Clarence Williams III Movies
The son of a musician, African American actor Clarence Williams III was raised by his grandmother. While attending his local YMCA branch as a teenager, Williams became interested in dramatics. After a two-year hitch with the Air Force, he began his acting career, making his New York debut in 1960's The Long Dream. Williams amassed an impressive list of Broadway credits, and in 1966 was artist in residence at Brandeis University. Still, he remained an unknown commodity in Hollywood until 1968, when he was cast as "hip" undercover cop Linc Hayes on the popular TV weekly The Mod Squad. After the series' cancellation in 1973, Williams divided his time between stage and film work, occasionally functioning as a director. Among his better-known assignments of recent years was the role of Prince's father in Purple Rain (1984) and the recurring part of Roger Hardy in the cult TV series Twin Peaks (1990). Clarence Williams III is married to actress Gloria Foster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 2007
Eric Nazarian's ensemble film The Blue Hour follows the interactions of a number of citizens of Los Angeles, using that city's river as the connective tissue for the disparate people. Among the characters are Happy, a graffiti artist accosted by a homeless man named Sal; a married couple having serious trouble coming to terms with the death of their young daughter; an ambitious would be bluesman; and a recently widowed retiree. Each of these people has contact with a handful of others, knowingly or not having an impact on their dreams, fears, and hopes. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emily Rios, Alyssa Milano, (more)
This Hallmark Channel TV movie is one of several starring Kellie Martin as Samantha "Sam" Kinsey, the owner of a British-style American bookshop which traffics in mystery novels. The game is afoot when Sam's friend Barbara Sommers (Patricia McCormack, a dyed-in-the-wool conspiracy buff, suspects foul play in the death of a wealthy relative. Still worse, Barbara has been frozen out of the will, which favors such high-profile lowlifes as the dead man's brassy trophy wife Madaline (Robyn Lively) and his covetous stepdaughter Fawn (Kari Wuhrer). After crying "foul" in public over the questionable circumstances surrounding the loved one's death and the subsequent bequests, Barbara is herself murdered--and the incriminating photos which she had in her possession have vanished. Investigating the killing, Sam and her friends, former CIA agent Philby (Casey Sander) and public prosecutor Cassie (Nina Siesmazko), unearth a trail of evidence going as far back as 60 years! Mystery Woman: Snapshot originally aired January 28, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This Hallmark Channel TV movie is one of several starring Kellie Martin as Samantha "Sam" Kinsey, the owner of a British-style American bookshop which traffics in mystery novels. On this occasion, Sam hopes to bring new customers into her establishment by inviting the once famous folk-rock trio of Steven, Dan and Carly (played by David Naughton, John Getz) and Ellen Greene) to perform at a charity show held near the "Mystery Woman" bookshop. Inevitably, a murder occurs, and the victim is Steven, Dan and Carly's much-despised promoter Jason Hurd. The prime suspect is Carly, who has apparently been engaged in underhanded dealings with her burned-out husband Dan. Taking a personal interest in the case is Sam's coworker, former CIA agent Philby (Clarence Williams III), who has idolized the musical trio since the 1960s. Mystery Woman: Sing Me a Murder debuted February 25, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This Hallmark Channel TV movie is one of several starring Kellie Martin as Samantha "Sam" Kinsey, the owner of a British-style American bookshop which traffics in mystery novels. To improve business, Sam hosts a book signing with three celebrity "whodunit" authors in attendance. One of the three, Claire Beckman (Beth Broderick), uses the occasion to announce her retirement -- whereupon she is nearly shot to death by a cleverly rigged hidden pistol. A second attempt on Claire's life, using poison, succeeds, whereupon local police chief Connors (Casey Sander) places everyone under suspicion -- including Sam. Thus, our heroine is forced once again to play amateur sleuth, with the able assistance of her friends and colleagues, especially enigmatic former CIA agent Philby (Clarence Williams III). Mystery Woman: Mystery Weekend debuted January 7, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kellie Martin, Clarence Williams III, (more)
- 2005
This Hallmark Channel TV movie is one of several starring Kellie Martin as Samantha "Sam" Kinsey, the owner of a British-style American bookshop which traffics in mystery novels. This time out, Sam scores a coup when she manages to get reclusive mystery writer Donald Fiske (William Katt) to make a rare personal appearance at her "Mystery Woman" bookshop. Also on hand is the writer's bitchy wife Jody (Sheree J. Wilson) and his troubled son Cameron (AJ Trauth), not to mention a somewhat disreputable videogame developer named Randy (Jamie Elman), who has persuaded Sam to carry his latest creation, an addictive game called "Whodunnit?", in her store. When Fiske is murdered, Randy is the primary suspect, the result of an ownership squabble over "Whodunnit" which not only involved the dead man, but also some very shady characters from Russia. Though Randy seems to be guilty as hell, Sam nonetheless works overtime to prove his innocence, a task complicated when Sam is assaulted and Jody is kidnapped. Mystery Woman: Game Time premiered August 21, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
