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Fred "The Hammer" Williamson was born in Gary, Indiana on March 5th, 1938. He is an actor, writer, film director/producer, and also an architect. Fred is also a former pro-football player.

After graduating from Northwestern University in 1960, earning a degree in Architectural Engineering, he went on to become a professional football player. Fred played for the San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Montreal Alouettes. He retired from football in 1968. He always wears his Super Bowl ring.

Arriving in Hollywood in 1972, Fred immediately got a role on the TV series “Julia.” He used this opportunity to make films and later opened his own movie production company called, PO’Boy Productions in 1974. Fred has put his signature on all his films as only he can, and they are never boring.

This gorgeous and charismatic actor even posed nude for Playgirl Magazine in October 1973, and he seems to only get better with age. Complimented by his lovely wife Linda, they are a team to be reckoned with.

2011 The Voices from Beyond (in production)
Agent Max Farley
 
2011 The Gold Rush Boogie (pre-production)
Bubba
 
2011 Sticky Fingers: The Movie! (short) (filming)
Boss
 
2011 Beyond Control (post-production)
Chief Private Investigator
 
2011 Zombie Apocalypse: Redemption (completed)
Moses
 
2010 Street Poet
Gabriel
 
2010 Shoot the Hero
The General
 
2009 Pushing Daisies (TV series)
Roland 'Rollie' Stingwell
– Water & Power (2009) … Roland 'Rollie' Stingwell
 
2009 Knight Rider (TV series)
DEA Director
– Fly by Knight (2009) … DEA Director
 
2009 Dropping Evil
Commander Death Blood
 
2007-2008 Hello Paradise (TV series)
– Hong Kong (2008)
– Celebrity Tennis (2008)
– Mountain Biking (2008)
– St. Theresa Gala (2008)
– Mickey Rooney (2008)
See all 23 episodes »
 
2007 Revamped (video)
Captain Michaels
 
2007 Fighting Words
Gabriel
 
2006 Crooked
Jack Paxton
 
2006 Spaced Out (video)
The Hammer
 
2005 Transformed (video)
The Hammer
 
2005 Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide (TV series)
Coach Stax
– Daydreaming & Gym (2005) … Coach Stax
 
2004 If Love Hadn't Left Me Lonely (video)
Willie Brownlee Davis
 
2004 Starsky & Hutch
Captain Doby
 
2003 Vegas Vampires
Fred Pittman
 
2002 Sexual Predator Alert (TV series)
Host
 
2002 On the Edge
Dakota Smith
 
2001 Shadow Fury
Sam
 
2001 Down 'n Dirty
Dakota Smith
 
2001 Carmen: A Hip Hopera (TV movie)
Lou
 
2001 Deadly Rhapsody
Jake
 
2001 The Rage Within
Dakota Smith
 
2000 Submerged
Captain Masters
 
1999 Active Stealth (video)
Capt. Reynolds
 
1998 PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (TV series)
Fred Milton Di Genova / Fred Milton Di genova
– All Hallow's Eve (1998) … Fred Milton Di genova
– The Kiss (1998) … Fred Milton Di Genova
 
1998 Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (video)
Sheriff Skaggs
 
1998/II Whatever It Takes
Paulie Salano
 
1998 Blackjack (TV movie)
Tim Hastings
 
1998 Ride
Casper's Dream Dad
 
1997-1998 Fast Track (TV series)
Lowell Carter
– The Temptation of Beckett (1998) … Lowell Carter
– Change of Heart (1998) … Lowell Carter
– Deconstructing Eagle Ridge (1998) … Lowell Carter
– Guys with Guns (1998) … Lowell Carter
– My Mother, Myself (1998) … Lowell Carter
See all 23 episodes »
 
