Jump to content

Marc Lawrence

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marc Lawrence
Lawrence in Dillinger (1945)
Born
Max Goldsmith

(1910-02-17)February 17, 1910
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedNovember 28, 2005(2005-11-28) (aged 95)
Palm Springs, California, U.S.
Resting place
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Other namesF. A. Foss
Marc Laurence
Marc C. Lawrence
EducationCity College of New York
OccupationsActor, film director, television director
Years active1930–2003
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1942; died 1995)​
Alicia Lawrence
​
​
(m. 2003)​
Children2
RelativesBilly Bob Thornton (son-in-law)

Marc Lawrence (born Max Goldsmith; February 17, 1909 – November 28, 2005) was an American actor and director, known for his character roles as gangsters and other underworld types.[1] He appeared in over 200 film, television, and stage productions between 1932 and 2002.

Early life and education

[edit]

Lawrence was born 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] He participated in plays in school, then attended the City College of New York. In 1930, he received a two-year scholarship to the repertory theater operated by Eva Le Gallienne.[4] While there, he befriended John Garfield, and appeared with him in Group Theatre productions.[5]

Career

[edit]

Lawrence's film debut came in 1933.[4] His pock-marked complexion, brooding appearance, and New York street-guy accent made him a natural for heavies, and he would portray scores of gangsters and mob bosses over the next six decades. He was once informed by studio executive Harry Cohn that infamous mobster Johnny Roselli called Lawrence "the best hood in films". Lawrence himself added that many Italian hoods told him he played them better than anyone else.[6] While living in Italy, Lawrence befriended Lucky Luciano, who said that his "exaggerated" New York accent helped ease the mobster's homesickness.[6]

In 1951, Lawrence found himself under scrutiny for his political past. After being visited at his L.A. home by two government agents who accused him of being a Communist Party USA (CPUSA) member, Lawrence was subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).[7] On April 24, 1951, he appeared before the HUAC and admitted he had belonged to the CPUSA in the late 1930s. He named fourteen of his film industry associates as Communists, including fellow actors J. Edward Bromberg, Morris Carnovsky, Jeff Corey, Howard da Silva, Lloyd Gough, Sterling Hayden, Larry Parks, Anne Revere, and Lionel Stander.[8]

Despite being a cooperative witness, Lawrence did not fully escape the blacklist, and so he and his wife, screenwriter Fanya Foss, and their two children departed for Italy in 1951. They lived abroad for six years. During that time, he appeared in numerous Italian films and also landed the role of Diomedes in Robert Wise's Helen of Troy (1956).[9] In 1957, he went to England to star in a production of A View from the Bridge, directed by Sam Wanamaker.[10]

Once the blacklist eased for Lawrence in the late 1950s, he and his family moved back to the U.S. He initially obtained guest spots on TV series such as The Detectives and The Untouchables. He later resumed his position in films 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).

Lawrence also had occasional directing credits, including on Nightmare in the Sun (1965) and Pigs (1973), as well as on episodes of TV series such as Lawman, The Roaring 20's, 77 Sunset Strip, and Maverick.[4][11] Among his later acting jobs, he played Volnoth, a member of the Gatherers, in the 1989 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Vengeance Factor". He was the elderly motel owner in From Dusk till Dawn (1996). He returned to the Star Trek franchise when he portrayed Mr. Zeemo in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Badda-Bing Badda-Bang", which aired in February 1999. His final film acting performance was in Looney Tunes Back in Action (2003), appearing as an Acme Corporation vice president.

Lawrence was also been credited as F. A. Foss, Marc Laurence and Marc C. Lawrence.[1]

Books

[edit]

Lawrence's autobiography, Long Time No See: Confessions of a Hollywood Gangster (ISBN 0-9636700-0-X), was published in 1991. He was also the subject of a novel, The Beautiful and the Profane (ISBN 978-1-4107-0292-0) (published in 2002).

Personal life

[edit]

In 1942, he married screenwriter Fanya Foss. They had two children. Foss died in 1995.[12] His daughter Toni was married to Billy Bob Thornton from 1986 to 1988. In 2003, at the age of 93, Lawrence married a Mexican woman named Alicia, who had a daughter from a prior marriage.[13]

Death

[edit]

On November 28, 2005, Marc Lawrence died of heart failure at his Palm Springs home. He was 95.[1] Lawrence and his first wife, Fanya, are buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles.[14]

Partial stage credits

[edit]

Partial filmography

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 "Marc Lawrence, 95, Actor Whose Specialty Was Tough Guys, Dies". New York Times. Associated Press. December 3, 2005. Archived from the original on January 25, 2025. Retrieved December 8, 2011. 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 1930s, died on Monday at his home in Palm Springs. He was 95. ...
  2. ↑ Vallance, Tom (December 3, 2005). "Marc Lawrence". The Independent. Archived from the original on March 18, 2007. Retrieved January 26, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Marc Lawrence". Telegraph. December 3, 2005. Archived from the original on March 17, 2007. Retrieved January 26, 2007.
  4. 1 2 3 Dellagatta, Steve (July 16, 1998). "Valley resident Marc Lawrence has had a long career as well-known character actor". Palm Desert Post. Palm Desert, California. p. 16. Retrieved November 20, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ↑ McLellan, Dennis (December 1, 2005). "Marc Lawrence, 95; Prolific Actor Best Known for Playing Menacing Characters in Movies". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 25, 2026.
  6. 1 2 Lawrence, Marc (1991). Long Time No See: Confessions of a Hollywood Gangster. Ursus Press. ISBN 096367000X.
  7. ↑ "Marc Lawrence Dies". The Washington Post. December 4, 2005.
  8. ↑ Bergan, Ronald (December 6, 2005). "Obituary: Marc Lawrence". The Guardian.
  9. ↑ "Marc Lawrence Biography". TCM. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011.
  10. 1 2 "Marc Lawrence". Theatricalia.
  11. ↑ Willis, Donald C. (1984). Horror and Science Fiction Films III. Scarecrow Press p. 258. ISBN 978-0-8108-1723-4.
  12. ↑ "Fanya Foss Lawrence; Screenwriter, Poet, Novelist". Los Angeles Times. December 19, 1995. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  13. ↑ Meeks, Eric G. (2014) [2012]. The Best Guide Ever to Palm Springs Celebrity Homes. Horatio Limburger Oglethorpe. p. 16. ISBN 978-1479328598.
  14. ↑ Lawrence, Marc. "Marc Lawrence". billiongraves.com. Retrieved August 25, 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 "Marc Lawrence – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved August 25, 2026.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Humphreys, Justin (2006). "Marc Lawrence". Names You Never Remember, With Faces You Never Forget : Interviews with the Movies' Character Actors (softcover) (First ed.). Albany, GA: BearManor Media. pp. 218–242. ISBN 978-1-62933-094-5.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marc_Lawrence&oldid=1371329630"