Marc Lawrence

Marc Lawrence
Lawrence in 1957
Born	Max Goldsmith (1910-02-17)February 17, 1910 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	November 28, 2005(2005-11-28) (aged 95) Palm Springs, California, U.S.
Resting place	Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1930–2003
Spouse(s)	Fanya Foss ​ ​ (m. 1942; died 1995)​ Alicia Lawrence ​ ​ (m. 2003; his death 2005)​
Children	2

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.^[1]

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.^[2][3][4] 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.^[5]

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.^[5]

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.^[6] He was blacklisted^{[citation needed]} 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).^[5][7]

Books[]

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 978-1-4107-0292-0) (published in 2002).

Personal life[]

For much of his adult life Lawrence lived in Palm Springs, California (1971–2005).^[8] 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.^[9]

Selected filmography[]

References[]

Further reading[]

• 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.

External links[]

• Marc Lawrence at IMDb
• Marc Lawrence at AllMovie
• Marc Lawrence at the Internet Broadway Database
• Marc Lawrence at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)