Fred Williamson

For the Consul-General of Kashgar, see Frederick Williamson.

Frederick Robert Williamson (born March 5, 1938),^[1][2] nicknamed "the Hammer", is an American actor, filmmaker, and former professional football defensive back who played mainly in the American Football League (AFL) during the 1960s.^[7][8] He was a top sports star during the decade, and become a leading man in blaxploitation and action films beginning in the 1970s.^[2]

Fred Williamson
Williamson in 2010
Born	Frederick Robert Williamson (1938-03-05) March 5, 1938 (age 87)[1][2][3] Gary, Indiana, U.S.[1]
Other names	The Hammer Black Caesar
Education	Friedrich Froebel High School[4]
Alma mater	Northwestern University
Occupations	Actor film director producer
Years active	1968–present
Spouses	Ginette Lavonda ​ ​ (m. 1960; div. 1967)​ [5] Linda Williamson ​ (m. 1988)​ [5]
Children	3[6] or 6[4]
American football career
No. 24
Position:	Defensive back
Personal information
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
College:	Northwestern
Undrafted:	1960
Career history
Pittsburgh Steelers (1960) Oakland Raiders (1961–1964) Kansas City Chiefs (1965–1967)
Career highlights and awards
AFL champion (1966) 3× AFL All-Star (1961, 1962, 1963)
Career NFL statistics
Interceptions: 36 Stats at Pro Football Reference

WIlliamson played in college at Northwestern University, and played in the National Football League (NFL) with the Pittsburgh Steelers for one season. In the AFL, Williamson played with the Oakland Raiders for four seasons, becoming a three-time AFL All-Star (1961, '62, '63). He then played three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, where was a one-time AFL Champion ('66). During his football career, he earned the nickname "the Hammer" for his aggressive playing style, which incorporated martial arts techniques.^[9]

After retiring from football in 1968, Williamson made a string of a guest and supporting roles on television and in films. He played his first leading role in the blaxploitation Western The Legend of Nigger Charley (1972), which he reprised in two sequels. He starred as Tommy Gibbs in the 1973 crime drama film Black Caesar and its sequel Hell Up in Harlem.^[2] Williamson also had roles in other 1970s blaxploitation films such as Hammer (1972), That Man Bolt (1973)^[2] and Three the Hard Way (1974). Later in the decade, he worked extensively in Italian cinema, and also began to direct and produce his own films.

Early life and education

Born in Gary, Indiana,^[2] Williamson was the only child born to Frank, a welder^[1] and Lydia Williamson. Williamson attended Froebel High School in Gary, where he ran track and played football. He graduated in 1956.^[4] After high school, Williamson left Gary to attend Northwestern University^[9] on a track and field scholarship,^[4] earning a degree in architecture.^[10]

An avid martial artist, Williamson holds black belts in Kenpō, Shotokan karate and taekwondo.

Professional football career

After playing college football for Northwestern^[9] in the late 1950s, Williamson was signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Francisco 49ers.^[11] When during training camp he was switched to their defense, his attitude over the switch prompted him to play his position with too much aggression, and the coach of the 49ers asked him to quit "hammering" his players. Thus, "The Hammer"^[9] quickly stuck and became his nickname.

Williamson was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers and played one year for the Steelers in the National Football League in 1960.^[1][2] Next, he moved to the new American Football League. Williamson played four seasons for the AFL's Oakland Raiders, making the AFL All-Star team in 1961, 1962, and 1963. He also played three seasons for the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs.^[1] During his period of playing for the Chiefs, Williamson became one of football's first self-promoters, nurturing the nickname "The Hammer" because he used his forearm to deliver karate-style blows to the heads of opposing players, especially wide receivers. Before Super Bowl I, Williamson garnered national headlines by boasting that he would knock the Green Bay Packers starting receivers, Carroll Dale and Boyd Dowler, out of the game. He stated "Two hammers to Dowler, one to Dale should be enough".^[12]

His prediction turned out to be an ironic one because "they (Green Bay) broke the hammer" as Williamson himself was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter on the way to a 35–10 defeat. Williamson's head met the knee of the Packers' running back Donny Anderson. Williamson later suffered a broken arm from his own teammate when Chiefs linebacker Sherrill Headrick fell on him.^[13] Williamson finished his eight-season pro football career in 1967 with a history of many hard tackles, passes knocked away, and 36 pass interceptions in 104 games. Williamson returned his interceptions for 479 yards and two touchdowns. After signing with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League during the 1968 season, but not having played in a league game, Williamson retired.

Acting career

Williamson at the Festival de Cine de Sitges, October 2008.

Williamson became an actor much in the mold of star running back Jim Brown. He acted alongside Brown in films such as Three the Hard Way (1974), Take a Hard Ride (1975), One Down, Two to Go (1982),^[2] which also featured Jim Kelly.^[14][15][16] Other films with Brown were Original Gangstas (1996) and On the Edge (2002).^[2] Williamson also guest starred with Brown in various television roles. In October 1973, Williamson posed nude for Playgirl magazine, preempting Brown's appearance in 1974. Williamson's early television roles included a role in the original Star Trek episode "The Cloud Minders" (1969), in which he played Anka. He also played Diahann Carroll's love interest in the sitcom Julia.^[2] In an interview for the DVD of Bronx Warriors, Williamson stated that his role in Julia was created for him when he convinced the producers that the Black community was upset that Julia had a different boyfriend every week.

