Clarence Williams III, who performed cool undercover cop Link Hayes on the counterculture sequence The Mod Squad and Prince’s father in Purple Rain, has died. He was 81 years previous.
Williams died on Friday at his residence in Los Angeles, his supervisor Alan Mindell stated on Sunday. Tributes shortly poured in on social media from each those that labored with Williams and those that praised her for her stellar roles and spectacular performances.
Tales of the Hood director Rusty Kundiff tweeted that her unhappiness over Williams’ passing, “cannot be over-told. Her artistry and sheer coolness were extraordinary. I will forever be indebted to her for her stellar performance in Tales from the Hood.” Loved working with him! Blessed journey good sir!”
Lenny Kravitz wrote on Twitter, “When I was a kid growing up in NYC, Clarence Williams III was a face on TV that I recognized and inspired me. From Mod Squad to Purple Rain and Sugar Hill, they’ve always been on the move. Performed with energy. Rest in power, King.”
When I used to be a child rising up in NYC, Clarence Williams III was a face on TV that I acknowledged and who impressed me. From Mod Squad to Purple Rain and Sugar Hill, he all the time carried out with kinetic power. relaxation in energy, king pic.twitter.com/GIZLSjp4uV
— Lenny Kravitz (@LennyKravitz) 6 June 2021
Director Peyton Reed tweeted that he labored with Williams on the 1995 TV film The Love Bug.
“I grew up seeing him as Link in Mod Squad and I assumed he was the epitome of cool. Turns out he was. Rest in peace, Clarence,” Reid wrote.
I obtained an opportunity to work with Clarence Williams III on my second TV movie, The Love Bug, in 1995. I grew up seeing him as Link in Mod Squad and I assumed he was the epitome of cool. Turns out he was. Rest in Peace, Clarence. pic.twitter.com/PadZZlTzKJ
— Peyton Reed (@MrPeytonReed) 6 June 2021
A New York native, Williams’ profession spanned greater than 5 a long time in theatre, tv, and movie. He was born in 1939 right into a artistic household and was raised by his musical grandparents. His grandfather was a jazz musician and pianist, his father was a musician and his mom, Eva Taylor, was a singer and actress. He made his performing debut on Broadway after a stint as a paratrooper and obtained a 1964 Tony nomination for his function in William Hanley’s “Slow Dance on the Killing Ground.”
His breakout function would include The Mod Squad, which he led alongside Peggy Lipton and Michael Cole. Bill Cosby had seen Williams carry out and advised Aaron Spelling that he ought to contemplate him for the function of Link. The present ran on ABC from 1968 to 1973. A trailblazing present for trying to painting the hippie technology of the time, The Mod Squad was a star-producer for all three. But it was by no means too early for Williams to comply with up on roles.
He appeared on Broadway in 1979 with Maggie Smith in Tom Stoppard’s “Night and Day”, earlier than being forged because the troubled father in Purple Rain, which got here out in 1984.
Director John Frankenheimer typically grew to become a collaborator. They first teamed up for the difference of Elmore Leonard’s “52 Pick-Ups” when Williams, not having a lot luck in Hollywood, crashed on Cosby’s sofa to be able to have a roof over his head.
“He asked me to read for the part of one of the blackmailers, but after only four lines, he told me to stop,” Williams recalled in a 1999 interview. “I thought it was all over, but he said, ‘Have your agent called me. It’s going to be a 10-week shoot. Thanks for coming in.’ That was it.”
Williams additionally appeared in some episodes of Frankenheimer’s Against the Wall, Reindeer Games and Tales from the Crypt.
Williams might command all kinds of genres, together with comedy. He performed a drug lord reverse Dave Chappelle in Half Baked and stole scenes in Keenan Ivory Wayans’ blaxploitation parody movie I’m Gonna Git You Succa. He additionally had a recurring function in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks as an FBI agent who tells Agent Cooper that he has been suspended.
Other movie roles embody an uncredited function in Tales from the Hood, Deep Cover, Sugar Hill, The General’s Daughter, Lee Daniels the Butler, and American Gangster. And he is had many, many tv appearances on all the pieces from Miami Vice and Hill Street Blues to Everybody Hates Chris and Justified.
He was married to actress Gloria Foster from 1967 to 1984.
Williams by no means appeared to worry over her longtime affiliation with the Mod Squad.
In an interview in 1999, he stated, “Most people I know invest two hours in a movie theater or the amount of time they spend in front of their TV.” “There’s so much entertainment out there, it’s hard to break into and be part of the national consciousness. It’s good to be recognized, and I have no problem with that.”
.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
