dragon: Jake Long.[8]

Death

Williams died in

.

Personal life

Foster and Williams in The Mod Squad episode in 1970. Foster guest-starred as a blind friend of Linc Hayes.

Williams married the actress Gloria Foster in 1967.[11] They worked together on The Mod Squad; Foster made two guest appearances.[8] The two also acted in a 1964 film The Cool World.[8] In 1984 they filed for divorce, but remained friends. They had no children. Williams announced Foster's death in 2001.

Selected filmography

Film

Year Film Role Notes
1963 The Cool World Blood
1984 Purple Rain Father
1986 52 Pick-Up Bobby Shy
1988 I'm Gonna Git You Sucka Kalinga
1991 My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys Virgil
1992 Deep Cover Detective Taft [8]
1994 Sugar Hill Arthur Romello "A.R." Skuggs
1995 Tales from the Hood Mr. Simms
1997 Hoodlum "Bub" Hewlett [8]
1998 The Legend of 1900 "Jelly Roll" Morton
1998 Half Baked Samson Simpson
1998 Starstruck Jarry Wallace [8]
1999 Life Winston Hancock
1999 The General’s Daughter Colonel George Fowler [12]
2000 Reindeer Games "Merlin" [12]
2001 Blue Hill Avenue Benny
2003 The Extreme Team Zachary
2005 Constellation Forest Boxer
2007 The Blue Hour Ridley
2007 American Gangster Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson Uncredited[12][13]
2009 The Way of War Mac
2009 A Day in the Life Sam [8]
2013 The Butler Maynard
2018 American Nightmares Roscoe Final film role

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1968–1973 The Mod Squad Lincoln "Linc" Hayes Main role, 123 episodes[14]
1979 The Littlest Hobo David Episode: "Boy on Wheels"[8]
1983 Hill Street Blues Lester Minley Episode: "Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow"[12]
1984
T J Hooker
Martin Episode: “Deadlock”
1985 Miami Vice Maximilian "Legba" Ildefonse Episode: "Tale of the Goat"[12]
1985 The Cosby Show Mr. Thornhill Episode: "Cliff's Birthday"[14]
1990 Twin Peaks FBI Agent Roger Hardy 3 episodes[14]
1992 Tales from the Crypt Security Guard Episode: "Maniac at Large" Season 4, Episode 10
1994 Against the Wall Chaka Television film [15]
1996 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Omet'iklan
Episode: "To the Death"
2000 Law & Order Latiff Miller Episode: "Burn, Baby, Burn"[8]
2003 Fastlane Mr. Hayes Episodes: "Overkill", "Dosed"
2005–2007 American Dragon: Jake Long Councilor Andam Recurring voice role[8]
2005 Everybody Hates Chris Tate Episode: "Everybody Hates Basketball"[12]
2005 Mystery Woman: Mystery Weekend Philby Television film (Hallmark)[8]
2005 Mystery Woman: Snapshot Philby Television film (Hallmark)
2005 Mystery Woman: Sing Me A Murder Philby Television film (Hallmark)
2005 Mystery Woman: Vision of a Murder Philby Television film (Hallmark)
2005 Mystery Woman: Game Time Philby Television film (Hallmark)
2006 Mystery Woman: At First Sight Philby Television film (Hallmark)
2006 Mystery Woman: Wild West Mystery Philby Television film (Hallmark)
2006 Mystery Woman: Oh Baby Philby Television film (Hallmark)
2006 Mystery Woman: Redemption Philby Television film (Hallmark)
2007 Mystery Woman: In the Shadows Philby Television film (Hallmark)
2009 Burn Notice Jean Pierre's Father Episode "Truth and Reconciliation"
2009 Cold Case Henry "Pops" Walters Episode "Officer Down"
2010 Justified Mr. Jones Episode: "Long in the Tooth"[12]
2010 Memphis Beat Leroy Hitch Episode: "I Shall Not Be Moved"
2015 Empire Huey Jarvis Episode: "True Love Never"[14]

References

  1. ^ Kohn, Eric (July 13, 2018). "'Tales From the Hood' Director Rusty Cundieff: Why It Took 20 Years to Make a Sequel to His Black Horror Anthology". IndieWire. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Clarence Williams III". TV Guide. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013.
  3. ^ Thomson, Cordell S. (January 14, 1971). "New York Beat". Jet. p. 57. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  4. ^ "Clarence Williams: Composer, Producer, Director, Performer, Writer, Lyricist, Musical Director". Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on June 1, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  5. ^ Berman, Marc (June 6, 2021). "'The Mod Squad Star' Clarence Williams III Dies At 81". Forbes. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  6. ^ "The Theater: 'Slow Dance on the Killing Ground'; William Hanley Makes His Broadway Debut Story of Tortured Trio Opens at Plymouth". The New York Times. December 1, 1964. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  7. ^ "Review: Brilliant Washington powers 'Gangster'". CNN. November 1, 2007.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lund, Anthony (June 8, 2021). "Clarence Williams III Dies, Mod Squad and Tales from the Hood Star Was 81". MovieWeb. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  9. ^ Haring, Bruce (June 6, 2021). "Clarence Williams III Dies: 'Linc' On 'The Mod Squad' Was 81". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 6, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  10. ^ Barnes, Mike (June 6, 2021). "Clarence Williams III, Linc on 'The Mod Squad,' Dies at 81". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  11. ^ "Clarence Williams III: Tributes paid to late star of Purple Rain and The Mod Squad". BBC News. June 7, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g "Clarence Williams III, cop Linc Hayes on The Mod Squad, dies aged 81". The Guardian. London. June 7, 2021.
  13. ^ Bumbray, Chris (June 7, 2021). "Clarence Williams III Dies: Tales From the Hood Star Was 81". JoBlo. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  14. ^ a b c d "Clarence Williams III, Played Linc on The Mod Squad, Dead at 81". TVLine. June 6, 2021.
  15. ^ "Against the Wall". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 25, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2021.

External links