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D'Urville Martin

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D'Urville Martin
Martin in 1974
Born(1939-02-11)February 11, 1939
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedMay 28, 1984(1984-05-28) (aged 45)
Resting placeInglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actor and director
Years active1964–1984
Spouses
Frances L. Johnson
(divorced)
Lillian Ferguson
(m. 1966)
Children3

D'Urville Martin (February 11, 1939 – May 28, 1984) was an American actor in both film and television. He appeared in numerous 1970s movies in the blaxploitation genre. He also appeared in two unaired pilots of what would become All in the Family as Lionel Jefferson. Born in New York City, Martin began his career in the mid-1960s and soon appeared in prominent films such as Black Like Me, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and Rosemary's Baby. Martin also directed films in his career, including Dolemite, starring Rudy Ray Moore.[1]

Personal life

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D'Urville Martin was born in New York City in 1939. He had a daughter, Debra, with his first wife, Frances L. Johnson. After their divorce, he married Lillian Ferguson in 1966 and had two more children. Martin died of a massive heart attack in Los Angeles in 1984 at the age of 45.[2][3]

Career

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Martin's first film role was as a speaking-line extra in Black Like Me (1964).[4] He then had small roles in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) (as Frankie, whose car is accidentally struck by Spencer Tracy's character Matt Drayton)[5] and Rosemary's Baby (1968) (as Diego, the elevator operator).[6]

Later movies of D'Urville Martin are of the blaxploitation genre, starting with The Legend of Nigger Charley in 1972 and continuing throughout the decade until he appeared in The Bear in 1983. In The Legend of Nigger Charley, Martin played Toby, a fellow fugitive of the title character. He reprised his role in the film's two sequels: The Soul of Nigger Charley (1973) and Boss Nigger (1975).

He played Sonny in the film Hammer (1972),[citation needed] Reverend Rufus in Black Caesar (1973) and its sequel Hell Up in Harlem (also 1973), and the pimp in The Get-Man (a.k.a. Combat Cops) (1974).

Martin directed the 1975 Rudy Ray Moore movie Dolemite. In addition to directing the film, Martin plays the villain, Willie Green. The movie was followed by a sequel, The Human Tornado, in 1976; Martin did not direct the sequel. In the 2019 film about Moore and the making of Dolemite, Dolemite Is My Name, Martin is played by Wesley Snipes, and is portrayed as a reluctant participant in the film, with his role as director regularly usurped by Moore.

Legacy

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Directing Dolemite, Martin directed a film that proved to be a good example of the era's blaxploitation movies and to this day remains one of the most popular, still inspiring tributes and spoofs today such as Black Dynamite (2009). Cultural historian Todd Boyd finds that Rudy Ray Moore's depiction of Dolemite is linked to rappers like Snoop Dogg and The Notorious B.I.G., pointing out Moore came up with the pronunciation "Biotch!", which later became ubiquitous. Boyd notes the humor in Moore carrying himself off as a sex symbol "to bed the fine-ass women who can't keep their hands off him.”[7]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1964 Black Like Me
1967 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Frankie
1968 Rosemary's Baby Diego
A Time to Sing Luke Harper
1970 Watermelon Man Bus Driver
1972 The Legend of Nigger Charley Toby
The Final Comedown Billy Joe Ashley
Hammer Sonny
1973 Black Caesar Reverend Rufus
Book of Numbers Billy Bowlegs
The Soul of Nigger Charley Toby
Five on the Black Hand Side Booker T.
Hell Up in Harlem Reverend Rufus
1974 The Get-Man The Pimp
1975 Boss Nigger Amos
Sheba, Baby Pilot
Dolemite Willie Green Also directed
1976 Death Journey Detective Don
Blind Rage Willie Black
Black Samurai Uncredited
1977 Disco 9000 Stuffman Also directed and produced
1983 The Big Score Easy
1984 The Bear Billy Final film role

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1967 The Monkees The Champ Episode: "Monkees in the Ring"

References

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  1. ^ "D'Urville Martin | The Museum Of UnCut Funk". museumofuncutfunk.com. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
  2. ^ "Actor D'Urville Martin Dies Of Heart Attack". Jet. 66 (14): 14. June 11, 1984.
  3. ^ "D'urville Martin". www.tcm.com. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  4. ^ D'Urville Martin filmography, d-urville-martin.fullmoviereview.com; accessed November 1, 2014.
  5. ^ IMDb synopsis of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, imdb.com; accessed November 1, 2014.
  6. ^ IMDB synopsis of Rosemary's Baby, imdb.com; accessed November 1, 2014.
  7. ^ Greg Oguss's review of Todd Boyd's book A Guide to the Super Fly '70s: A connoisseur's Journey through the Fabulous Flix, Hip Sounds and Cool Vibes that Defined a Decade in the article "Stereotypes of a Black Male Misunderstood", 2007
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