Williamson's early film work included roles in M*A*S*H (1970) and Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970). He portrayed an escaped slave who flees westward in The Legend of Nigger Charley (1972). He played the role of an African-American gangster in the film Black Caesar (1973) and its subsequent sequel, Hell Up in Harlem (also 1973).^[2] Williamson also starred in the 1975 western film Boss Nigger, in which he played the title role. After this he appeared as an actor in several films, most of which are considered to be of the "blaxploitation" genre. Williamson starred alongside Peter Boyle and Eli Wallach in the movie Crazy Joe (1974).

Williamson co-starred in the short-lived series Half Nelson (1985). During the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, Williamson frequently appeared on television as a spokesman for King Cobra malt liquor ("Don't let the smooth taste fool you."), as did fellow actor/martial artist Martin Kove. In 1994, Williamson, along with many other black actors from the 'Blaxploitation' movie era (namely Antonio Fargas, Pam Grier, Rudy Ray Moore, and Ron O'Neal) made a cameo appearance on Snoop Doggy Dogg's music video "Doggy Dogg World", where he appears as himself using his pro-football nickname "The Hammer". Williamson co-starred with George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino in From Dusk till Dawn (1996), directed by Robert Rodriguez. He was in the cast of the original The Inglorious Bastards (1978), which would later inspire Tarantino's 2009 film of similar name.

Williamson has continued his career as an actor and director into the 21st Century, appearing in the reboot film Starsky & Hutch (2004) derived from the 1970s television series.

Monday Night Football

In 1974, Williamson was hired by the ABC television network to serve as a color commentator on Monday Night Football, replacing Don Meredith, who had left to pursue an acting and broadcasting career at rival network NBC. Williamson was used on a few pre-season broadcasts, but was quickly declared unsuitable by ABC.^[17] He was relieved of his duties at the beginning of the regular season, becoming the first MNF personality not to endure for an entire season. He was replaced by the fellow former player (and fellow Gary, Indiana, native) Alex Karras.

Working with clique of actors

Williamson has co-starred in a number of films with Bo Svenson. They include, The Inglorious Bastards (1978),^[18] Deadly Impact (1984),^[19] Delta Force Commando (1987),^[20] The Kill Reflex (1989),^[21] Three Days to a Kill (1991),^[22] and Steele's Law (1991).^[23]

Directing and producing

Since the 1970s, Williamson has had another career as a director and producer. His first film as producer was Boss Nigger (1975), in which he also starred. His second film as producer was with Mean Johnny Barrows (1976), a predecessor of the Rambo films which similarly featured a violent Vietnam Vet plot (though the novel First Blood on which the film First Blood was based was written in 1972). He has since directed over 20 features. In the middle of the 1970s, Williamson relocated to Rome, Italy and formed his own company Po' Boy Productions, which started to produce actioners including Adios Amigo (1976) and Death Journey (1976), both of which starred and were directed by Williamson. Although his most recent efforts as director and producer have mainly been direct-to-video, Williamson remains an active filmmaker.

Personal life

Williamson has been married twice. His first marriage was to Ginette Lavonda from 1960 until 1967.^[5] Williamson has been married to Linda Williamson since 1988.^[5] Williamson has at least three children^[6] but some sources state he has at least six.^[4] Since 1997, Williamson has had a home in Palm Springs, California.^[24]

