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Clarence Williams III
★ Acting

Clarence Williams III

1939 – 2021 · New York City, New York, USA · Active 1964–2018

Clarence Williams III, born in 1939, made a significant impact in cult cinema with his roles in The Cool World (1963) and Maniac Cop 2 (1990). His journey began on the stage, where he garnered acclaim for his performance in William Hanley's Slow Dance on the Killing Ground, earning a Tony Award nomination. Transitioning from Broadway to film, Williams brought a compelling presence to the screen, particularly in the gritty landscapes of exploitation cinema. His performances resonate within the realms of both urban drama and horror, making him a notable figure in the SassyFlix catalog.

▶ Watch on SassyFlix 2 films available
Maniac Cop 2

Maniac Cop 2

1990 ★ 5.9
as Blum

After being impaled by a pipe and plunging into a river at the end of the previous film, the undead "Maniac Cop" Matthew Cordell acquires a junked police cruiser and restarts his killing spree through New York City. Finding a convenience store in the middle of a robbery, he kills the clerk; the thief is subsequently killed in a shootout with police. As Cordell stalks the streets, his enemies Officers Jack Forrest and Theresa Mallory are put back on duty by Deputy Commissioner Edward Doyle, who has the two undergo a psychiatric evaluation under Officer Susan Riley. While Jack is content that Cordell is long gone and wants to go on with his life, Theresa is convinced that Cordell is still alive and plotting his revenge. At a newsstand, Jack is stabbed through the neck by Cordell, killing him. In order to protect the memory of Commissioner Pike, the corrupt official who originally framed Cordell, the police authority refuse to inform the public of the nature of recent events. This, along with her belief that Cordell is alive and killing, prompts Theresa to appear on a talk show to inform the public about Cordell. A traffic cop is murdered by Cordell later when he was towing someone's car. The man who was having his car towed is arrested on suspicion on the cop's murder. While en route to a hotel in a taxi, Theresa is joined by Susan, and the two are attacked by Cordell, who kills the cabbie and forces Susan and Theresa off the road. After handcuffing Susan to the steering wheel of a car and sending her into the busy streets, Cordell kills Theresa by snapping her neck. Gaining control of the car, Susan crashes and is found and given medical attention. Elsewhere, a stripper named Cheryl is attacked in her apartment by Steven Turkell, who has strangled at least six other exotic dancers. As Turkell brutalizes Cheryl, Cordell arrives, murders the two officers earlier called by Cheryl, and helps Turkell escape. Grateful for the help, Turkell befriends Cordell and takes him back to his apartment, where Cordell stays for a short while. After Cordell leaves, Turkell goes out to find another victim but is identified at a strip club by Cheryl. He is arrested and placed in a holding cell by Susan and Detective Lieutenant Sean McKinney. Turkell taunts Susan, telling him Cordell will break him out. Turkell's assumption proves correct, as Cordell breaks into the police station and murders a total of nineteen police officers and frees Turkell and several unnamed convicts. Using Susan as a hostage, Turkell, Cordell, and another criminal named Joseph Blum hijack a prison bus and head to Sing Sing, where Turkell believes Cordell wants to free all the inmates and create an army of criminals. McKinney and Doyle follow, and McKinney convinces Doyle to reopen Cordell's case and rebury his casket with full honors on the assumption that this will appease Cordell. Cordell bluffs his way into the prison using Blum's paperwork, and he kills a guard for his keys. Shortly after entering death row, Cordell is contacted over the prison PA system by Doyle, who admits to Cordell that he was set up and states that his case has been reopened. After hearing Doyle's announcement, Cordell abandons Turkell, Blum, and Susan and heads deeper into the prison, where he is attacked with a Molotov cocktail by the three inmates who originally mutilated and killed him. While burning, Cordell finally gets his revenge by killing the three convicts who mutilated him, only to be attacked by Turkell, who realizes Cordell used him. As Cordell and Turkell fight, the two crash through a wall, fall onto the bus below, and seemingly die when the vehicle explodes. Sometime later, Cordell is buried with full honors alongside other fallen officers; Susan and McKinney attend his funeral. As Cordell's casket is lowered, McKinney throws Cordell's badge into the grave, leaves with Susan, and delivers a monologue about how there is a little bit of Cordell in every officer, and that every member of the force needs to know that justice and pressure are the only differences between a cop and a Maniac Cop. Then the camera slowly and eerily pans toward Cordell's casket, and suddenly, Cordell's hand unexpectedly bursts through the lid of his casket and quickly grabs his badge, as the screen cuts to black, and the credits roll.

