Marc Lawrence

Marc Lawrence (born Max Goldsmith, 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.

Early years
Lawrence was born in New York City, the son of a Polish Jewish mother, Minerva Norma (née Sugarman), and a Russian Jewish father, Israel Simon Goldsmith. 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.

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's film debut came in 1933.  

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 named Sterling Hayden, Lionel Stander, Anne Revere, Larry Parks, Karen Morley and Jeff Corey as Communists. 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", which aired in February 1999. Previously he played the elderly Gatherer Volnoth in the 1989 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Vengeance Factor".

His final film role was in Looney Tunes Back in Action (2003), appearing as an Acme Corporation vice president.

Lawrence directed Nightmare in the Sun (1965) and Pigs (1973).

Books 
In 1991 Lawrence's autobiography was published entitled Long Time No See: Confessions of a Hollywood Gangster (). Lawrence was also the subject of a novel, The Beautiful and the Profane () (published in 2002).

Personal life 
For much of his adult life Lawrence lived in Palm Springs, California (1971–2006). Lawrence married Odessa-born novelist and screenwriter Fanya Foss; she died on December 12, 1995. They had two children, Michael and Toni.

Death 
Lawrence died of heart failure on November 28, 2005 at the age of 95. He was buried at Westwood Memorial Park in Westwood, California.

