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Clarence Williams III (as FBI agent Roger Hardy in "Twin Peaks"): "His art and sheer coolness were extraordinary"
Photo: ABC Photo Archives / Getty Images
Lenny Kravitz identified with him as a child, and director Rusty Cundieff praised his extraordinary artistic ability: Clarence Williams III is dead. He died on Friday in his Los Angeles home after suffering from cancer.
This was announced by his management on Sunday.
Admirers and companions paid tribute to Williams, who made his role as the cool undercover cop Lincoln Hayes in the police hit "The Mod Squad" famous, for his groundbreaking roles and impressive achievements.
Singer Lenny Kravitz wrote on Twitter that as a child who grew up in New York City, Clarence Williams III was a face on television that he identified with and that inspired him: “From 'The Mod Squad' to 'Purple Rain 'and' Sugar Hill 'he always performed with dynamic energy. "
Director Rusty Cundieff, who worked with Williams on the horror comedy Tales from the Hood, wrote: “His artistry and sheer coolness were extraordinary.
I will forever be indebted to him for his brilliant performance in Tales From the Hood. "
Williams' career spanned more than five decades in theater, television, and film. He was born in New York City in 1939 into an artistic family and grew up with his grandparents. His mother was a singer and actress, father and grandfather were musicians. After working as a paratrooper, he began his acting career on Broadway. For his role in William Hanley's "Slow Dance on the Killing Ground" he was nominated for a Tony in 1964.
His breakthrough came with "The Mod Squad". The series, which portrayed the hippie generation of the sixties and seventies, ran in the USA from 1968 to 1973. He later took on the role of the father of funk icon Prince in the biopic "Purple Rain," and played a drug lord in Dave Chappelle's Half Baked and an FBI agent in David Lynch's Twin Peaks. He appeared on "Deep Cover", "Sugar Hill", "The General's Daughter" and television series such as "Miami Vice".
The fact that for most people he would always be undercover cop Lincoln Hayes hardly annoyed Williams: “Everything most people know about me is from the two hours they invested in the cinema or the time they spent in front of them "He once said in an interview:" There is so much entertainment at the moment that it is difficult to assert oneself and to become part of the national consciousness.
It's nice to be recognized and I have no problem with it at all. "
sak / Reuters