Clarence Willliams III-Gap Rating 8/10

He is an American actor and his first major acting role was as "Linc Hayes" on Aaron Spelling's The Mod Squad. He has guest starred in television shows such as Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, The Highwayman, Twin Peaks, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Everybody Hates Chris, and in a recurring role as Philby Cross in the Mystery Woman movie series on the Hallmark Channel. He has appeared in films such as Deep Cover, Tales from the Hood, Half Baked, and as jazz great Jelly Roll Morton in "The Legend of 1900", but is probably best remembered for his role as Frances L, the father of Prince's character "The Kid" in the hit movie Purple Rain.

Williams was born in New York City, New York. His grandfather was Clarence Williams, the jazz pianist and composer. He was raised by his grandmother. Williams was married to African-American actress Gloria Foster (The Oracle in The Matrix), who died on September 29, 2001. One of Williams' closest friends is actor Eric Braeden.

Williams III's latest portrayal is of Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Johnson (1906–1968) in Denzel Washington's new movie American Gangster, which was released on November 2, 2007. He is not listed in the credits. Johnson was an American gangster in Harlem in the early 20th century. The movie is directed by Ridley Scott.