D'Urville Martin

D'Urville Martin was 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.

• Name — D'Urville Martin • Born — 11 February 1939 • Birthplace — New York City, New York, U.S. • Died — 28 May 1984 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Resting Place — Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California, U.S. • Occupation — Actor and director • Children — 3 • Years Active — 1964–1984

Martin's first film role was as a speaking-line extra in Black Like Me (1964). 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) and Rosemary's Baby (1968) (as Diego, the elevator operator). 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, a biopic about Bear Bryant. 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), 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.

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.

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