Gary Anthony Williams

Gary Anthony Williams

Williams performing with Laughing Matters at Manuel's in May 2007
Born (1966-03-14) March 14, 1966
Fayetteville, Georgia, United States of America
Occupation Actor, comedian, voice artist
Years active 1990–present

Gary Anthony Williams (born March 14, 1966[1]) is an American actor[2] who provided the voice of Uncle Ruckus on The Boondocks, Yancy Westridge in the video game Alpha Protocol, and Horace Warfield in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. He appeared on the television series Weeds, Boston Legal, Blue Collar TV, and as "Abe" Kenarban in Malcolm in the Middle. Williams co-founded and is Artistic Director of the L.A. Comedy Shorts film festival in Hollywood, California. He also starred alongside Cedric the Entertainer on the hit TV Land sitcom The Soul Man. Williams is currently a regular on Whose Line is it Anyway?.

Early life and career

Born in Fayetteville, Georgia,[3] Williams was involved in theater, comedy, and television in Atlanta, where his credits include acting with the Georgia Shakespeare Festival, performing and writing for Agatha's: A Taste of Mystery, and being a longtime member of Atlanta’s longest running improv troupe, Laughing Matters.[4][5][6] Williams had recurring roles in the television series I'll Fly Away and In the Heat of the Night, both filmed in the Atlanta area. He moved to Los Angeles in 1998.[7]

Television

Williams' past roles include Abraham Kenarban (Stevie's dad) in the Fox TV sitcom Malcolm in the Middle[8] and as Judge Trudy's Bailiff on Nickelodeon's The Amanda Show.[9] Williams was a series regular on the WB Television Network sketch comedy series, Blue Collar TV.[10]

In 2003, Williams had a small role in an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, "Invisible Evidence." During season three and four of Boston Legal, Williams appeared as part-time lawyer Clarence Bell, a pathologically shy man who expresses himself through characters, including crossdressing as women (including a nun and celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey). [11] The role of Clarence/Clarice was originally to appear in one episode, but was expanded into a recurring role, and then a regular role.[11]

Williams plays parts in five different shows on Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim, one being a STRATA technician on Saul of the Molemen, another as the self-hating African American, Uncle Ruckus on The Boondocks,[3] Coroner Rick, a recurring character on Stroker and Hoop, he also played the role of Paul Revere on the television special, The Young Person's Guide to History, and served as the voice-over announcer for The Eric Andre Show until 2013. He also voiced Riff Tamson in the opening three episodes of season four of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He is also the voice of Mr. Dos on Special Agent Oso. He appeared on an episode of Hot in Cleveland as a drama teacher and soccer coach.

In 2009 and 2010, Williams provided the voice of the supervillain Mongul for several episodes of the animated series, Batman: The Brave and the Bold. On one occasion, he voiced the character's sister, Mongal. He also voiced the supervillain Thunderball in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Williams is currently working on a new Mike Judge animated series. He was part of a segment in the show Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, and guest-starred on How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men. Williams also guest stars as the halfway house director in the 7th season of the TV show Weeds. In 2011, he joined the cast of the animated series China, IL as the voice of Doctor Falgot. Williams was also in an episode of the show Workaholics. He was a series regular for the animated sketch comedy series MAD, and is currently voicing Mr. McStuffins for the animated Disney Junior series, Doc McStuffins[12] and Dirty Dan and Dusty for the animated Disney Junior series Sheriff Callie's Wild West. He is also the narrator for the TV One series UNSUNG.[13] From 2012 to 2016, Williams appeared as the recurring character Lester on the TV Land original sitcom The Soul Man.

Since 2013, Williams has been a recurring performer on the CW revival of the television show Whose Line Is It Anyway, where he improvises scenes and songs. He also provides the voice for Mufasa in The Lion Guard, and has provided voices for Star Wars Rebels.

Film

Williams has appeared in films such as Undercover Brother, appearing as Smart Brother (having previously voiced the Undercover Brother character in the original internet animated series),[9] Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle,[14] and Soul Plane. On the Boondocks second season premiere, "...Or Die Trying", Riley Freeman and Robert Freeman are seen watching the Soul Plane 2 trailer, when they distinctly hear Williams and voice of grandad, John Witherspoon (who also had an acting role in Soul Plane), having a conversation on the plane. He also voiced Sweet in The Trumpet of the Swan. Williams also appeared in the film The Factory, starring John Cusack. In 2011, Williams narrated the feature-length documentary Ayn Rand and the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged. Perhaps his most recent role is as Melvin (a father) in House Party: Tonight's the Night. Williams played Bebop in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016).[15]

Improvisational comedy

Williams, Fuzzbee Morse and Nick Jameson perform as the Flying Fannoli Brothers, an improv comedy band. He performs in the improvisational shows Cookin' With Gas and The Black Version at The Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles. Williams also returns to Atlanta to perform with Laughing Matters once or twice a year. Since 2013 he has been a recurring performer on The CW's revival of Whose Line is it Anyway?.

References

  1. ↑ "Today in History". Philadelphia Tribune. March 14, 2010.
  2. ↑ Fearn-Banks, Kathleen (2006). Historical Dictionary of African-American Television. Scarecrow Press. pp. 483–. ISBN 9780810853355. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  3. 1 2 Eldridge, Richard L. "Atlantic Station's set for taste of Hollywood". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. October 20, 2005.
  4. ↑ Garretson, Shari. "Cat on a Hot Tin Streetcar". '"The Atlanta Journal. May 25, 1994.
  5. ↑ Gincel, Richard. "Instant comedy requires quick wits". The Atlanta Journal. July 22, 1993.
  6. ↑ Downey, Maureen; Shurling, Bo. "No secret: TV role `Smart' move". The Atlanta Journal. October 18, 1994.
  7. ↑ Ho, Rodney. "Dad's Garage goes big at Fox with new fundraiser The Fabulous Fox Theatre plays host to this year's event". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. June 10, 2015.
  8. ↑ Simon, Mashaun D. "Georgian Stars With Eddie Griffin In New Action-Comedy". Atlanta Daily World. May 2, 2002. p. 6.
  9. 1 2 Thomas, Don. "Gary Anthony Williams: A Theatrically Trained Performer". New York Beacon. May 1, 2002. p. 31.
  10. ↑ Ho, Rodney. "Random Bits". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. December 27, 2005.
  11. ↑ "Disney Junior Celebrates Black History Month with "We Are Doc Mcstuffins"". Chicago Citizen. February 13, 2013. p. 15.
  12. ↑ "EUR Hollywood Gossip Scoop". The Jacksonville Free Press (Jacksonville, Florida). May 21, 2009. p. 9.
  13. ↑ Cahillane, Kevin. "Homegrown: A Stoner Comedy Straight Out of Randolph". '"The New York Times. August 16, 2004. p. 7.
  14. ↑ Foran, Chris. "TMNT return to spotlight". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. June 3, 2016.
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