Peggy Lipton with Michael Cole, left, and Clarence Williams III. Clarence Williams III, who is remembered as Lincoln "Linc" Hayes on ABC's then trendy The Mod Squad from 1968 to 1973, lost his battle with colon cancer on Friday, June 4. [4] Raised by his paternal grandmother, he became interested in acting after accidentally walking onto a stage at a theater below a Harlem YMCA. His father was musician Clay Williams while his grandparents were composer-pianist Clarence Williams and singer-actress Eva Taylor. Beginning in the 1980s, he had a busy film career. Her death was confirmed by her daughters, the actresses Kidada and Rashida Jones. ", #PeggyLiptons generosity, wild sense of humor and style, and deeply sensitive wisdom inspired all who had the joy of meeting her. All Rights Reserved. Clarence Williams III, the US actor who played Prince's father in Purple Rain and also starred in 1960s show The Mod Squad, has died at the age of 81. He played Princes abusive father in Purple Rain (1984) and Wesley Snipess heroin-addicted father in Sugar Hill (1993). Clarence Williams III, who starred as the brooding undercover cop Lincoln Hayes on the countercultural 1968-73 ABC drama The Mod Squad, has died. After the show ended, Mr. Williams dropped out of sight for a while, expressing disappointment in the kinds of roles available to Black men. Read about our approach to external linking. For a while. 85 likes, 5 comments - EPIC MA'AT (@epic_maat) on Instagram: "#Repost with @fastsave_photo_video credit: @kishlb Clarence Williams III, 'The Mod Squad' and 'P." EPIC MA'AT on Instagram: "#Repost with @fastsave_photo_video credit: @kishlb Clarence Williams III, 'The Mod Squad' and 'Purple Rain' star, dies at 81 His career in film, television . Continuing his work on stage, he appeared in Walk in Darkness (1963), Sarah and the Sax (1964), Doubletalk (1964), and King John. He first appeared on Broadway in The Long Dream (1960). Mr. Williams was recommended for the role by Bill Cosby, who had seen him on stage. The tag line First they got busted, then they got badges referred to three attractive, streetwise flower children (One black, one white, one blonde, as another tag line explained) who, after some trouble with the law, joined the police force and worked undercover. [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]. He was 81 years old. Ms. Lipton contended that the vulnerability of her character required little acting on her part. The show addressed issues such as the Vietnam War, drugs and domestic violence. He is a stage, film and television actor, who occasionally directs. Linc was a very different role for an African-American and a wonderful lead character that a lot of youngsters, Black and white, and principally African-American youngsters could identify with, he told the Los Angeles Times in 1995. Hallmarks Schedule of New Movies for June 2021. "It's not a 100-yard dash, it's a long-distance run," he said of his career in 1997. We collect and tell stories of people from all around the world. She made her television debut as a secretary on an episode of the sitcom Bewitched in 1965 and followed that with guest spots on series including Mr. He also served as artist-in-residence at Brandeis University in 1966.[6]. See production, box office & company info, Beverly Hills Marriott - 1150 S Beverly Dr, Los Angeles, California, USA. Transcript. Oh my God. Back home, he played on Broadway in The Great Indoors and served as an artist-in-residence at Brandeis University before his big break on The Mod Squad. I had the opportunity to work with Peggy for a few days on a film. We stopped in 1972 and people still bring it up to me when Im walking in airports or down the boulevard. (Photo by ABC/Hulton Archive/Courtesy of Getty . Although The Mod Squad made Mr. Williams a symbol of the Vietnam War generation, he actually served in the military just before that era. His interest in acting began when he visited a Harlem Y.M.C.A., where his sister was working, and dropped in to watch a plays run-through. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. He did a great deal of stage work after The Mod Squad went off the air, including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Shes the one I always wanted to be. He starred in 11 Hallmark movies. Martin starred opposite Williams. The news was confirmed by her two daughters Kidada and Rashida Jones (star of TV's "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation"), from Lipton's 15-year marriage to music producer Quincy Jones. Williams died. He was 81. "You need patience, because you're going for the distance.". While Cole might have started on the wrong track, he is now healthy and happy. Twice, the "Mr. Brooks" star had fatal accidents that had him thrown through his windshield. The trio's investigation of a cover-up in a construction-site murder leads them to a pair of bad heavies.The trio's investigation of a cover-up in a construction-site murder leads them to a pair of bad heavies.The trio's investigation of a cover-up in a construction-site murder leads them to a pair of bad heavies. Peggy Lipton, the angel-faced actress who starred in The Mod Squad and made a television comeback in the Twin Peaks series, died on Saturday in Los Angeles. Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. So many Hollywood stars like Dick Van Dyke, and Mary Tyler Moore, battled with a form of addiction. By the end of the evening he had been cast in the production. Honest, funny, nurturing, oh and loved some good, juicy, gossip", Im heartbroken. Clarence Williams III on Mystery Woman. Asked about her on Sunday, a family member declined to give her name and described her as largely absent. He was raised by his paternal grandparents. He has a deep appreciation for the life he has, and do not take it for granted. Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. Clarence Williams III, who played the cool undercover cop Linc Hayes on the counterculture series "The Mod Squad" and Prince's father in "Purple Rain," has died. His addiction also almost cost him his life on two occasions. The actor chronicled his addiction and recovery in his memoir, and once stated that it took a lot of pain and tears to write it. Id done all I could with the part. Sweet, kind, beautiful & very cool," said Billy Baldwin. He was 81. After appearing in an uncredited role in Lewis Milestones Pork Chop Hill (1959) and on Broadway in 1960s The Long Dream, Williams enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division. The two appeared together in the movie The Cool World (1963). Clarence Williams III, the US actor who played Prince's father in Purple Rain and also starred in 1960s show The Mod Squad, has died at the age of 81. Their daughters, Kidada and Rashida Jones, were her only children. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The actor's other roles included ageing manservant Maynard in Lee Daniels' 2013 film The Butler. agent on Twin Peaks in 1990 and appeared in many films and television series after The Mod Squad ended. Williams added that he loved acting and wasnt interested in switching to directing the movies. Michael Cole attends the weSpark Cancer Support's 15th Anniversary Celebration Comedy Night at Skirball Cultural Center on September 15, 2016 | Photo: Getty Images. Williams rose to fame in 1968 with his role on the cop show The Mod Squad, where he starred with Peggy Lipton and Michael Cole until the early 1970s. THE SADNESS IN HIS DAUGHTER'S EYES MADE NO DIFFERENCE. Department of Emergency Medicine. "I'd done all I could with the part," he told the Chicago Tribune in 1997. I think thats one of the wonderful things about our show: the audience is not shut out of a clue. The Wisconsin native married Shelley Funes in '96, and when she saw that he would drink himself to his grave, she gave him an ultimatum. 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. Clarence Williams III was born in Manhattan on Aug. 21, 1939. June 4, 2021 Ms. Lipton said she had just relaxed and allowed herself to be a neutral observer and to appreciate their conversation, without feeling a hint of competitiveness. They had no children. Foster went on to play The Oracle in the first two Matrix films before dying in 2001. In his memoir, "I Played the White Guy," he wrote, "Jennifer recalled that when she was younger I was either drinking, drunk or hungover.". Weve lost a beautiful soul. Known for his prodigious afro and gap-toothed smile, Williams also worked regularly with famed director John Frankenheimer, first on Elmore Leonards 52 Pick-Up (1986) and then on The Generals Daughter (1999), Reindeer Games (2000) and two telefilms, the Attica-set Against the Wall in 1994 and George Wallace in 1997. Clarence also made guest appearances on TV programs, "Cold Case," "Memphis Beat," "Justified" and "Empire," to name a few. She shared her story consistently, hoping that it would help one person, just as Cole does, and hopefully, the good will outweigh the bad in the end. Is climate change killing Australian wine? Williams died on June 4 in Los Angeles of colon cancer, his management company confirmed to USA TODAY. He began his acting career on Broadway, where his grandfather had appeared as early as 1908. [9][10] He is buried in St Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale, New York. Lipton played Julie Barnes, one of a trio of Los Angeles undercover "hippie cops"on the counter-culture "The Mod Squad" with Michael Cole and Clarence Williams III. The three starred in The Mod Squad, which ran on ABC from 1968 to 1973. He is best known for his role as Pete Cochran on the television crime drama The Mod Squad (1968-1973). His other film roles included a much-too-loyal aide-de-camp in The Generals Daughter (1999), a glowering criminal who is set on fire in Reindeer Games (2000), an old-school crime lord in American Gangster (2007) and a White House servants older mentor in Lee Danielss The Butler (2013). Cole Hauser's Wife Sacrificed an Egg to Help Twin Sister Have Her Niece Meet the 'Sweet Valley High' Stars, 'Yellowstone' Star Wes Bentley's Children Saved His Life Following His Addiction and Unemployment, 'Family Affair's' Johnny Whitaker's Family Threatened to 'Divorce' Him after He Became Penniless, Patrick Swayze's Last Words Before He Slipped into a Coma, Martin Sheen's Longtime Wife Helped Him 'Heal Psychically' When He Thought He Was Going to Die, Meet Charlotte Raes 2 Kids with Husband of 25 Years Who Fell in Love with Man of His Dreams', Colin Farrell Was Told Son James Padraig May Never Walk He Gave up Drugs to Fight for Him. He has performed multiple on-screen hosting and commentary roles