William Marshall (film and television actor)

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William H. Marshall

Born	William Horace Marshall August 19, 1924(1924-08-19) Gary, Indiana
Died	June 11, 2003 (aged 78) Los Angeles, California

William H. 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.

[edit] Biography

Marshall was born in Gary, Indiana, United States, North America. He 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 in (1.96 m), as well as a deep bass voice.

Marshall trained as a classical actor and performed in Shakespeare plays many times on the stage. He received the most widespread fame for his role in the vampire film Blacula and its sequel Scream Blacula Scream, as well as parts in a number of 1950s Tarzan films in which he played tribal chiefs, including Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954). Marshall later played the highly-memorable King of Cartoons on Pee-wee's Playhouse, replacing actor Gilbert Lewis, during the 1980s. (The character's catch phrase "Let...the cartoooon...begin!" became immensely popular.)

Marshall played the Video Pirate Captain in the Sybil Danning classic B-movie comedy Amazon Women on the Moon (1987).

Marshall is perhaps best remembered by television viewers for his roles as Dr. Richard Daystrom in the Star Trek episode "The Ultimate Computer" and as the 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.