This Hallmark Channel TV movie is one of several starring Kellie Martin as Samantha "Sam" Kinsey, the owner of a British-style American bookshop which specializes in mystery novels. As is her habit, Sam ends up playing amateur detective herself, this time at a fancy health spa called Drummonds. One of the spa's customers, a woman named Debbie (Allison Smith) is found murdered, and suspicion immediately falls upon Alice (Bess Meyer), whose husband George (Scott Grimes) and Debbie were having an affair. Complicating matters is the presence of a psychic named Emily (Felicia Day) who with unbecoming eagerness offers to direct the police to the location where Debbie's body has been hidden. As a result, Emily herself is accused of the murder--and at this point Sam and her friends Cassie (Nina Siemaszko) and Philby (Clarence Williams III)--the latter a former CIA agent!--try their hand at ferreting out the real killer. Mystery Woman: Vision of Murder debuted June 5, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Romeo and Juliet was updated to contemporary Beverly Hills in this typically stylish Jerry Bruckheimer TV series. This time around, Juliet was Jewel Goldman (Olivia Wilde), the stunning teenage daughter of Larry Goldman (Ron Silver), a successful producer of steamy adult films. As for Romeo, he was Adam Roane (D.J. Cotrona), the hot-hunk son of district attorney Michael Roame (Kevin Anderson), a staunch anti-porn crusader. Yes, the elder Goldman and Roame were longtime enemies. Yes, both men forbade their children from seeing one another. And yes, Jewel and Adam managed to sneak in a few torrid balcony scenes -- though not always on the balcony. Created by Jim Leonard, Skin made its FOX network bow on October 20, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Silver, Kevin Anderson, (more)
When we first meet beautiful, psychic private investigator Tracy Wellman (Emmanuelle Vaugier), she's confronting a psycho pedophile in a junkyard in a nearly fatal effort to rescue a young boy being held prisoner. Luckily, FBI agent Dan Oliver (Antonio Sabato Jr.) is nearby to help. But he's not around for her next case, in which she meets her mental match in mysterious cult leader David Mendez (Eric Roberts) as she tries to free a senator's daughter from his oily clutches. Naturally, agent Oliver leads the charge against the fortified cult compound -- with Tracy inside. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Antonio Sabato, Jr., Emmanuelle Vaugier, (more)
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Director at the 2001 Urbanworld Film Festival, Blue Hill Avenue focuses on the rise of the drug trade in Boston, as seen through the eyes of three childhood friends. The time is the late '70s, and Tristan (Allen Payne), Money (Aaron D. Spears), E-Bone (William Johnson), and Simon (Michael Taliferro) are all high-school pals and petty thieves on the mean streets of the city's South Side. Their antics bring them to the attention of Benny (Clarence Williams III), a charismatic drug dealer who takes the four friends under his wing. The most straight-and-narrow of the bunch, Tristan manages to keep his nefarious trade under the radar of his parents. As the years pass, however, the dealers introduce crack to their line of narcotics, and Tristan's sense of guilt over his neighborhood's demise leads to an inevitable betrayal of Benny, followed by a grisly showdown. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Allen Payne, William Forsythe, (more)
Shown on the Fox network, this made-for-TV biopic stars David Ramsey as legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, whose story is told largely in flashbacks. Beginning with Ali's childhood, when he was known as Cassius Clay, Ali: An American Hero traces the boxer's career, love life, and eventual devotion to Islam. Joe Morton appears as Malcolm X, and the cast also features the talents of Vondie Curtis Hall and Clarence Williams III, the latter as Ali's father Marcellus Clay. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Ramsey, Clarence Williams III, (more)
A domestic drama that explores the dysfunctional dynamics at work beneath an affluent African-American family's veneer of ostensible perfection, Ritual stars Clarence Williams III as patriarch and former '60s student activist Leron Becker. While Becker refuses to believe that anything is wrong with his family, his wife Sylvia (Denise Nicholas) is an alcoholic who forsakes any domestic responsibilities for liquor. Her daughter Teresa (Angelle Brooks) has assumed Sylvia's duties, and fawns over her father with almost unnatural devotion. Meanwhile, son Mason (Shawn Michael Howard) has dropped out of college to "save" his family. Although he dotes upon his mother, Mason, who is gay, is constantly at odds with his father, who claims that Mason's sexuality stems from being a mama's boy. Tensions reach a breaking point when, on Mason's dime, Leron and Sylvia take a vacation to the Bahamas, leaving their son and daughter to duke it out for psychological supremacy in the family. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clarence Williams III, Denise Nicholas, (more)
