Clarence Williams III

Contents

Clarence Williams III (August 21, 1939 – June 4, 2021) was an American actor. He was best known for his starring role as Linc Hayes on the television series The Mod Squad (1968–73).[1] He also appeared in films such as Purple Rain, 52 Pick-Up, Tales from the Hood, Hoodlum, Deep Cover, Half Baked, Life, American Gangster, and Reindeer Games, and was a Tony Award-nominated stage actor.[2]

Early life

Born in New York City,[3] Williams was the son of a professional musician, Clarence "Clay" Williams Jr.,[4] and grandson of jazz and blues composer/pianist Clarence Williams and his singer-actress wife, Eva Taylor.[5] Raised by his paternal grandmother, he became interested in acting after accidentally walking onto a stage at a theater below a Harlem YMCA.[3]

During the late 1950s, Williams served two years in the United States Army, as a paratrooper in C Company, 506th Infantry, of the 101st Airborne Division.[6][7]

Career

Williams 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.[8] 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.[9]

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.[10] From 2005 to 2007, Williams had another recurring role as the voice of Councilor Andam on the Disney animated series American Dragon: Jake Long.[11]

Personal life

Williams married the actress Gloria Foster in 1967.[12] They worked together on The Mod Squad; Foster made two guest appearances.[11] The two also acted in a 1964 film The Cool World.[11] In 1984, they filed for divorce, but remained friends. They had no children. Williams announced Foster's death in 2001.

His oft-collaborator, director John Frankenheimer, considered Williams one of the greatest character actors of his lifetime, saying “Clarence’ll put the fear of God in you.”[1]

Death

Williams died in Los Angeles, on June 4, 2021, at the age of 81, from colon cancer.[13][14] He is buried in St Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale, New York.

Selected filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
1959Porkchop HillMessage RunnerUncredited
1963The Cool WorldBlood
1984Purple RainFather
198652 Pick-UpBobby Shy
1988I'm Gonna Git You SuckaKalinga
1991My Heroes Have Always Been CowboysVirgil
1992Deep CoverDetective Taft[11]
1994Sugar HillArthur Romello "A.R." Skuggs
1995Tales from the HoodMr. Simms
1996The SilencersGeneral Greenboro
1997Hoodlum"Bub" Hewlett[11]
1998The Legend of 1900Jelly Roll Morton
Half BakedSamson Simpson
StarstruckJarry Wallace[11]
1999LifeWinston Hancock
The General's DaughterColonel George Fowler[15]
2000Reindeer Games"Merlin"[15]
2001Blue Hill AvenueBenny
2003The Extreme TeamZachary
2005ConstellationForest Boxer
2007The Blue HourRidley
American GangsterEllsworth "Bumpy" JohnsonUncredited[15][16]
2009The Way of WarMac
A Day in the LifeSam[11]
2013The ButlerMaynard
2018American NightmaresRoscoe

Television

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
1968–73The Mod SquadLincoln "Linc" HayesMain cast[17]
1979The Littlest HoboDavidEpisode: "Boy on Wheels"[11]
1983Hill Street BluesLester MinleyEpisode: "Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow"[15]
1984T J HookerMartinEpisode: "Deadlock"
1985Miami ViceMaximilian "Legba" IldefonseEpisode: "Tale of the Goat"[15]
The Cosby ShowMr. ThornhillEpisode: "Cliff's Birthday"[17]
1990Twin PeaksFBI Agent Roger Hardy3 episodes[17]
1992Tales from the CryptGradyEpisode: "Maniac at Large" Season 4, Episode 10
1994Against the WallChakaTelevision film[18]
1996Star Trek: Deep Space NineOmet'iklanEpisode: "To the Death"
2000Law & OrderLatiff MillerEpisode: "Burn, Baby, Burn"[11]
2001The Legend of TarzanKobe (voice)Episode: "Tarzan and the Fountain"
2003FastlaneMr. HayesEpisodes: "Overkill", "Dosed"
2005–07American Dragon: Jake LongCouncilor Andam (voice)Recurring role[11]
2005Everybody Hates ChrisTateEpisode: "Everybody Hates Basketball"[15]
Mystery Woman: Mystery WeekendPhilbyTelevision film[11]
Mystery Woman: Snapshot[11]
Mystery Woman: Sing Me A Murder[11]
Mystery Woman: Vision of a Murder[11]
Mystery Woman: Game Time[11]
2006Mystery Woman: At First Sight[11]
Mystery Woman: Wild West Mystery[11]
Mystery Woman: Oh Baby[11]
Mystery Woman: Redemption[11]
2007Mystery Woman: In the Shadows[11]
2009Burn NoticeJean Pierre's FatherEpisode "Truth and Reconciliation"
Cold CaseHenry "Pops" WaltersEpisode "Officer Down"
2010JustifiedMr. JonesEpisode: "Long in the Tooth"[15]
Memphis BeatLeroy HitchEpisode: "I Shall Not Be Moved"
2015EmpireHuey JarvisEpisode: "True Love Never"[17]

References

  1. 1.[1.2]"Uncanny Talent: Clarence Williams III, 1939-2021 | Tributes | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. June 7, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  2. 2."Clarence Williams III – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  3. 3.[3.2]"Clarence Williams III". TV Guide. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013.
  4. 4.Thomson, Cordell S. (January 14, 1971). "New York Beat". Jet. p. 57. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  5. 5."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.
  6. 6."Clarence Williams III, a Star of 'Mod Squad,' Is Dead at 81 (Published 2021)". June 6, 2021. Archived from the original on September 8, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  7. 7.Barber, James (June 7, 2021). "Great Screen Performances by Clarence Williams III, 101st Airborne Paratrooper". Military.com. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  8. 8.Berman, Marc (June 6, 2021). "'The Mod Squad Star' Clarence Williams III Dies At 81". Forbes. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  9. 9."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.
  10. 10."Review: Brilliant Washington powers 'Gangster'". CNN. November 1, 2007.
  11. 11.[11.2][11.3][11.4][11.5][11.6][11.7][11.8][11.9][11.10][11.11][11.12][11.13][11.14][11.15][11.16][11.17][11.18][11.19][11.20]Lund, Anthony (June 8, 2021). "Clarence Williams III Dies, Mod Squad and Tales from the Hood Star Was 81". MovieWeb. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  12. 12."Clarence Williams III: Tributes paid to late star of Purple Rain and The Mod Squad". BBC News. June 7, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  13. 13.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.
  14. 14.Barnes, Mike (June 6, 2021). "Clarence Williams III, Linc on 'The Mod Squad,' Dies at 81". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  15. 15.[15.2][15.3][15.4][15.5][15.6][15.7]"Clarence Williams III, cop Linc Hayes on The Mod Squad, dies aged 81". The Guardian. London. June 7, 2021.
  16. 16.Bumbray, Chris (June 7, 2021). "Clarence Williams III Dies: Tales From the Hood Star Was 81". JoBlo. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  17. 17.[17.2][17.3][17.4]"Clarence Williams III, Played Linc on The Mod Squad, Dead at 81". TVLine. June 6, 2021.
  18. 18."Against the Wall". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 25, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2021.