Marc Lawrence
Encyclopedia
Marc Lawrence 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.

Personal life

Lawrence was born as Max Goldsmith in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, the son of a Polish Jewish
History of the Jews in Poland
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a millennium. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. Poland was the centre of Jewish culture thanks to a long period of statutory religious tolerance and social autonomy. This ended with the...

 mother, Minerva Norma (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....

 Sugarman), and a Russian Jewish
History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union
The vast territories of the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest populations of Jews in the diaspora. Within these territories the Jewish community flourished and developed many of modern Judaism's most distinctive theological and cultural traditions, while also facing periods of...

 father, Israel Simon Goldsmith. He participated in plays in school, then attended the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...

. He married 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 Memorial Park
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
The Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery is a cemetery in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles, California. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood....

 in Westwood, California
Westwood, Los Angeles, California
Westwood is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles .-History:...

. 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
Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone...

 and starred in his film "Daddy's Girl".

Acting career

In 1930, Lawrence befriended another young actor, John Garfield
John Garfield
John Garfield was an American actor adept at playing brooding, rebellious, working-class character roles. He grew up in poverty in Depression-era New York City and in the early 1930s became an important member of the Group Theater. In 1937 he moved to Hollywood, eventually becoming one of Warner...

. The two appeared in a number of plays before Lawrence was given a film contract with Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...

. Lawrence appeared in films beginning in 1931, Garfield followed starting his film acting in 1938. Lawrence's pock-marked complexion and brooding appearance 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
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...

, he admitted he had once been a member of the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...

. 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
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

 movies: 1971's Diamonds Are Forever
Diamonds Are Forever (film)
Diamonds Are Forever is the seventh spy film in the Eon Productions James Bond series, and the sixth and final Eon Productions film to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film is based on Ian Fleming's 1956 novel of the same name, and is the second of four James Bond films...

opposite Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...

, and 1974's The Man With the Golden Gun
The Man with the Golden Gun
The Man with the Golden Gun is the twelfth novel of Ian Fleming's James Bond series of books. It was first published by Jonathan Cape in the UK on 1 April 1965, eight months after the author's death. The novel was not as detailed or polished as the others in the series, leading to poor but polite...

opposite Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...

. He also portrayed a henchman opposite Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...

 in Marathon Man
Marathon Man (film)
Marathon Man is a 1976 thriller film based on the novel of the same name by William Goldman. The film was directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman, Roy Scheider, and Laurence Olivier. The original music score was composed by Michael Small....

(1976) and a stereotypical Miami mob boss alongside Jerry Reed
Jerry Reed
Jerry Reed Hubbard , known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country music singer, innovative guitarist, songwriter, and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films...

 and Dom DeLuise
Dom DeLuise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...

 in the comedy Hot Stuff
Hot Stuff (1979 film)
Hot Stuff is a 1979 comedy film that starred Dom DeLuise, Suzanne Pleshette, Jerry Reed and Ossie Davis. Along with acting in the title, Dom DeLuise also directed the movie...

(1979).

One of his last roles was as Mr. Zeemo in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...

episode "Badda-Bing Badda-Bang
Badda-Bing Badda-Bang (DS9 episode)
"Badda-Bing Badda-Bang" is an episode from the seventh season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Plot:Julian Bashir and Miles O'Brien enjoy an evening at Vic's in the holosuite until the program suddenly changes into a noisy cabaret and Frankie Eyes, Vic's longtime rival, shows up to throw Vic out...

". Notably, he played the elderly Gatherer Volnoth in the Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...

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 1410702928/ISBN 978-14107029200)(published in 2002).

His final film role was in Looney Tunes Back in Action, appearing as an Acme Corporation
Acme Corporation
The Acme Corporation is a fictional corporation that features prominently in the Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons as a running gag featuring outlandish products that fail catastrophically at the worst possible times...

 vice president.

Partial filmography

  • White Woman
    White Woman
    White Woman is a 1933 film directed by Stuart Walker and starring Carole Lombard, Charles Laughton, and Charles Bickford. A young widow remarries and accompanies her husband to his remote jungle rubber plantation. The film was based on the play Hangman's Whip by Norman Reilly Raine and Frank...

    (1933)
  • Charlie Chan on Broadway
    Charlie Chan on Broadway
    Charlie Chan On Broadway is a Charlie Chan film. This is the 15th film starring Oland as Chan and produced by Fox.- Synopsis :It starts out with Chan in this exotic locale . He's there on business, but before he can do anything about his business, someone shows up dead...

    (1937)
  • The Spider's Web
    The Spider's Web
    The Spider's Web is a Columbia Pictures movie serial based on the pulp magazine character The Spider. The 15-chapter adventure was directed by serial and western specialist Ray Taylor and comedy and serial veteran James W. Horne...