- 2000
Actor-director Clarence Williams III guest stars as Lateef Miller, a former member of the militant Black Panther party. A prominent 1960s activist, Miller again makes headlines when he is accused of murdering a white police detective. Media coverage of the subsequent trial serves as a forum for the personal attacks leveled by Miller against arresting detective Eddie Green (Jesse L. Martin). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A struggling filmmaker trying to climb the show business ladder befriends an actor who's heading down the same ladder at a furious pace in this dark comedy. George (Jamie Kennedy), an aspiring writer who does temp work to make ends meet, longs to break into show business where he can get to know his favorite stars. One night, George is invited to a party and he meets Kyle Carey (Loren Dean), one of his favorite actors. Kyle's star has fallen quite a bit in recent months, but George doesn't seem to be aware of this, and he's thrilled to be spending time with a genuine celebrity, even if Kyle only seems to call when he needs help with something. As George spends his evenings with Kyle and his girlfriend Iona (Carmen Electra), a model, he's convinced he's found the fast track to a career in Hollywood, until Kyle calls him one night asking a rather unexpected favor -- he's been fired from his latest picture and doesn't have a place to stay, so can he move in for a while? Starstruck, which was produced under the title Starf*cker, also stars Bridgette Wilson, Spencer Garrett, Clarence Williams III, and Marlo Thomas. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Kennedy, Loren Dean, (more)
- 1997
Johnny Depp made his debut as a director and screenwriter with this allegorical tale of the plight of Native Americans. Raphael (Depp) is an alcoholic American Indian who lives in a hovel near a junkyard with his wife Rita (Elpidia Carillo) and his children Frankie (Cody Lightning) and Marta (Nicole Mancera); he scrapes together a meager living rescuing potentially salable items from the rubbish. Desperate to raise money, Raphael arranges to meet a wealthy man named McCarthy (Marlon Brando), who makes him an unusual offer: he'll pay Raphael $50,000 to appear in a film in which he's beaten to death by a gang of rednecks. The murder in the film will not be faked; if he takes the role, Raphael will suffer a painful demise in front of the camera. Raphael accepts, hoping the money will help Rita build a better life for their children. For the next seven days, Raphael tries to enjoy his last week on Earth and teach Frankie something of his new responsibilities as the man of the house. The Brave received decidedly mixed reviews in its initial screenings at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival; it had a limited release in Europe but has yet to appear in the United States, either in theaters or on home video. Punk rock icon Iggy Pop composed the film's score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1997
This 1997 remake of the '60s successful, sequel-spawning The Love Bug (the highest grossing film in the U.S. in 1969) includes a cameo by Dean Jones, star of the original Love Bug. Herbie, a 1963 VW Bug with personality, is saved from destruction by former race-car driver Hank Cooper (Bruce Campbell), who sees the car has special talents. Conceited Scotsman Simon Moore III (John Hannah) creates an evil vehicle named Horace the Hate Bug and sends it after Hank and his girlfriend, auto journalist Alex (Alexandra Wentworth). Clarence Williams III is seen as an eccentric garage owner, and Monkee Mickey Dolenz appears as a racing promoter. The remake first aired November 30, 1997 as part of ABC's Wonderful World of Disney series. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Campbell, John Hannah, (more)
- 1996
A rogue band of Jem'Hadar attacks DS9, prompting Sisko to mount a counteroffensive. While pursuing their assailants into the Gamma Quadrant, Sisko and his officers rescue a Jem'Har squadron that has also been attacked by the renegades. Despite the rescuees' avowed loyalty to the Dominion, Sisko forms an uneasy alliance with the Jem'Hadar in order to prevent the renegades from getting their hands on a spectacularly powerful weapon. Written by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe and directed by Next Generation veteran LeVar Burton, "To the Death" made its first American TV appearance on May 13, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Made for cable TV, Against the Wall represents filmmaker John Frankenheimer's return to the small screen. This in-your-face reenactment of the 1971 Attica prison riots is jam-packed with political and sociological implications. Refreshingly, none of the participants -- the prisoners, the guards, the high-profile mediators, the New York powers-that-be-are rendered in strictly good-guy or bad-guy terms by screenwriter Ron Hutchinson. Anyone old enough to have witnessed the original live TV coverage of the riot, however, will be able to discern who was truly responsible for its tragic outcome. While the 1971 TV-movie Attica was told from a journalist's point of view, Against the Wall is filtered through the eyes of idealist young prison guard Kyle MacLachlan. Director Frankenheimer (who in 1962 helmed the vastly different prison picture Birdman of Alcatraz)stage-manages the proceedings with his usual aplomb, though he uncharacteristically leans towards B-flick melodrama in some scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kyle MacLachlan, Samuel L. Jackson, (more)