1997 Night Vision
Dakota 'Dak' Smith
 
1996 Original Gangstas
John Bookman
 
1996 From Dusk Till Dawn
Frost
 
1995 Silent Hunter
Sheriff Mantee
 
1995 Murder Was the Case: The Movie (video short)
The Hammer (segment "Doggy Dogg World")
 
1994 Renegade (TV series)
Jean Luc Leveaux
– Way Down Yonder in New Orleans (1994) … Jean Luc Leveaux
 
1993 South Beach
Mack Derringer
 
1992 Three Days to a Kill
Cal
 
1992 State of Mind
Loomis
 
1992 Deceptions
Brady
 
1991 Detective Malone
Det. Robert Malone
 
1991 Steele's Law
John Steele
 
1990 Delta Force Commando II: Priority Red One
Captain Sam Beck
 
1990 Black Cobra 3: The Manila Connection
Lt. Robert Malone
 
1990 The Black Cobra 2
Lt. Robert 'Bob' Malone
 
1989 The Kill Reflex
Soda Cracker
 
1989 Deadly Intent (video)
Curt Slate
 
1988 Amen (TV series)
Barnet Thompson
– Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (1988) … Barnet Thompson
 
1988 Delta Force Commando
Capt. Samuel Beck
 
1987 Cobra nero
Detective Robert Malone
 
1987 Eroi dell'inferno
Feather
 
1986 The Messenger
Jake Sebastian Turner
 
1986 Foxtrap
Thomas Fox
 
1985 The Equalizer (TV series)
Lt. Mason Warren
– Back Home (1985) … Lt. Mason Warren
– Reign of Terror (1985) … Lt. Mason Warren
 
1985 Half Nelson (TV series)
Chester Long
– Malibu Colony (1985) … Chester Long
– The Beverly Hills Princess (1985) … Chester Long
– Nose Job (1985) … Chester Long
– Diplomatic Inmunity (1985) … Chester Long
– Uppers and Downers (1985) … Chester Long
See all 6 episodes »
 
1985 Half Nelson (TV movie)
Chester Long
 
1984 Deadly Impact
Lou
 
1984 I guerrieri dell'anno 2072
Abdul
 
1984 Vivre pour survivre
Noah Barclay
 
1983 The Big Score
Detective Frank Hooks
 
1983 The Last Fight
Jesse Crowder
 
1983 Warriors of the Wasteland
Nadir
 
1983 Vigilante
Nick
 
1983 Warrior of the Lost World
Henchman
 
1982 One Down, Two to Go
Cal
 
1982 1990: The Bronx Warriors
The Ogre
 
1981 Lou Grant (TV series)
Crusher Carter
– Violence (1981) … Crusher Carter
 
1981 Fear in the City
John Dikson
 
1980 Fist of Fear, Touch of Death
Hammer, the ladies man
 
1979 Fantasy Island (TV series)
Jackson Malone
– The Pug/Class of '69 (1979) … Jackson Malone
 
1979 CHiPs (TV series)
Ty
– Roller Disco: Part 1 (1979) … Ty
– Roller Disco: Part 2 (1979) … Ty
 
1979 Supertrain (TV series)
Al Roberts
– Express to Terror (1979) … Al Roberts
 
1978 Wheels (TV mini-series)
Leonard Wingate
 
1978 Blind Rage
Jesse Crowder
 
1978 The Inglorious Bastards
Pvt. Fred Canfield
 
1977 Mr. Mean
Mr. Mean
 
1976 Joshua
Joshua
 
1973-1976 Police Story (TV series)
Sergeant Bunny Green / Snake McKay
– Thanksgiving (1976) … Sergeant Bunny Green
– Dangerous Games (1973) … Snake McKay
 
1976 Death Journey
Jesse Crowder
 
1976 No Way Back
Jesse Crowder
 
1976 Adiós Amigo
Big Ben
 
1976 Mean Johnny Barrows
Johnny Barrows
 
1975 Take a Hard Ride
Tyree
 
1975 Bucktown
Duke
 
1975 Boss Nigger
Boss Nigger
 
1974 The Rookies (TV series)
Johnny Barrows
– Johnny Lost His Gun (1974) … Johnny Barrows
 
1974 Three the Hard Way
Jagger Daniels
 
1974 Black Eye
Stone
 
1974 Tough Guys
Joe Snake
 
1974 Crazy Joe
Willy
 
1973 That Man Bolt
Jefferson Bolt
 
1973 Hell Up in Harlem
Tommy Gibbs
 
1973 The Soul of Nigger Charley
Charley
 
1973 Black Caesar
Tommy Gibbs
 
1972 Hammer
B.J. Hammer
 
1972 The Legend of Nigger Charley
Nigger Charley
 
1969-1971 Julia (TV series)
Steve Bruce / Dave Boyd
– The Gender Trap (1971) … Steve Bruce
– Strictly for the Birds (1971) … Steve Bruce
– Courting Time (1971) … Steve Bruce
– Cool Hand Bruce (1971) … Steve Bruce
– Long Time No Ski (1970) … Steve Bruce
See all 12 episodes »
 
1970 Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon
Guiles
 
1970 MASH
Dr. Oliver 'Spearchucker' Jones
 
1969 The Bold Ones: The Protectors (TV series)
Arnold Bartell / Williams
– A Case of Good Whiskey at Christmas Time (1969) … Arnold Bartell
– Deadlock (1969) … Williams
 
1969 Star Trek (TV series)
Anka
– The Cloud Minders (1969) … Anka
 
1969 The Outsider (TV series)
Randall
– The Flip Side (1969) … Randall
 
1968 Ironside (TV series)
Det. Sgt. La Peer
– Sergeant Mike (1968) … Det. Sgt. La Peer
 

Fred Williamson sits on the terrace of the Majestic Hotel, his shirt open to the waist, gold chains around his neck, a fine Havana cigar in his hand, preparing to sell his 18th movie at the Cannes Film Festival, and he thinks out loud: "Where are my boys singing doo-wop down on the corner? Where are the boys I started out with at Broadway and l7th in Gary, Ind., singing doo-wop? I wish they could check this out and see that I'm really doing this."

