Clarence Williams III
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- August 21, 1939
- Died
- June 4, 2021 (aged 81)
- Birthplace
- New York City, New York, USA
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.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
American Nightmares
Movie · as Roscoe
Empire
TV · as Huey Jarvis · 1 ep
The Butler
Movie · as Maynard
Justified
TV · as Jones · 1 ep
The Way of War
Movie · as Mac
A Day in the Life
Movie · as Sam
Mystery Woman: In the Shadows
Movie · as Philby
American Gangster
Movie · as Bumpy Johnson (uncredited)
Constellation
Movie · as Forest Boxer
The Blue Hour
Movie · as Ridley
Burn Notice
TV · as Jean Pierre's Father · 1 ep
Mystery Woman: Redemption
Movie · as Philby
Mystery Woman: Oh Baby
Movie · as Philby
Mystery Woman: At First Sight
Movie · as Philby
Mystery Woman: Wild West Mystery
Movie · as Philby
Mystery Woman: Game Time
Movie · as Philby
Mystery Woman: Vision of a Murder
Movie · as Philby
Mystery Woman: Mystery Weekend
Movie · as Philby
Mystery Woman: Sing Me a Murder
Movie · as Philby
Mystery Woman: Snapshot
Movie · as Philby
Everybody Hates Chris
TV · as Tate · 1 ep
American Dragon: Jake Long
TV · 1 ep
Blue Hill Avenue
Movie · as Benny
The Extreme Team
Movie · as Zachary
ABC's 50th Anniversary Celebration
Movie · as Self
Miracles
TV · as Dr. Bauer · 1 ep
Happy Here and Now
Movie · as Bill
Fastlane
TV · as Mr. Hayes · 2 eps
Mindstorm
Movie · as Walter Golden
Impostor
Movie · as Secretary of Defense (uncredited)
The Legend of Tarzan
TV · as (voice) · 1 ep
Reindeer Games
Movie · as Merlin
Ali: An American Hero
Movie · as Marcellus Clay
Ritual
Movie · as Leron Becker
Civility
Movie · as Glitterman
The General's Daughter
Movie · as Colonel George Fowler
Life
Movie · as Winston Hancock
Last Rites
Movie · as Warden George Pierce
Judging Amy
TV · as Joe McKenzie · 2 eps
Half Baked
Movie · as Samson Simpson
The Legend of 1900
Movie · as Jelly Roll Morton
Frogs for Snakes
Movie · as Huck Hanley
Starstruck
Movie · as Jerry Wallace
Hoodlum
Movie · as Bub Hewlett
The Love Bug
Movie · as Chuck
The Brave
Movie · as Father Stratton
George Wallace
Movie · as Archie
Sprung
Movie · as Grand Daddy
George Wallace
TV · as Archie · 2 eps
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
Movie · as Coach Pratt
The Silencers
Movie · as General Greenboro
The Road to Galveston
Movie · as Christopher, the Caretaker
Encino Woman
Movie · as Javier
Profiler
TV · as Carl Adler · 1 ep
Millennium
TV · as Patient Zero · 1 ep
Tales from the Hood
Movie · as Mr. Simms (segment "Welcome to My Mortuary")
The Immortals
Movie · as Benny
Judgement
Movie · as Bryant
Against the Wall
Movie · as Chaka
Sugar Hill
Movie · as Arthur Romello "A.R." Skuggs
New York Undercover
TV · as Donald Brooks · 1 ep
Father & Son: Dangerous Relations
Movie · as Raymond
Deadfall
Movie · as Dean
Walker, Texas Ranger
TV · as Deputy Commissioner Luther Dobbs · 1 ep
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
TV · as Omet'iklan · 1 ep
Deep Cover
Movie · as Taft
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Movie · as Deputy Sheriff Virgil
Maniac Cop 2
Movie · as Blum
Nasty Boys, Part 2: Lone Justice
Movie
Twin Peaks
TV · as FBI Agent Roger Hardy · 2 eps
Nasty Boys
TV · as John Culver · 2 eps
Shades of L.A.
TV · 1 ep
Law & Order
TV · as Lateef Miller · 1 ep
Tales from the Crypt
TV · as Grady · 1 ep
Perfect Victims
Movie · as Lt. Kevin White
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
Movie · as Kalinga
The Last Innocent Man
Movie · as D.J. Johnson
Tough Guys Don't Dance
Movie · as Bolo
Jake and the Fatman
TV · as Benjamin Tatsa · 1 ep
52 Pick-Up
Movie · as Bobby Shy
Purple Rain
Movie · as Father
The House of Dies Drear
Movie · as Mayhew Skinner
The Hero Who Couldn't Read
Movie · as Mr. Simpson
Miami Vice
TV · as Maximilian 'Legba' Ildefonse · 1 ep
The Cosby Show
TV · as Mr. Thornehill · 1 ep
T. J. Hooker
TV · as Phil Decker, Martin, Walker Redding · 1 ep
Hill Street Blues
TV · as Lester Menley
The Return of Mod Squad
Movie · as Lincoln Hayes
The Littlest Hobo
TV · as David · 1 ep
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries
TV · as John Cambridge · 1 ep
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Mod Squad
TV · as Linc Hayes · 124 eps
The Danny Thomas Hour
TV · 1 ep
Tarzan
TV · 1 ep
The Cool World
Movie · as Blood