    (1938 serial)
  • Charlie Chan in Honolulu
    Charlie Chan in Honolulu
    Charlie Chan in Honolulu is a 1938 American film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, starring Sidney Toler as the fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan...

    (1938)
  • Sergeant Madden
    Sergeant Madden
    Sergeant Madden is a 1939 film noir forerunner directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Wallace Beery. The supporting cast in this dark police movie, noted for its imaginative and evocative cinematography, includes Laraine Day, Alan Curtis, and Marc Lawrence.-Cast:*Wallace Beery as Sergeant...

    (1939)
  • Blind Alley
    Blind Alley (film)
    Blind Alley is a 1939 crime drama film directed by Charles Vidor.Chester Morris plays a prison escapee who hides out with his gang in the home of a noted psychologist, played by Ralph Bellamy. Though a prisoner, the doctor begins delving into his captor's psyche.The film was adapted from the...

    (1939)
  • The Housekeeper's Daughter
    The Housekeeper's Daughter
    The Housekeeper's Daughter is a 1939 comedy film directed and produced by Hal Roach. The film stars by Joan Bennett, Adolphe Menjou and John Hubbard...

    (1939)
  • Invisible Stripes
    Invisible Stripes
    Invisible Stripes is a 1939 Warner Bros. crime film about a gangster unable to go straight after returning home from prison. The movie was directed by Lloyd Bacon and also features William Holden and Humphrey Bogart. The screenplay by Warren Duff was based on the novel of the same name by Warden...

    (1939)
  • Johnny Apollo
    Johnny Apollo
    Johnny Apollo was a Marx Toy Company toy line featuring two astronauts, first released in 1968 in response to the then current interest in outer space and the US/Soviet Space Race...

    (1940)
  • Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum
    Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum
    Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum is a 1940 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as detective Charlie Chan.-Cast:*Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan*Victor Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan *C. Henry Gordon as Dr. Cream*Marc Lawrence as Steve McBirney...

    (1940)
  • The Monster and the Girl
    The Monster and the Girl
    The Monster and the Girl is a science fiction/horror black-and-white film released by Paramount Pictures, on a low budget.-Plot:A gangster named Scot Webster attempts to save his sister, Susan from the clutches of rival gangster W.S Bruhl...

    (1941)
  • The Shepherd of the Hills
    The Shepherd of the Hills (film)
    The Shepherd of the Hills is a 1941 film starring John Wayne. It was Wayne's first film in Technicolor. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Harold Bell Wright.-Differences from the novel:...

    (1941)
  • Hold That Ghost
    Hold That Ghost
    Hold That Ghost is a 1941 comedy horror film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello and featuring Joan Davis, Evelyn Ankers, and Shemp Howard....

    (1941)
  • Sundown
    Sundown (film)
    Sundown is a 1941 war film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Bruce Cabot and Gene Tierney. The film's adventure story, set against a war backdrop was well received by critics, earning three Academy Award nominations and was a box office success....

    (1941)
  • Nazi Agent
    Nazi Agent
    Nazi Agent is a 1942 spy film directed by Jules Dassin. It stars Conrad Veidt playing identical twins, one loyal to the United States , the other a dedicated German Nazi....

    (1942)
  • This Gun for Hire
    This Gun for Hire
    This Gun for Hire is a 1942 film noir, directed by Frank Tuttle and based on the novel A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene. The film stars Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar, and Alan Ladd.-Plot:...

    (1942)
  • 'Neath Brooklyn Bridge
    'Neath Brooklyn Bridge
    'Neath Brooklyn Bridge is a 1942 film released by Monogram Pictures. The film is the eleventh installment in the East Side Kids series and one of the more dramatic films of the series, released at a time when they were making lighter, more humorous fare...

    (1942)
  • The Ox-Bow Incident
    The Ox-Bow Incident
    The Ox-Bow Incident is a 1943 American western film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Mary Beth Hughes, Anthony Quinn, William Eythe, Harry Morgan and Jane Darwell...

    (1943)
  • Submarine Alert
    Submarine Alert
    - Cast :*Richard Arlen as Lewis J. 'Lee' Deerhold*Wendy Barrie as Ann Patterson*Nils Asther as Dr. Arthur Huneker*Roger Pryor as G.B. Fleming*Abner Biberman as Commander Toyo*Marc Lawrence as Bela, fifth columnist*John Miljan as Mr. Bambridge / Capt...

    (1943)
  • Tampico
    Tampico (1944 film)
    Tampico was a 1944 drama/war film directed by Lothar Mendes and released by 20th Century Fox. It starred Edward G. Robinson, Lynn Bari, Victor McLaglen, Marc Lawrence, and Mona Maris.-Plot:...

