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Clarence Williams III
Clarence Williams III
Date of Birth
Clarence Williams III was an American actor.
He played the character of Linc Hayes in the police television series The Mod Squad from 1968 to 1973.
Spanning over 40 years, his career included the role of Prince's tormented father, who was also a musician, in Purple Rain (1984), 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).
Clarence Williams III was an American actor.
He played the character of Linc Hayes in the police television series The Mod Squad from 1968 to 1973.
Spanning over 40 years, his career included the role of Prince's tormented father, who was also a musician, in Purple Rain (1984), 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, and Law & Order. He also played a supporting role as Georgia governor 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. One of the films in the series (Mystery Woman: At First Sight) reunited him with his Mod Squad co-star Michael Cole.
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 on June 4, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. He was 81.
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