Clarence Williams III (August 21, 1939 – June 4, 2021) was an American actor. He played the character of Linc Hayes in the police television seriesThe Mod Squad from 1968 to 1973. He also appeared in films such asPurple Rain,52 Pick-Up,Tales from the Hood,Hoodlum,Half Baked,Life,American Gangster, andReindeer Games.

Clarence Williams III
Williams in 1971
Born	(1939-08-21)August 21, 1939 New York City,New York, U.S.
Died	June 4, 2021(2021-06-04) (aged 81) Los Angeles,California, U.S.
Resting place	St Charles Cemetery,East Farmingdale, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1960–2018[1]
Spouse	Gloria Foster ​ ​ (m. 1967;div. 1984)​

Born inNew York City,^[2] Williams was the son of a professional musician, Clarence "Clay" Williams Jr.,^[3] and grandson of jazz and blues composer/pianistClarence Williams and his singer-actress wife,Eva Taylor.^[4] Raised by his paternal grandmother, he became interested in acting after accidentally walking onto a stage at a theater below a HarlemYMCA.^[2]

Williams began pursuing an acting career after spending two years as aU.S. Armyparatrooper in C Company,506th Infantry, of the101st Airborne Division. He first appeared onBroadway inThe Long Dream (1960). Continuing his work on stage, he appeared inWalk in Darkness (1963),Sarah and the Sax (1964),Doubletalk (1964), andKing John.^[5] His breakout theatrical role was inWilliam Hanley'sSlow Dance on the Killing Ground, for which he received aTony Award nomination. TheNew York Times drama criticHoward 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 atBrandeis University in 1966.^[6]

Williams' breakout television role was as undercover cop Linc Hayes on the popularABCcounterculture police television seriesThe Mod Squad (1968), along with fellow relative unknownsMichael Cole andPeggy 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 ofPrince's tormented father, who was also a musician, inPurple Rain (1984), A guest appearance inMiami Vice (1985), a recurring role in the surreal TV seriesTwin Peaks (1990), a good cop inDeep Cover (1992), a rioter in the mini-seriesAgainst the Wall (1994), andWesley Snipes' chemically dependent father inSugar Hill (1993). His other roles on television includeHill Street Blues, the Canadian cult classicThe Littlest Hobo,Miami Vice,The Highwayman,Burn Notice,Everybody Hates Chris,Justified,Cold Case, andLaw & Order. He can be seen in films such as52 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 musicianJelly Roll Morton inThe Legend of 1900. He also played a supporting role asGeorge Wallace's fictional African-American butler and caretaker in the 1997TNT filmGeorge Wallace.

From 2003 to 2007, Williams had a recurring role as Philby Cross in theMystery Woman film series on theHallmark Channel. He appeared in all but the first of the eleven films alongsideKellie Martin (J.E. Freeman played Philby in the Mystery Woman first film). In the seventh (Mystery Woman: At First Sight) film, he reunited with hisMod Squad co-star Michael Cole. He playedBumpy Johnson in the filmAmerican Gangster.^[7] From 2005 to 2007 Williams had another recurring role as the voice of Councilor Andam on the Disney animated seriesAmerican Dragon: Jake Long.^[8]

Williams died inLos Angeles, on June 4, 2021, at the age of 81, fromcolon cancer.^[9][10] He is buried inSt Charles Cemetery inEast Farmingdale, New York.

Williams married the actressGloria Foster in 1967.^[11] They worked together onThe Mod Squad; Foster made two guest appearances.^[8] The two also acted in a 1964 filmThe Cool World.^[8] In 1984 they filed for divorce, but remained friends. They had no children. Williams announced Foster's death in 2001.

• Clarence Williams III atAllMovie
• Clarence Williams III atIMDb
• Clarence Williams III discography atDiscogs
• Clarence Williams III atFind a Grave