    (1944)
  • The Princess and the Pirate
    The Princess and the Pirate
    The Princess and the Pirate is a 1944 American comedy film released by Samuel Goldwyn, starring Bob Hope and Virginia Mayo. This was the only appearance in a Goldwyn film by Paramount Pictures star Hope.-Plot:...

    (1944)
  • Dillinger
    Dillinger (1945 film)
    Dillinger is a 1945 gangster film telling the story of John Dillinger. The film was directed by Max Nosseck. Dillinger was the first major film to star Lawrence Tierney. The B-movie was shot in black and white and features a smoke-bomb bank robbery edited into the film from the 1937 Fritz Lang...

    (1945)
  • Flame of Barbary Coast
    Flame of Barbary Coast
    Flame of Barbary Coast is a 1945 western film starring John Wayne, Ann Dvorak, Joseph Schildkraut, William Frawley, and Virginia Grey. The movie was scripted by Borden Chase and directed by Joseph Kane.-Plot:...

    (1945)
  • Captain from Castile
    Captain from Castile
    Captain from Castile is an action historical drama and swashbuckler film released by 20th Century Fox in 1947. Directed by Henry King, the Technicolor film starred Tyrone Power, Jean Peters, and Cesar Romero. Shot on location in Michoacán, Mexico, the film includes scenes of the Parícutin...

    (1947)
  • I Walk Alone
    I Walk Alone
    I Walk Alone is a 1948 film noir starring Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott, and Kirk Douglas. It was the directorial debut of Byron Haskin....

    (1948)
  • Key Largo
    Key Largo (film)
    Key Largo is a 1948 film noir directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, and Claire Trevor...

    (1948)
  • Jigsaw (1949)
  • Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion
    Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion
    Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion is a 1950 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello.-Plot:Bud Jones and Lou Hotchkiss are wrestling promoters. Their star, Abdullah , no longer wishes to follow the script for their crooked matches, especially since he is supposed to lose his...

    (1950)
  • The Asphalt Jungle
    The Asphalt Jungle
    The Asphalt Jungle is a 1950 film noir directed by John Huston. The caper film is based on the novel of the same name by W. R. Burnett and stars an ensemble cast including Sterling Hayden, Jean Hagen, Sam Jaffe, Louis Calhern, James Whitmore, and, in a minor but key role, Marilyn Monroe, an unknown...

    (1950)
  • The Desert Hawk
    The Desert Hawk (1950 film)
    The Desert Hawk is a 1950 fantasy adventure film starring Yvonne De Carlo, Richard Greene, Jackie Gleason, and Rock Hudson.-Summary:An arranged marriage forces Arabian Princess Sharahazade to marry Prince Murad, a cruel ruler. A thief known as the Desert Hawk hears about the wedding, disguises...

    (1950)
  • My Favorite Spy
    My Favorite Spy
    My Favorite Spy is a 1951 comedy film starring Bob Hope and Hedy Lamarr. The movie was directed by Norman Z. McLeod.-Cast:*Bob Hope as Peanuts White/Eric Augustine*Hedy Lamarr as Lily Dalbray*Francis L...

    (1951)
  • La Tratta delle bianche
    La Tratta delle bianche
    La Tratta delle bianche is a 1952 Italian film. It was also released in the United States in 1954 under the title Girls Marked Danger.-Cast:...

    (1952)
  • Funniest Show on Earth
    Funniest Show on Earth
    Funniest Show on Earth is a 1953 comedy film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring May Britt.-Cast:* May Britt - Brigitte, la domatrice* Mario Castellani - Il domatore* Peppino De Filippo - Uno spettatore* Bianca Maria Fabbri...

    (1953)
  • Helen of Troy
    Helen of Troy (film)
    Helen of Troy is a 1956 Warner Bros. epic film, based on Homer's Iliad. It was directed by Robert Wise, from a screenplay by Hugh Gray and John Twist, adapted by Hugh Gray and N. Richard Nash...

    (1956)
  • Days of Wine and Roses
    Days of Wine and Roses (1958 TV drama)
    Days of Wine and Roses was an acclaimed 1958 teleplay by JP Miller which dramatized the problems of alcoholism. John Frankenheimer directed the cast headed by Cliff Robertson, Piper Laurie and Charles Bickford....

    (1958) (TV)
  • Johnny Tiger
    Johnny Tiger
    Johnny Tiger is a 1966 film directed by Paul Wendkos. It stars Robert Taylor and Geraldine Brooks.-Cast:*Robert Taylor as George Dean*Geraldine Brooks as Dr. Leslie Frost*Chad Everett as Johnny Tiger*Brenda Scott as Barbara Dean...