In June 2020, The Daily Beast reported that Williamson had allegedly attempted to grope an assistant costume designer during a wardrobe fitting. He denied the charge.^[25]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1970	M*A*S*H	Dr. Oliver "Spearchucker" Jones
	Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon	Beach Boy
1972	The Legend of Nigger Charley	Nigger Charley
	Hammer	B.J. Hammer
1973	Black Caesar	Tommy Gibbs
	The Soul of Nigger Charley	Charley
	Hell Up in Harlem	Tommy Gibbs
	That Man Bolt	Jefferson Bolt
1974	Crazy Joe	Willy
	Three Tough Guys	Joe Snake
	Black Eye	Shep Stone
	Three the Hard Way	Jagger Daniels
1975	Boss Nigger	Boss Nigger
	Bucktown	Duke Johnson
	Take a Hard Ride	Tyree
	Mean Johnny Barrows	Johnny Barrows	Also director
	The New Spartans	Lincoln Jefferson Washington IV
1976	Adios Amigo	Ben "Big Ben"	Also director
	Death Journey	Jesse Crowder	Also director
	No Way Back		Also director
	Blind Rage
	Joshua	Joshua
1977	Mr. Mean	Mr. Mean	Also director
1978	The Inglorious Bastards	Private Fred Canfield
1980	Fist of Fear, Touch of Death	Himself
1981	Fear In The City	John Dikson
1982	Vigilante	Nick
	1990: The Bronx Warriors	The Ogre
	One Down, Two to Go	Cal	Also director
	The New Barbarians	Nadir
1983	The Last Fight	Jesse Crowder	Also director
	The Big Score	Detective Frank Hooks	Also director
	Warrior of the Lost World	Henchman
1984	Warriors of the Year 2072	Abdul
	Deadly Impact	Lou
1985	White Fire	Noah Barclay
1986	Foxtrap	Thomas Fox	Also director
	The Messenger	Jake Sebastian Turner	Also director
1987	Black Cobra	Detective Robert Malone
	Inglorious Bastards 2: Hell's Heroes	Feather
1988	Delta Force Commando	Captain Samuel Beck
	Taxi Killer
	Deadly Intent	Curt Slate
1989	Black Cobra 2	Detective Robert Malone
1990	The Kill Reflex	Soda Cracker	Also director
	Delta Force Commando II: Priority Red One	Captain Sam Back
	Black Cobra 3	Detective Robert Malone
1991	Black Cobra 4
	Steele's Law	Lieutenant John Steele	Also director
1992	Three Days to a Kill	Cal	Also director
	State Of Mind	Loomis
	Deceptions	Brady
1993	South Beach	Mack Derringer	Also director
1995	Silent Hunter	Sheriff Mantee	Also director
1996	From Dusk till Dawn	Frost
	Original Gangstas	John Bookman
1997	Night Vision	Dakota "Dak" Smith
	Pitch	Himself	Documentary
1998	Ride	Casper's Dream Dad
	Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror	Sheriff Skaggs
	Whatever It Takes	Paulie Salano
2000	Active Stealth	Captain Reynolds
	Submerged	Captain Masters
	Down 'n Dirty	Dakota Smith	Also director
	The Independent	Himself
2001	Deadly Rhapsody	Jake
	Shadow Fury	Sam
	The Rage Within	Dakota Smith
2002	On the Edge		Also director
2004	Starsky & Hutch	Captain Doby
	If Love Hadn't Left Me Lonely	Willie Brownlee Davis	Also director
2005	Transformed	"The Hammer"
2006	Spaced Out	"The Hammer"
	Crooked	Jack Paxton
2007	Vegas Vampires	Fred Pittman	Also director
	Fighting Words	Gabriel
	Revamped	Captain Michaels
2010	Shoot the Hero!	The General
	Street Poet	Gabriel
	Zombie Apocalypse: Redemption	Moses
2012	The Voices from Beyond	Agent Farley
	Last Ounce of Courage	Warren Hammerschmidt
	Dropping Evil	Commander Death Blood
2013	.357	"Hammer"
2014	Billy Trigger	Pops
2015	Atomic Eden	Stoker
2017	Check Point	Chester
	A Chance in the World	Charlie
2018	Unkillable	Master Lee
	Jackson Bolt	Tommy
	A Stone Cold Christmas	Mark Kurt
2019	Bodyguard Wars
	VFW	Abe Hawkins
2021	Devil's Triangle	Pluto

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1968	Ironside	Detective Sergeant La Peer	1 episode
1969	The Outsider	Randall	1 episode
	Star Trek: The Original Series	Anka	Episode: "The Cloud Minders" (S3.E21)
	The Bold Ones: The Protectors	Arnold Bartell / Officer Williams	2 episodes
1969–1971	Julia	Steve Bruce / Dave Boyd	17 episodes
1972–1974	Soul Train	Guest
1973–1976	Police Story	Sergeant Bunny Green / "Snake" McKay	2 episodes
1974	The Rookies	Johnny Barrows	1 episode
1978	Wheels	Leonard Wingate	TV miniseries
1979	Supertrain	Al Roberts	1 episode
	CHiPs	Ty	2 episodes
	Fantasy Island	Jackson Malone	1 episode
1981	Lou Grant	"Crusher" Carter	1 episode
1985	Half Nelson	Chester Long	7 episodes
	The Equalizer	Lieutenant Mason Warren	Episode: "Reign of Terror"
	The Equalizer	Lieutenant Mason Warren	Episode: "Back Home"
1988	Amen	Barnet Thompson	1 episode
1994	Renegade	Jean-Luc Leveaux	1 episode
1996	Arliss	Fred Williamson	1 episode
1997–1998	Fast Track	Lowell Carter	22 episodes
1998	Blackjack	Tim Hastings	TV movie
	Psi Factor	Fred Milton Di genova / Fred Milton Di Genova	2 episodes
2000	The Jamie Foxx Show	Himself	1 episode
2001	Carmen: A Hip Hopera	Lou	TV movie
2002	Sexual Preadator Alert	Host
2005	Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide	Coach Stax	1 episode
2007–2008	Hello Paradise
2009	Knight Rider	DEA Director	1 episode
	Pushing Daisies	Roland "Rollie" Stingwell	1 episode
2012–2015	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Chief / Dale's Boss	2 episodes
2014–2016	Real Husbands of Hollywood	Jet Black	2 episodes
2017	Being Mary Jane	Frank Pearl	3 episodes

See also

• List of American Football League players