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Career Highlights Top 6 by popularity · TMDB

Filmography

95 credits
2010s 4 credits
2018
Movie ★ 4.7
2015
Empire as Huey Jarvis
TV ★ 7.1
2013
The Butler as Maynard
Movie ★ 7.3
2010
Justified as Jones
TV ★ 8.0
2000s 31 credits
2009
Movie ★ 3.6
2009
Movie ★ 5.8
2007
Movie ★ 6.3
2007
American Gangster as Bumpy Johnson (uncredited)
Movie ★ 7.6
2007
Constellation as Forest Boxer
Movie ★ 5.8
2007
The Blue Hour as Ridley
Movie ★ 7.0
2007
Burn Notice as Jean Pierre's Father
TV ★ 7.5
2006
Movie ★ 6.7
2006
Movie ★ 6.8
2006
Movie ★ 6.3
2006
Movie ★ 6.5
2005
Movie ★ 6.6
2005
Movie ★ 5.2
2005
Movie ★ 7.6
2005
Movie ★ 5.8
2005
Movie ★ 6.7
2005
TV ★ 8.1
2003
Movie ★ 6.8
2003
Movie ★ 4.5
2003
Movie ★ 8.0
2003
Miracles as Dr. Bauer
TV ★ 8.1
2002
Movie ★ 4.6
2002
Fastlane as Mr. Hayes
TV ★ 6.5
2001
Mindstorm as Walter Golden
Movie ★ 3.9
2001
Impostor as Secretary of Defense (uncredited)
Movie ★ 6.1
2001
TV ★ 7.0
2000
Movie ★ 5.7
2000
Ali: An American Hero as Marcellus Clay
Movie ★ 5.2
2000
Ritual as Leron Becker
Movie ★ 5.2
2000
Civility as Glitterman
Movie ★ 4.0
1990s 37 credits
1999
The General's Daughter as Colonel George Fowler
Movie ★ 6.4
1999
Life as Winston Hancock
Movie ★ 6.7
1999
Judging Amy as Joe McKenzie
TV ★ 7.5
1998
Half Baked as Samson Simpson
Movie ★ 6.3
1998
The Legend of 1900 as Jelly Roll Morton
Movie ★ 8.2
1998
Frogs for Snakes as Huck Hanley
Movie ★ 3.7
1998
Starstruck as Jerry Wallace
Movie ★ 6.1
1997
Hoodlum as Bub Hewlett
Movie ★ 6.4
1997
Movie ★ 5.8
1997
The Brave as Father Stratton
Movie ★ 6.0
1997
Movie ★ 6.8
1997
Sprung as Grand Daddy
Movie ★ 5.4
1997
TV ★ 8.0
1996
Movie ★ 7.2
1996
The Silencers as General Greenboro
Movie ★ 4.8
1996
The Road to Galveston as Christopher, the Caretaker
Movie ★ 4.5
1996
Encino Woman as Javier
Movie ★ 4.2
1996
Profiler as Carl Adler
TV ★ 7.0
1996
Millennium as Patient Zero
TV ★ 7.7
1995
Tales from the Hood as Mr. Simms (segment "Welcome to My Mortuary")
Movie ★ 6.3
1995
Movie ★ 5.6
1995
Judgement as Bryant
Movie ★ 7.8
1994
Movie ★ 6.1
1994
Sugar Hill as Arthur Romello "A.R." Skuggs
Movie ★ 5.6
1994
New York Undercover as Donald Brooks
TV ★ 7.3
1993
Movie ★ 6.2
1993
Deadfall as Dean
Movie ★ 4.1
1993
Walker, Texas Ranger as Deputy Commissioner Luther Dobbs
TV ★ 7.0
1993
TV ★ 7.9
1992
Deep Cover as Taft
Movie ★ 6.8
1991
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys as Deputy Sheriff Virgil
Movie ★ 6.4
1990
Movie ★ 5.9
1990
Twin Peaks as FBI Agent Roger Hardy
TV ★ 8.3
1990
Nasty Boys as John Culver
TV ★ 6.4
1990
TV ★ 7.0
1990
Law & Order as Lateef Miller
TV ★ 7.3
1980s 15 credits
1989
TV ★ 8.0
1988
Perfect Victims as Lt. Kevin White
Movie ★ 4.4
1988
Movie ★ 6.4
1987
The Last Innocent Man as D.J. Johnson
Movie ★ 5.3
1987
Movie ★ 4.7
1987
Jake and the Fatman as Benjamin Tatsa
TV ★ 6.2
1986
52 Pick-Up as Bobby Shy
Movie ★ 6.0
1984
Purple Rain as Father
Movie ★ 6.7
1984
The House of Dies Drear as Mayhew Skinner
Movie ★ 8.0
1984
Miami Vice as Maximilian 'Legba' Ildefonse
TV ★ 7.5
1984
The Cosby Show as Mr. Thornehill
TV ★ 7.0
1982
T. J. Hooker as Phil Decker
TV ★ 6.5
1982
T. J. Hooker as Martin
TV ★ 6.5
1982
T. J. Hooker as Walker Redding
TV ★ 6.5
1981
TV ★ 7.6
1970s 4 credits
1979
The Return of Mod Squad as Lincoln Hayes
Movie ★ 7.0
1979
TV ★ 7.3
1973
TV ★ 6.8
1970
Movie ★ 7.3
1960s 4 credits
1968
The Mod Squad as Linc Hayes
TV ★ 6.1
1967
TV ★ 6.5
1966
TV ★ 6.9
1964
Movie ★ 5.5