Art
Actor Clarence Williams III, 81
Williams was an actor from 1960 to 2018 and was best known for his roles as Linc in “The Mod Squad” (and his signature line, solid) (1968-1973) and Prince’s father in “Purple Rain” in 1984.
Actor Clarence Williams III was born on Aug. 21, 1939 in New York, New York and died on June 4, 2021 of colon cancer in Los Angeles, California.
Williams was an actor from 1960 to 2018 and was best known for his roles as Linc in “The Mod Squad” (and his signature line, solid) (1968-1973) and Prince’s father in “Purple Rain” in 1984.
He acted in the theatre, on television and in film.
On “The Mod Squad” Williams was one of the first Black actors to have a lead role on a television series. Following in the footsteps of Bill Cosby and Diahann Carroll.
Cosby recommended Williams for his role as Linc.
He was married to actress Gloria Foster from 1967 to 1984 when they divorced. Foster died in 2001.
Williams is survived by his daughter, Jamey Phillips.
Wikipedia, The New York Times, and CNN were sources for this story.