Originally made for television, this prison drama centers on a hard-core convict who for the past decade has been the king of the other prisoners. Just before he is to be paroled, a young inmate challenges him. This creates considerable tension until he learns that he and the youth are related by more than mere circumstance. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
When his son is killed in a drug-related incident, the father sets out to wreck his revenge on two Las Vegas law enforcers. (AKA Kill Or Be Killed) ~ All Movie Guide
- 1987
Filmed in Portland, Oregon, The Last Innocent Man stars Ed Harris as an adroit criminal lawyer. Having gotten several obviously guilty clients off the hook, Harris suffers a conscience attack and takes a few months off to get his act together. He is pulled out of his sabbatical by his girl friend Roxanna Hart, who persuades Harris to take on one last case. The client is Hart's estranged husband (Darrell Larson), accused of killing an undercover policewoman. This time the client is blatantly innocent--but Harris utilizes his same old sneaky tactics to win an acquittal and even throws a few new underhanded techniques into the stew. Made for television, The Last Innocent Man premiered over the HBO cable service on April 19, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed Harris, Roxanne Hart, (more)
Wealthy metallurgist Harry Mitchell (Roy Scheider) lives to regret his extramarital affair with pretty young Cini (Kelly Preston). A trio of vicious blackmailers (John Glover, Robert Trebor, Clarence Williams III) show Mitchell a videotape of his most recent roll in the sack with Cini. They demand a huge amount of hush money, but Mitchell calls their bluff, going so far as to tell his politicially ambitious wife Barbara (Ann-Margret) about the affair. But the extortionists haven't even gotten started yet. Tying Mitchell to a chair, they force him to watch a tape of Cini being horribly murdered-with the evidence arranged so that Mitchell will be accused of the crime. But Mitchell remains firm in his refusal to pay up, whereupon he mounts a "fight fire with fire" plan all his own. 52 Pick Up was based on a novel by Elmore Leonard, which was previously filmed in 1984 as The Ambassador. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Scheider, Ann-Margret, (more)
- 1985
Although Cliff (Bill Cosby) has perenially guessed what he will receive for his birthday, this year Clair (Phylicia Rashad) and the kids conspire to surprise him with something totally unexpected. However, Clair is careful not divulge her plans to son Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner), knowing how easily Cliff can break the boy down. The story's denoument is not only surprising for Cliff, but also significant in the life of daughter Denise (Lisa Bonet). Guest star Lena Horne sings "I'm Glad There Is You" in this final episode of The Cosby Show's immensely successful first season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
The fact that he is unable to read does not bother high-school basketball star Freddie Ellis (Eric D. Wallace). He is confident in the knowledge that his friends will cover for him in the classroom -- and besides, who needs to be literate in the pros? It takes the persistence of teacher Mr. Simpson (Clarence Williams III), and a near-tragedy in his home, to make Freddie realize that "reading is fun-damental." Kareem Abdul-Jabbar makes a cameo appearance in this ABC Afterschool Special. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric D. Wallace, Clarence Williams III, (more)
The House of Dies Drear is a spooky old mansion where several strange events have occurred of late. An out-of-town family moves into the home, only to be confronted by an odd recluse (Joe Seneca) and by a neighbor warning them to get out "while you got the chance." The youngest members of the family (Howard Rollins Jr. and Shavar Ross) suspect that a human agent is causing the so-called "supernatural" events, and set out to investigate. House of Dies Drear originated as a two-part episode of the PBS series Wonderworks. It was first shown November 5 and 12, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howard E. Rollins, Jr., Moses Gunn, (more)
- 1979
In this crime drama, based on the old TV series, the three terminally hip undercover cops reunite after a seven year absence to find out the identity of the person who is threatening their boss's life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