He calls over a waiter and orders a gin and lemon and says that he has made 50 films altogether, and none of them has ever lost money. Now he is the most successful black entrepreneur in the movie industry. He writes, produces, directs, stars in and sells about three movies a year. "But if I stopped making money for them, they'll forget me in a month," he says.

Is this a lonely man?

Every third person who passes him stops to say hello. Beautiful women look covetously at him from across the room. Distributors say they'll have the certified check ready by Monday. Fred Williamson is friends with everybody.

"My company is named Po Boy Productions," he says. "I started it during the so-called boom in black pictures. That boom collapsed in the mid-1970s because the white studio chiefs didn't think it was socially desirable to go to parties in Bel-Air and brag about how their most successful movie that year was 'The Legend of Nigger Charley.'

"When the black boom collapsed, I was ready. I knew that black pictures were being thrown away in the world market. They'd sell the rights for $3,000. But black stars were big in Italy, France, Spain -- even places you never think about, like Malta. So eight years ago I started selling my own pictures at the Cannes festival. You could say I'm doing all right. I deal with the same buyers every year. I get $100,000 for Italy, $125,000 for France. I pay my bills."

The movies have names like "The New Barbarians" "Rome 2072," "Vigilante," "The Bronx Warriors," "The Last Fight," "The Big Score" and "Three the Hard Way." Williamson makes them for less than a million dollars.

Worldwide, they'll do $10 million, half in the United States.

"I've never had the money to do a picture the way I'd really like to," he says. "They want all the action and special effects of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' for 10 percent of the budget."

Are you headquartered in Los Angeles? I asked.

"Headquartered?" He smiled and rotated his cigar. "I have a condo in Santa Monica and an apartment in Rome. Po Boy Productions is a telephone, a calculator, a typewriter and a dog named Hammer. I don't even have an agent. I sold my house in LA because I was never there and I didn't have anyone to bring in the mail. I live in hotel rooms. I love room service. I'm a real lone wolf."

You don't have anyone to bring in the mail? I asked.

"I don't have any really close friends. No men friends. I have several girlfriends who would do anything for me. But my relationships with men always become competitive. It's a challenge. Who needs it? I keep to myself. And I chase girls. As I grow older, the girls get younger. I like company that's fast on its feet. Chasing women keeps me young, vibrating and with the creases in my trousers pressed. When I played football I weighed 222. Now I'm down to 220. A sex symbol has to be lean."

Williamson played pro football for nine years. Before that, he played for Northwestern, which he attended on an athletic scholarship. He graduated second in his class in high school in Gary and chose Northwestern over collegiate football factories because NU was stronger academically. He has his masters and Ph.D. in architecture and is a registered architect.

"When I was playing pro ball, I'd work as an architect the rest of the year. After I left football, I designed buildings for nine months and I was going crazy at a desk. I was watching television and I said to myself, 'I can do that.' I called the gate at Twentieth Century-Fox, left my name, drove onto the lot, went to see the man who was producing the 'Julia' series with Diahann Carroll, and wound up getting a job as Julia's boyfriend for a season. Then I was in 'MASH' and 'Tell Me that You Love Me Junie Moon,' and I was an actor.

"Today, what I do that's unique is I make a movie and sell it to the rest of the world. That's my angle. If I do a picture in the States, I reserve the world rights and bring it to Cannes and sell it to all the buyers from the European, African and Asian markets. My office is the terrace of the Carlton Hotel. I use standard contracts, People know my word is good."

But from what you say, I said, you sound sort of lonely. And you make your accomplishments sound hollow.

"If I make money for them, they love me," he said. "If I don't, they don't. You're only as good as your last game. I know that from my days as a jock. My parents still live in Gary. I can't get them to move, so I keep putting additions on their house. They'd be happier if I was a doctor, lawyer, architect. This acting doesn't seem real enough to them.

"But I like the life. I don't mind being a loner. But if I took all this and burned it up and started all over again, I'd have to say my happiest moments were standing on the street corner, singing doo-wops."