Marc Lawrence (February 17, 1910 – November 28, 2005) was an American character actor who specialized in underworld types. He has also been credited as F. A. Foss, Marc Laurence and Marc C. Lawrence.[1]
Personal life
Lawrence was born as Max Goldsmith in New York City, the son of a Polish Jewish mother, Minerva Norma (née Sugarman), and a Russian Jewish father, Israel Simon Goldsmith.[2][3][4] He participated in plays in school, then attended the City College of New York. He married Odessa-born novelist and screenwriter Fanya Foss, with whom he had two children; she died on December 12, 1995. Lawrence died of heart failure on November 28, 2005 at the age of 95. He was buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.[5]
His son, Michael Lawrence, is a writer and artist based on the Greek island of Hydra, whose book, My Voyage In Art, details his meetings with various of his father's actor friends; while at UCLA he befriended the singer-songwriter James Douglas "Jim" Morrison. His daughter, actress Toni Lawrence, was once married to actor Billy Bob Thornton and starred in his film Daddy's Girl.
Career
In 1930, Lawrence befriended another young actor, John Garfield. The two appeared in a number of plays before Lawrence was given a film contract with Columbia Pictures. Lawrence appeared in films beginning in 1931. Garfield followed, starting his film career in 1938. Lawrence's pock-marked complexion, brooding appearance and New York street-guy accent made him a natural for heavies, and he played scores of gangsters and mob bosses over the next six decades.
Later, Lawrence found himself under scrutiny for his political leanings. When called before the House Un-American Activities Committee, he admitted he had once been a member of the Communist Party. He was blacklisted and departed for Europe, where he continued to make films. Following the demise of the blacklist, he returned to America and resumed his position as a familiar and talented purveyor of gangland types.
He played gangsters in two James Bond movies: 1971's Diamonds Are Forever opposite Sean Connery, and 1974's The Man with the Golden Gun opposite Roger Moore. He also portrayed a henchman opposite Laurence Olivier in Marathon Man (1976) and a stereotypical Miami mob boss alongside Jerry Reed and Dom DeLuise in the comedy Hot Stuff (1979).
One of his last roles was as Mr. Zeemo in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Badda-Bing Badda-Bang." Previously he played the elderly Gatherer Volnoth in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Vengeance Factor."
In 1991 Lawrence's autobiography was published entitled Long Time No See: Confessions of a Hollywood Gangster (ISBN 0-9636700-0-X). Lawrence was also the subject of a novel, The Beautiful and the Profane (ISBN 978-1-4107-0292-0) (published in 2002).
His final film role was in Looney Tunes Back in Action, appearing as an Acme Corporation vice president.
Partial filmography
White Woman (1933)
Night Waitress (1934)
Little Big Shot (1935)
The Final Hour (1936)
Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937)
Counsel for Crime (1937)
Racketeers in Exile (1937)
Murder in Greenwich Village (1937)
Motor Madness (1937)
I Promise to Pay (1937)
A Dangerous Adventure (1937)
The Spider's Web (1938 serial)
Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938)
Adventure in Sahara (1938)
Sergeant Madden (1939)
Blind Alley (1939)
The Housekeeper's Daughter (1939)
Invisible Stripes (1939)
Johnny Apollo (1940)
Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940)
The Monster and the Girl (1941)
The Shepherd of the Hills (1941)
Hold That Ghost (1941)
Sundown (1941)
Nazi Agent (1942)
This Gun for Hire (1942)
'Neath Brooklyn Bridge (1942)
The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
Submarine Alert (1943)
Tampico (1944)
The Princess and the Pirate (1944)
Dillinger (1945)
Flame of Barbary Coast (1945)
Don't Fence Me In (1945)
Cloak and Dagger (1946)
Inside Job (1946)
Captain from Castile (1947)
I Walk Alone (1948)
Key Largo (1948)
Jigsaw (1949)
Tough Assignment (1949)
Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950)
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
The Desert Hawk (1950)
Black Hand (1950)
My Favorite Spy (1951)
Vacation with a Gangster (1951)
La Tratta delle bianche (1952)
Funniest Show on Earth (1953)
Noi peccatori (1953)
New Moon (1955)
Helen of Troy (1956)
Kill Her Gently (1957)
Johnny Cool (1963)
Al Capone (1966)
Johnny Tiger (1966)
Savage Pampas (1966)
Custer of the West (1967)
Kong Island (1968)
Krakatoa, East of Java (1969)
The Kremlin Letter (1970)
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Pigs (1972)
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Marathon Man (1976)
A Piece of the Action (1977)
Foul Play (1978)
Hot Stuff (1979)
Super Fuzz (1980)
Cat and Dog (1982)
Night Train to Terror (1985)
The Big Easy (1987)
Blood Red (1989)
Ruby (1992)
Newsies (1992)
Four Rooms (1995)
From Dusk till Dawn (1996)
Gotti (1996)
End of Days (1999)
The Shipping News (2001)
Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
References
1. "Marc Lawrence, 95, Actor Whose Specialty Was Tough Guys, Dies". New York Times. Associated Press. 2005-12-03. Marc Lawrence, whose pockmarked face and brooding mannerisms made him a natural for roles as the tough guy, gangster and undertaker in dozens of movies beginning in the 1930's, died on Monday at his home in Palm Springs. He was 95. ...
2. Marc Lawrence Biography (1910-2005)
3. Vallance, Tom (2005-12-03). "Marc Lawrence". The Independent.
4. "Marc Lawrence". Telegraph. 2005-12-03.
5. Marc Lawrence at Find a Grave
Further reading
Names You Never Remember, With Faces You Never Forget, by Justin Humphreys. BearManor Media, Albany, 2006. ISBN 1-59393-041-0.
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