Clarence Williams III was born in Harlem, New York on August 21, 1939, to professional musician, Clarence “Clay” Williams Jr. His grandmother Irene Joy Gibbons was also known as Eva Taylor, a singer, and actress from St. Louis, Missouri. There is not much information available regarding his biological mother. He had one sister, Sondra Pugh, and a daughter Jamey Phillips. He was introduced to the theater during his teen years in 1957 by accident when he walked into a rehearsal for Dark of the Moon at the Harlem YMCA, and while there, the director of the show gave him a few lines to say. However, shortly afterward, he was drafted into the United States Army and was a paratrooper. He was honorably discharged in 1960.
During the 1960s, Williams resumed his passion for theater and debuted on Broadway’s The Long Dream (1960), Walk-in Darkness in 1963, and in 1964 he was seen on stage in King John.
During these early days, he also appeared in films, including The Cool World, where his role was “Blood.” In 1965, at the 19th Annual Tony Awards broadcasted from the Astor Hotel in New York City, Williams earned a Tony nomination for “Best Featured Actor” in a play for his work in the drama Slow Dance on the Killing Ground.
In addition, in 1966, he was an artist-in-residence at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, and the following year, in November 1967, Clarence Williams married Gloria Foster, an actor.
From 1968 to 1973, Williams portrayed the role of Linc Hayes in the police television counterculture series The Mod Squad. He also appeared on Broadway in Tom Stoppard’s Night and Day in 1979. In the 1980s and 1990s, Williams appeared in several movies with exceptional acting skills, including portraying the father of Prince in the breakthrough movie musical Purple Rain in 1984 and playing the part of a policeman in the television show Deep Cover in 1992.
In 2004, Williams was nominated for the TV Land Award for the “Most Memorable Mane” in The Mod Squad. He accepted a voice actor role on the Disney animated series American Dragon Jake Long in 2005 and remained there until 2007.
Williams’ last big film was Lee Daniels’ The Butler in 2013. He portrayed the role of Maynard.
Clarence Williams III died of colon cancer on June 4, 2021, in Los Angeles, California. He was 81.