Selected filmography

 If I Had a Million (1932) as Henchman of Mike the Gangster (uncredited)
 Gambling Ship (1933) as Hood (uncredited)
 Her First Mate (1933) as Orderly with Message (uncredited)
 Lady for a Day (1933) as Nick - Mug at Reception (uncredited)
 White Woman (1933) as Connors
 Straight Is the Way (1934) as Monk's Henchmen (uncredited)
 Death on the Diamond (1934) as Bookies' Doorman (uncredited)
 Million Dollar Baby (1934)
 G Men (1935) as Gangster Killed at Lodge (uncredited)
 Go Into Your Dance (1935) as Eddie Logan (uncredited)
 Strangers All (1935) as Communist Meeting Chairman (uncredited)
 Men of the Hour (1935) as Joe
 The Arizonian (1935) as Henchman Who Pistol-Whipped Clay (uncredited)
 Don't Bet on Blondes (1935) as Gangster #6 (uncredited)
 After the Dance (1935) as Tom - a Prisoner (uncredited)
 Little Big Shot (1935) as Doré's Henchman
 Dr. Socrates (1935) as Lefty Croger - a Gangster (uncredited)
 Three Kids and a Queen (1935) as Gangster (uncredited)
 Road Gang (1936) as Pete (Friendly Convict)
 Don't Gamble with Love (1936) as Gambler (uncredited)
 Love on a Bet (1936) as County Fair Barker (uncredited)
 Robin Hood of El Dorado (1936) as Manuel (uncredited)
 Desire (1936) as Charles the Valet (uncredited)
 Under Two Flags (1936) as Grivon (uncredited)
 Counterfeit (1936) as Dint Coleman
 Trapped by Television (1936) as Frank Griffin (uncredited)
 The Final Hour (1936) as Mike Magellon
 Blackmailer (1936) as Pinky (uncredited)
 The Cowboy Star (1936) as Johnny Sampson
 Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936) as Undetermined Minor Role (uncredited)
 Night Waitress (1936) as Dorn - a Henchman
 Racketeers in Exile (1937) as 'Blackie' White
 Motor Madness (1937) as Gus Slater
 I Promise to Pay (1937) as Henchman Whitehat
 Criminals of the Air (1937) as 'Blast' Reardon
 San Quentin (1937) as Venetti
 What Price Vengeance? (1937) as Pete Brower
 It Can't Last Forever (1937) as Hoodlum (uncredited)
 A Dangerous Adventure (1937) as Calkins
 Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) as Thomas Mitchell
 Life Begins with Love (1937) as Pearson (uncredited)
 Counsel for Crime (1937) as Edwin Mitchell
 Murder in Greenwich Village (1937) as Rusty Morgan
 The Shadow (1937) as Kid Crow
 Penitentiary (1938) as Jack Hawkins (uncredited)
 Who Killed Gail Preston? (1938) as Frank Daniels
 Squadron of Honor (1938) as Lawlor
 Convicted (1938) as Milton Militis
 I Am the Law (1938) as Eddie Girard
 The Spider's Web (1938, Serial) as Steve Harmon
 Adventure in Sahara (1938) as Poule
 While New York Sleeps (1938) as Happy Nelson
 Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938) as Johnny McCoy
 Homicide Bureau (1939) as Chuck Brown
 There's That Woman Again (1939) as Stevens (uncredited)
 The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939) as Henchman in Trenchcoat (uncredited)
 Sergeant Madden (1939) as 'Piggy' Ceders
 Romance of the Redwoods (1939) as Joe
 Code of the Streets (1939) as Henchman Halstead, a.k.a. Denver Collins
 Blind Alley (1939) as Buck
 Ex-Champ (1939) as Bill Crosley, Olsen's Manager
 S.O.S. Tidal Wave (1939) as Melvin Sutter
 Dust Be My Destiny (1939) as Venetti
 Beware Spooks! (1939) as Slick Eastman
 The Housekeeper's Daughter (1939) as Floyd
 Invisible Stripes (1939) as Lefty
 Johnny Apollo (1940) as Bates
 Love, Honor and Oh-Baby! (1940) as Tony Luffo
 The Man Who Talked Too Much (1940) as Lefty Kyler
 The Golden Fleecing (1940) as 'Happy' Dugan
 Brigham Young (1940) as Prosecutor
 The Great Profile (1940) as Tony
 Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940) as Steve McBirney
 Tall, Dark and Handsome (1941) as Louie
 The Monster and the Girl (1941) as Sleeper
 The Man Who Lost Himself (1941) as Frank DeSoto
 Blossoms in the Dust (1941) as La Verne
 The Shepherd of the Hills (1941) as Pete Matthews
 Lady Scarface (1941) as Lefty Landers
 Hold That Ghost (1941) as Charlie Smith
 A Dangerous Game (1941) as Joe
 Sundown (1941) as Abdi Hammud
 Public Enemies (1941) as Mike
 Nazi Agent (1942) as Joe Aiello
 Yokel Boy (1942) as Henchman Trigger
 This Gun for Hire (1942) as Tommy
 Call of the Canyon (1942) as Horace Dunston
 Eyes of the Underworld (1942) as Gordon Finch
 'Neath Brooklyn Bridge (1942) as McGaffey
 Calaboose (1943) as Sluggsy Baker
 Submarine Alert (1943) as Vincent Bela
 The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) as Jeff Farnley
 Hit the Ice (1943) as Phil
 Tampico (1944) as Valdez
 Rainbow Island (1944) as Alcoa
 The Princess and the Pirate (1944) as Pedro
 Dillinger (1945) as Doc Madison
 Flame of Barbary Coast (1945) as Joe Disko
 Don't Fence Me In (1945) as Clifford Anson
 Club Havana (1945) as Joe Reed
 Life with Blondie (1945) as Pete, Blackie's Henchman
 Blonde Alibi (1946) as Joe DeRita
 The Virginian (1946) as
 Inside Job (1946) as Donovan Pete
 Cloak and Dagger (1946) as Luigi
 Yankee Fakir (1947) as Duke
 Joe Palooka in the Knockout (1947) as John Mitchell
 Unconquered (1947) as Sioto - Medicine Man
 Captain from Castile (1947) as Corio
 I Walk Alone (1948) as Nick Palestro
 Key Largo (1948) as Ziggy
 Out of the Storm (1948) as Red Stubbins
 Jigsaw (1949) as Angelo Agostini
 Calamity Jane and Sam Bass (1949) as Harry Dean
 Tough Assignment (1949) as Vince
 Black Hand (1950) as Caesar Xavier Serpi
 The Asphalt Jungle (1950) as Cobby
 The Desert Hawk (1950) as Samad
 Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950) as Frankie the Loan Shark
 Hurricane Island (1951) as Angus Macready (uncredited)
 My Favorite Spy (1951) as Ben Ali
 Torment of the Past (1952) as Andrea Rossi
 La Tratta delle bianche (1952) as Manchedi
 I tre corsari (1952) as Van Gould
 Fratelli d'Italia (1952) as Il capitano March - un ufficiale austriaco
 Jolanda, the Daughter of the Black Corsair (1953) as Van Gould
 Noi peccatori (1953) as Camillo
 Legione straniera (1953) as Serg. Schwartz
 Funniest Show on Earth (1953) as Il proprietario del circo
 Vacation with a Gangster (1954) as Jack Mariotti
 Tragic Ballad (1954) as Felipe Alvaro
 New Moon (1955) as Pierre
 Suor Maria (1955) as Don Mario, proprietario del night club
 La catena dell'odio (1955) as Braschi
 Helen of Troy (1956) as Diomedes
 Kill Her Gently (1957) as William Connors
 Johnny Cool (1963) as Johnny Colini
 Due mafiosi contro Al Capone (1966) as Joe Minasi
 Johnny Tiger (1966) as William Billie
 Savage Pampas (1966) as Sgt. Barril
 7 monaci d'oro (1966) as Lucky Marciano, Capo da banda
 Du mou dans la gâchette (1967) as Magnum
 Custer of the West (1967) as The gold miner
 Kong Island (1968) as Albert Muller
 Krakatoa, East of Java (1969) as Jacobs
 The Kremlin Letter (1970) as The Priest
 Dream No Evil (1970) as Undertaker
 Diamonds Are Forever (1971) as Slumber Inc. Attendant
 In Pursuit of Treasure (1972)
 Daddy's Deadly Darling (1972) as Zambrini
 Frasier, the Sensuous Lion (1973) as Chiarelli
 The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) as Rodney
 Marathon Man (1976) as Erhard
 A Piece of the Action (1977) as Louie
 Foul Play (1978) as Stiltskin
 Goin' Coconuts (1978) as Webster
 Hot Stuff (1979) as Carmine
 Swap Meet (1979) as Mr. Booth
 Super Fuzz (1980) as Torpedo
 Cataclysm (1980) as Abraham Weiss / Dieter
 Cat and Dog (1982) as Don Salvatore Licuti
 Night Train to Terror (1985) as Mr. Weiss / Dieter (segment "The Case of Claire Hansen")
 The Big Easy (1986) as Vinnie 'The Cannon' DiMotti
 Blood Red (1989) as Michael Fazio
 Ruby (1992) as Santos Alicante
 Newsies (1992) as Kloppman
 Four Rooms (1995) as Sam the Bellhop
 From Dusk till Dawn (1996) as Old Timer Motel Owner
 Gotti (1996) as Carlo Gambino
 End of Days (1999) as Old Man
 The Shipping News (2001) as Cousin Nolan
 Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) as Acme VP, Stating the Obvious (final film role)

References

Further reading
 Names You Never Remember, With Faces You Never Forget, by Justin Humphreys. BearManor Media, Albany, 2006. .

External links

 
 
 

Category:1910 births
Category:2005 deaths
Category:Ashkenazi Jews
Category:Male actors from New York City
Category:Male actors from Palm Springs, California
Category:Members of the Communist Party USA
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:Jewish American male actors
Category:Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Category:Hollywood blacklist
Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent
Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors