William H. Marshall

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William H. Marshall
Birth name	William Horace Marshall
Born	August 19, 1924 Gary, Indiana
Died	June 11, 2003 Los Angeles, California
Height	6'5" (1.96m)
Notable roles	Blacula (1972) and its sequel "Scream Blacula Scream"(1973)

William Horace Marshall (19 August 1924 – 11 June 2003) was an American actor, director and opera singer. He is best known for his title role in the 1972 blaxploitation classic, Blacula. In some of his films, he was credited as Bill Marshall.

Marshall was born in Gary, Indiana, and later lived north of Hanson Dam in Pacoima, California. His film career spanned from 1952 through 1996. He had a commanding height of 6 ft 5 inches, and a deep bass voice reminiscent of that of James Earl Jones.

Although trained as a classical actor, and having performed in Shakespeare plays many times on the stage, Marshall received widespread fame for his role in the vampire spoof Blacula and its sequel Scream Blacula Scream, as well as his parts in a number of 1950s Tarzan films in which he played tribal chiefs, including 1954's Demetrius and the Gladiators. Marshall later played the highly-memorable King of Cartoons on Pee Wee's Playhouse during the 1980s (the character's catch phrase "Let...the cartoooon...begin!" became immensely popular), and is also remembered by television viewers for his roles as Dr. Richard Daystrom in the Star Trek episode "The Ultimate Computer" and as travelling opera singer Thomas Bowers on Bonanza.

Marshall died from complications arising from Alzheimer's disease. He is survived by four children: Tariq Marshall, his youngest son, Gina Loring, his daughter, Malcolm Juarez Marshall, and Claude Marshall.

[edit] External links

• William H. Marshall at the Internet Movie Database
• William H. Marshall article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.