across his two-decade-plus-long . MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: Actor Clarence . See production, box office & company info, (Pete rescues a suicidal man here - stacks still standing), LADWP Valley Generating Station, 11819 Sheldon St., Sun Valley, California, USA. Williams died Friday at his home in Los Angeles after a battle with colon cancer, his manager Allan Mindel said Sunday. For the American football tight end, see, King: A Filmed Record Montgomery to Memphis, "Clarence Williams: Composer, Producer, Director, Performer, Writer, Lyricist, Musical Director", "The Theater: 'Slow Dance on the Killing Ground'; William Hanley Makes His Broadway Debut Story of Tortured Trio Opens at Plymouth", "Review: Brilliant Washington powers 'Gangster', "Clarence Williams III Dies, Mod Squad and Tales from the Hood Star Was 81", "Clarence Williams III Dies: 'Linc' On 'The Mod Squad' Was 81", "Clarence Williams III, Linc on 'The Mod Squad,' Dies at 81", "Clarence Williams III: Tributes paid to late star of Purple Rain and The Mod Squad", "Clarence Williams III, cop Linc Hayes on The Mod Squad, dies aged 81", "Clarence Williams III Dies: Tales From the Hood Star Was 81", "Clarence Williams III, Played Linc on The Mod Squad, Dead at 81", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Clarence_Williams_III&oldid=1151719229, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Episode: "Maniac at Large" Season 4, Episode 10, This page was last edited on 25 April 2023, at 20:34. Ms. Lipton received four Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe Award for her performance. She was 72. The couple separated in 1986 and divorced in 1990. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Clarence Williams III passed away in Los Angeles, California after a battle with colon cancer. Complete information on her survivors was not immediately available. The series which aired for five years beginning from '68 starred Cole as "Pete Cochran," Clarence Williams III as "Linc Hayes," and Peggy Lipton as "Julie Barnes." She was an exquisite human being On all levels. The trio's investigation of a cover-up in a construction-site murder leads them to a pair of bad heavies. The Mod Squad, which ran from 1968 to 1973, was one of the first of its kind a prime-time network series that focused on members of the hippie generation at the same time that it exploited them. He got over a hundred stitches in his head, but it still wasn't a wakeup call. Williams married the actress Gloria Foster in 1967. 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). Later, Cole appeared as adult Henry Bowers in Stephen King's 1990 two-part TV miniseries It. She was battling cancer. Hulton Archive/Getty. "And so I said let me go back, refresh myself, learn some things, read, travel and just try to put some more arrows in my quiver.". He played the iconic role of Linc Hayes, a troubled teen who became an undercover cop. Showmanship was in Williams' blood as he was born into a musical family. He also worked on shows such as The Eddie Capra Mysteries; Murder, She Wrote; Fantasy Island, and Diagnosis: Murder. According to TV Guide, Cole originally balked at the part of Peter Cochran when he realized he would be playing an undercover cop, saying: "I'm not going to take the part of a guy who finks on his friends!" Clarence Williams III, star of "The Mod Squad" and known among Hallmark fans as a lead character in the "Mystery Woman" series, has died at the age of 81. Mr. Williams often contended that he didnt take being a role model that seriously. Hallmark fans know Williams best for his leading role in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries series, Mystery Woman. He played the role of Philby in 10 movies from 2003 to 2007, including: Mystery Woman starred Kellie Martin as Samantha, a mystery bookstore owner who found herself thrust into a world of real-life murders. The actor's management confirmed his death to multiple outlets on Sunday, sharing . He was a leader of the Attica prison riots in HBOs Against the Wall (1994); a segregationist governors manservant in the mini-series George Wallace (1997); Muhammad Alis father in Ali: An American Hero (2000); and a retired C.I.A. Williams made his breakthrough in the 1968 counterculture police crime series, . So I kept an eye on her because she has a tendency to run out and do things.. Wherever Quincy and I went, there was an edge to peoples reactions.. Michael Cole on "No Way to Treat a Victim" | Photo: Getty Images. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. He was a crazed blackmailer in John Frankenheimers 52 Pick-Up (1986) and a wild-eyed storytelling mortician in Tales From the Hood (1995). Please fill in your e-mail so we can share with you our top stories! He also said that he enjoyed the way the movies are presented in general: allowing viewers to slowly learn more clues and solve each mystery themselves, too. The show had two ad taglines. He was best known for playing Linc Hayes on The Mod Squad and Prince's father in Purple Rain. Samantha finds her unfortunately she has just been arrested as a suspect in . He starred alongside Michael Cole and the late Peggy Lipton in the ABC detective show, appearing in more than 120 episodes over the next five years.
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