Clarence Williams III
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.
Hoodlum
as Bub HewlettIn 1934, the second most lucrative business in New York City was running 'the numbers'. When...
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American Gangster
as Bumpy Johnson (uncredited)Following the death of his employer and mentor, Bumpy Johnson, Frank Lucas establishes himself...
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Life
as Winston HancockTwo men in 1930s Mississippi become friends after being sentenced to life in prison together for...
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The Legend of 1900
as Jelly Roll MortonThe story of a virtuoso piano player who lives his entire life aboard an ocean liner. Born and...
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Reindeer Games
as MerlinAfter assuming his dead cellmate's identity to get with his girlfriend, an ex-con finds himself...
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The General's Daughter
as Colonel George FowlerWhen the body of Army Capt. Elisabeth Campbell is found on a Georgia military base, two...
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Half Baked
as Samson SimpsonThree lovable party buds try to bail their friend out of jail. But just when the guys have...
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Deep Cover
as TaftBlack police officer Russell Stevens applies for a special anti-drug squad which targets the...
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The Butler
as MaynardA look at the life of Cecil Gaines, who served eight presidents as the White House's head butler...
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Maniac Cop 2
as BlumAfter being framed by corrupt superiors and brutally assaulted in prison, Officer Matt Cordell...
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Impostor
as Secretary of Defense (uncredited)A top-secret government weapons designer is arrested by a clandestine government organization on...
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The Brave
as Father StrattonA down-on-his-luck American Indian recently released from jail is offered the chance to "star"...
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Purple Rain
as FatherA victim of his own anger, the Kid is a Minneapolis musician on the rise with his band, the...
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Sugar Hill
as Arthur Romello "A.R." SkuggsIn the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, the Mafia steps in when a drug dealer quits his...
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52 Pick-Up
as Bobby ShyHarry Mitchell is a successful Los Angeles manufacturer whose wife is running for city council....
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I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
as KalingaJack Spade returns from the army in his old ghetto neighbourhood when his brother, June Bug,...
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Against the Wall
as ChakaIn 1971, a warden at Attica Penitentiary is caught up in a hostage crisis when inmates take over...
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The Love Bug
as ChuckThe inimitable VW Beetle is losing all his races and destined for the scrap heap until mechanic...
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Deadfall
as DeanAfter he accidentally kills his father, Mike, during a sting, Joe tries to carry out Mike's...
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The Immortals
as BennyAn elaborate heist unites 8 strangers in a simultaneous assault on targets all over the city-...
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George Wallace
as ArchieGeorge Wallace is a 1997 television film starring Gary Sinise as George Wallace, the former...
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Tales from the Hood
as Mr. Simms (segment "Welcome to My Mortuary")A strange mortician tells four horrific tales to three drug dealers that he traps in their local...
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Sprung
as Grand DaddyTwo pairs of best friends - Montel & Clyde and Brandy & Adina meet at the party, where...
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Tough Guys Don't Dance
as BoloTim Madden awakens one morning to discover a fresh tattoo on his arm, his car covered in blood,...
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Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
as Coach PrattA dramatization of the life of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (Don Cheadle), with a lot of factual...
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American Nightmares
as RoscoeTwo voyeuristic nerds are hacking the devices of people as they themselves are hacked by the...
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Civility
as GlittermanCade Russo must reluctantly return home to Civility, Arizona to attend his father's funeral, and...
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The Way of War
as MacParamilitary operative David Wolfe stumbles upon an international conspiracy connecting...
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The Silencers
as General GreenboroU.S. Senator is assassinated by Men in Black, mysterious organization which suppresses all...
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The Cool World
as BloodA fifteen-year-old boy wants to buy a gun from an adult racketeer named Priest, in order to...
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Mystery Woman: Sing Me a Murder
as PhilbyMurder is something to sing about when Mystery Woman Samantha Kinsey-an expert in pulp fiction,...
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King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
as Self (archive footage)Constructed from a wealth of archival footage, the documentary follows Dr. Martin Luther King,...
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Mystery Woman: Vision of a Murder
as PhilbySam lands a job photographing a new spa in Southern California for their brochure and brings her...
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Blue Hill Avenue
as BennyA child of a middle class home with solid moral values is lured into a world of crime and...
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Mystery Woman: Snapshot
as PhilbyAmateur sleuth Samantha Kinsey's latest case has her trying to figure out who killed her best...
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A Day in the Life
as SamOnyx rapper Sticky Fingaz directs and stars in this hip-hop musical about a gangster who gets...
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The Last Innocent Man
as D.J. JohnsonA retired criminal lawyer is persuaded to take on one more case and becomes involved with his...
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Mystery Woman: In the Shadows
as PhilbyWhile searching for a KGB double agent who was about to be exposed by another Russian...
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Father & Son: Dangerous Relations
as RaymondAn estranged father and son are paroled from the same maximum-security prison with one unusual...
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Frogs for Snakes
as Huck HanleyA group of unemployed theater actors survive by working as illegal money collectors. The loan...
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Mystery Woman: Game Time
as PhilbySamantha (Kellie Martin) awaits the arrival of a famous writer who will sign copies in her...
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The Road to Galveston
as Christopher, the CaretakerJordan Roosevelt, at 65, found herself alone, destitute, and depressed. Up against the wall, she...