    (1966)
  • Rat Patrol episode "The Moment of Truce Raid" (1966)
  • Krakatoa, East of Java
    Krakatoa, East of Java
    Krakatoa, East of Java is a movie starring Maximilian Schell and Brian Keith. This film was nominated for Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.-Plot:...

    (1969)
  • Diamonds Are Forever
    Diamonds Are Forever (film)
    Diamonds Are Forever is the seventh spy film in the Eon Productions James Bond series, and the sixth and final Eon Productions film to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film is based on Ian Fleming's 1956 novel of the same name, and is the second of four James Bond films...

    (1971)
  • The Man with the Golden Gun
    The Man with the Golden Gun (film)
    The Man with the Golden Gun is the ninth spy film in the James Bond series and the second to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond...

    (1974)
  • Marathon Man
    Marathon Man (film)
    Marathon Man is a 1976 thriller film based on the novel of the same name by William Goldman. The film was directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman, Roy Scheider, and Laurence Olivier. The original music score was composed by Michael Small....

    (1976)
  • A Piece of the Action
    A Piece of the Action (film)
    A Piece of the Action is a 1977 comedy crime film starring Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby. Poitier also directed the film. This was the third film pairing of Poitier and Cosby following Uptown Saturday Night and Let's Do It Again, and Poiter's last acting role for more than 10 years, as he focused...

    (1977)
  • Foul Play
    Foul Play
    Foul Play is a 1978 American comic mystery/thriller film written and directed by Colin Higgins. In it, a recently divorced librarian is drawn into a mystery when a stranger hides a roll of film in a pack of cigarettes and gives it to her for safekeeping....

    (1978)
  • Hot Stuff
    Hot Stuff (1979 film)
    Hot Stuff is a 1979 comedy film that starred Dom DeLuise, Suzanne Pleshette, Jerry Reed and Ossie Davis. Along with acting in the title, Dom DeLuise also directed the movie...

    (1979)
  • Super Fuzz
    Super Fuzz
    Super Fuzz or Poliziotto superpiù is an Italian film about Dave Speed, a bumbling Miami police officer who gains super powers through accidental nuclear exposure...

    (1980)
  • Cat and Dog (1982)
  • Night Train to Terror
    Night Train to Terror
    Night Train to Terror is an independent horror film directed by John Carr, Phillip Marshak, Tom McGowan, Jay Schlossberg-Cohen, Gregg C. Tallas, and written by Academy Award winner Phillip Yordan that was released in 1985 and has since become an infamous cult classic of grade-Z movie fare.-Plot:God...

    (1985)
  • The Big Easy (1987)
  • Blood Red
    Blood Red
    Blood Red is a 1989 American Western drama film directed by Peter Masterson and starring Eric Roberts, Giancarlo Giannini, and Dennis Hopper. It was filmed in 1986, but released only three years later....

    (1989)
  • Ruby
    Ruby (film)
    Ruby is a feature film, released in the United States on March 27, 1992, about Jack Ruby, the Dallas, Texas nightclub owner who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement garage of a Dallas city police station in 1963. The film was directed by John Mackenzie and stars Danny Aiello , Sherilyn...

    (1992)
  • Newsies
    Newsies
    Newsies is a 1992 Disney musical film starring Christian Bale, David Moscow, and Bill Pullman. Robert Duvall and Ann-Margret also appeared in supporting roles. The movie is widely claimed to have gained a cult following after its initial failure at the box office...

    (1992)
  • Four Rooms
    Four Rooms
    Four Rooms is a 1995 portmanteau comedy film telling four stories set in a hotel in the US city of Los Angeles on New Year's Eve. Tim Roth stars as the principal character of the frame tale; he also takes part to some degree in all four stories....

    (1995)
  • From Dusk Till Dawn
    From Dusk Till Dawn
    From Dusk till Dawn is a 1996 horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino. The movie stars Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino and Juliette Lewis.-Plot:...

    (1996)
  • Gotti (1996)
  • End of Days (1999)
  • The Shipping News
    The Shipping News (film)
    The Shipping News is a 2001 drama film directed by Lasse Hallström, based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by E. Annie Proulx.It stars Kevin Spacey as the protagonist Quoyle, Judi Dench as Agnis Hamm and Julianne Moore as Wavey Prowse...

    (2001)
  • Looney Tunes: Back in Action
    Looney Tunes: Back in Action
    Looney Tunes: Back in Action is a 2003 American live action/animated adventure comedy film directed by Joe Dante and starring Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Timothy Dalton, and Steve Martin. The film is essentially a feature-length Looney Tunes cartoon, with all the wackiness and surrealism typical...

    (2003)


Further reading

  • Names You Never Remember, With Faces You Never Forget, by Justin Humphreys. BearManor Media, Albany, 2006. ISBN 1-59393-041-0.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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