William Marshall
*William Marshall was born on this date in 1924. He was a Black stage and screen actor.
Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Marshall graduated from that city's Roosevelt High School. His acting career began in the early 1950s with the films Lydia Bailey, Demetrius and the Gladiators, and Sabu and the Magic Ring, where he played “Ubal,” the genie.
Marshall was probably best recognized as the lead in the 70s cult horror films Blacula and its sequel Scream, Blacula, Scream. He also made a guest appearance on TV’s Star Trek as "Dr. Richard Daystrom" in the episode: “The Ultimate Computer.” With his deep voice and Shakespearean delivery, Marshall played Othello. He was a guest star on 1960s-era TV shows, including The Wild Wild West, The Man from U. N. C. L. E., and Bonanza.
From 1987 to 1991, he played the “King of Cartoons” on “Pee Wee’s Playhouse.” He had a cameo as a riverboat gambler in the 1994 Mel Gibson film Maverick. Also, in the early ’90s, Marshall toured America with his one-man show, Enter Frederick Douglass, where he played the 19th-century abolitionist.
Marshall, as Frederick Douglass, Slave, and Statesman for PBS, duplicated that same character years later. William Marshall died in June 2003.