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Ali: An American Hero
as Marcellus ClayAli: An American Hero is an American television movie which aired on August 31, 2000 on FOX. It...
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Constellation
as Forest BoxerConstellation chronicles the lives and loves of an African-American family in the deep South as...
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Starstruck
as Jerry WallaceAn aspiring screenwriter in Los Angeles befriends a washed up, former teen idol and develops an...
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Mystery Woman: Oh Baby
as PhilbyA couple accused of a murder go on the run, leaving their baby in the care of bookshop owner...
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Mindstorm
as Walter GoldenA psychic's investigation into the disappearance of a Senator's daughter leads her to a...
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Mystery Woman: At First Sight
as PhilbyAfter dating hot doctor Ben, cued by Cassie, mystery woman sets out to discover in a tiny town...
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Mystery Woman: Redemption
as PhilbySamantha Kinsey is the owner of the Mystery Woman bookstore and an expert in criminology. This...
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My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
as Deputy Sheriff VirgilH.D. Dalton is a champion rodeo rider whose career is ruined after being gored by a bull. He...
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Mystery Woman: Mystery Weekend
as PhilbyShe's an avid mystery lover and bookseller, for whom crime has been comfortably confined to the...
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Perfect Victims
as Lt. Kevin WhiteA psycho who has contracted AIDS blames women for his disease, and begins to stalk and kill...
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Happy Here and Now
as BillWhen her sister suddenly vanishes, a young girl sets out to find her, desperately searching the...
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The Return of Mod Squad
as Lincoln HayesPete, Linc and Julie are called back to the force when a series of sniper attacks are made on...
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Ritual
as Leron BeckerA young man drops out of college to fix his family when he senses something is terribly wrong at...
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The X Team
as ZacharyA secret Black Ops rescue team made up of Gen X extreme sport athletes go to New Zealand to save...
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Mystery Woman: Wild West Mystery
as PhilbyWhen former TV star Clint Taylor brings his Wild West show into town, murder becomes the...
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Judgement
as BryantIn Judgement County, Texas, a rookie cop gets the ultimate test when an APB for a child killer...
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The House of Dies Drear
as Mayhew SkinnerA young black man and his family move into a home in rural Ohio and discover that during the...
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Law & Order
as Lateef MillerIn cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing...
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Twin Peaks
as FBI Agent Roger HardyThe body of Laura Palmer is washed up on a beach near the small Washington state town of Twin...
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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
as Omet'iklanAt Deep Space Nine, a space station located next to a wormhole in the vicinity of the liberated...
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The Cosby Show
as Mr. ThornehillThe Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for...
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T. J. Hooker
as Walker Redding / Martin / Phil DeckerSergeant Thomas Jefferson Hooker is a tough-as-nails veteran police officer with the LCPD who...
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Justified
as JonesA character drama based on the 2001 Elmore Leonard short story "Fire in the Hole." Leonard's...
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Miami Vice
as uncreditedThe story of the Miami Police Department's vice squad and its efforts to end drug trafficking...
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Everybody Hates Chris
as TateChris is a teenager growing up as the eldest of three children in Brooklyn, New York during the...
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Judging Amy
as Joe McKenzieJudging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through...
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Burn Notice
as Jean Pierre's FatherA formerly blacklisted spy uses his unique skills and training to help people in desperate...
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Walker, Texas Ranger
as Deputy Commissioner Luther DobbsModern-day Texas Ranger, Cordell Walker's independent crime-solving methods have their roots in...
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Millennium
as Patient ZeroA retired FBI serial-profiler joins the mysterious Millennium Group, a team of underground...
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Hill Street Blues
as uncreditedA realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.
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Tales from the Crypt
as GradyCadaverous scream legend the Crypt Keeper is your macabre host for these forays of fright and...
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Jake and the Fatman
as Benjamin TatsaJake and the Fatman is a television crime drama starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L....
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American Dragon: Jake Long
as uncreditedAmerican Dragon is a coming of age comedy-action series about Jake Long, a 13-year-old...
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The Legend of Tarzan
as (voice)The Legend of Tarzan picks up where the 1999 feature film left off, with the title character...
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Tarzan
as uncreditedTarzan is a series that aired on NBC from 1966 – 1968. The series portrayed Tarzan as a...
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New York Undercover
as Donald BrooksNew York Undercover is an American police drama The series stars Detective J.C. Williams and...
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Profiler
as uncreditedRachel Burke is a criminal profiler, one of the best, actually. She, along with a sophisticated...
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The Mod Squad
as uncreditedThe Mod Squad was the enormously successful groundbreaking "hippie" undercover cop show that ran...
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Fastlane
as Mr. HayesFastlane is an American action/crime drama series that was broadcast on Fox from September 18,...
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The Littlest Hobo
as DavidThe Littlest Hobo is a Canadian television series based upon a 1958 American film of the same...
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Nasty Boys
as John CulverThe Nasty Boys is a television action drama series based on the real life Narcotics Officers of...
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Shades of L.A.
as uncreditedShades of L.A. is an American crime drama television series that aired from October 10, 1990...
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Miracles
as uncreditedMiracles follows Paul Callan, an investigator of modern miracles for the Catholic Church who...
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The Danny Thomas Hour
as uncreditedThe Danny Thomas Hour is an American anthology television series that was broadcast on NBC...
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