William Marshall(1924-2003)
- Actor
Dynamic African American leading man and characters actor William
Marshall trained in Grand Opera, Broadway and Shakespeare. In films
from the 50s and 60s including:
Lydia Bailey (1952),
Something of Value (1957),
To Trap a Spy (1964) and finally
known for being in
The Boston Strangler (1968)
with Tony Curtis. Marshall really
didn't hit it big until the "blaxplotation" era of the 70s. He starred
in the contemporary vampire melodrama,
Blacula (1972), and its sequel,
Scream Blacula Scream (1973),
and the Exorcist-type film, Abby (1974).
From the 80s, Marshall was seen as the "King of Cartoons" on the
Saturday morning TV kiddie show,
Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986),
a job that he accepted on behalf of his grandchildren. Marshall has
also appeared in Maverick (1994) and
Dinosaur Valley Girls (1996).
Marshall retired from acting afterwards and died of Alzheimer's disease
in June, 2003.
