D'Urville Martin
Encyclopedia
D'Urville Martin was an American actor and director in both film and television. He appeared with regularity in numerous 1970s movies in the blaxploitation
genre of films. He also appeared in the first two pilots of what would become All in the Family
as Lionel, the role later played by Mike Evans. Born in New York City, D'urville began his career in the mid 1960s, soon becoming a prominent recurring figure in the genre. Martin acted in several movies of the time, including Black Like Me and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Among his partners was the famous blaxploitation actor Fred “The Hammer” Williamson, playing his partner Toby in the Black Charley. Martin also directed films in his career, including Dolemite
, starring Rudy Ray Moore
. His career ended in 1984 with a heart attack at age 45.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
(1967) was a film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, the film made groundbreaking progress in the sake of its positive representation of the controversial subject of interracial marriage, which had been illegal in most of the United States. The film tells the story of Joanna Drayton, a white female who falls in love with Dr. John Prentice. Martin plays Frankie in the movie.
Rosemary's Baby
(1968) was a horror/drama/mystery movie about a young couple who have recently moved, and find themselves surrounded by odd neighbors and happenings. When the woman becomes pregnant without explanation, paranoia over her unborn child's safety ensues. Martin plays Diego in the film. This film proved to be one of Martin's more serious movies, and one of his few horror movies.
genre, and start with The Legend of Nigger Charley
in 1972. He then continued to act in these types of movies until The Bear in 1983.
(1972) is a movie where Fred Williamson as Nigger Charley escapes from being sold to a plantation owner along his Toby, played by D'Urville Martin, and another man. The three fugitives travel through the west, and are treated poorly. When they seek their freedom from the Old West, they are chased by a gang of white men on horseback, vowing to catch them. When the film ends, Martin as Toby asks “Where shall we go now, Charley?” and is answered with “Don't matter. Wherever we go, there's trouble waiting for us.” The film, following its success, had two sequels, The Soul of Nigger Charley
and Boss Nigger
.
Black Caesar (film)
(1973) was a film where Tommy Gibbs, a tough kid, aspires to be a criminal. In his early life, his leg is broken by a cop, and takes his vengeance throughout the rest of the movie. He initiates a hit on a Mob contract, gaining the attention of the Mafia. As he is accepted into the Mob family, he eventually starts a gang war which he wins. Martin plays Reverend Rufus in the movie. The film's sequel was Hell Up in Harlem
.
Hammer (film)
(1972) was a film where B.J. Hammer is a boxer who rises up the ranks with help from the Mafia. However, Hammer doesn't realize that the help comes with a price: He is asked to throw a fight. Gangsters threaten to harm his girlfriend in an attempt to force him to go through with their plan. He eventually is forced to save his dignity of his girlfriend who has been kidnapped. This blaxploitation film was one of the many films that popularized black cinema. Martin plays Sonny in the movie.
The Get-Man (1974) is a movie where a Police officer become obsessed with a sadistic killer called "The Zebra Killer" who has kidnapped his girlfriend and discoveries many murders along the way while tracking him down. Martin plays the pimp in the movie, showing his transition into more mainstream blaxploitation-style acting roles.
. Dolemite is a film where a pimp played by Rudy Ray Moore is set up by Willie Greene and the cops. They did so by planting drugs, stolen furs, and guns in his car's trunk so as to get him arrested. This gives him a 20 year sentence. However, one day, the warden and Queen B plan to get him out of jail. He then gets pardoned and released. This leads to the characters taking revenge on Willie Green and Mitchell for what they did to him. In the film, he has many sidekick girls baking him up, as they are karate warriors. Throughout the movie Dolemite attempts to regain his reputation through the streets, a common theme in blaxsploitation movies. Martin plays the villain in the movie,Willie Green, in addition to directing it. This movie shows D'Urville Martin as many talented, as both director and actor. The movie implements the use of flashbacks, as Dolemite is jailed at the beginning of the movie, and remembers detectives examining the trunk of his car in which stolen fur coats and drugs are found in. This is made obvious to be a framing, but is in jail anyway. Willie Green is seen in the initial flashback as one of the people framing Dolemite. The movie then inspired a sequel, The Human Tornado
, that was not directed by D'Urville Martin and was released in 1976.
possessed certain attributes that are epitomized in Martin's movies. Amongst other things, stereotypes of the genre of movie were extremely prominent in all of his movies. For example, in The Get-Man D'urville Martin plays a pimp in the movie. This common job for characters was one of the defining factors for these movies. In addition Martin takes on the job of both a hit man and drug dealer in his later movies. These roles are extremely common qualities in blaxploitation movies, and Martin does them all. Another quality possessed by his later movies is the setting of things in the ghetto, such as The Get-Man and Hammer.
These films targeted black audiences across the country, but mainly those of the lower class. They were extremely popular amongst these audiences, but were wound in a complex affair with controversy. They were accused of stereotyping blacks, and as a result many called for the ending of the genre. Organizations such as the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
, and the Urban League condemned these films, and formed the Coalition Against Blaxploitation. Eventually, with the support of many professionals in black film, media exposure forced the end of the genre by the late 1970s. This type of film made D'Urville Martin quite popular as a supporting actor, but his abrupt death did not allow him to perform in later, lessened versions of blaxploitation.
D'urville Martin preformed alongside many famous actors, notably Fred Williamson, who went on to act in The Inglorious Bastards (1978).
Directing served as D'urville Martin's career high, with the movie Dolemite. Dolemite proved to be a good stereotype for blaxploitation movies in the era, and to this day is still one of the most popular. The movie still inspires spoofs today, such as in Black Dynamite
(2009). Todd Boyd, a cultural historian, finds that Rudy Ray Moore's depiction of Dolemite is linked “to rappers like Snoop Dogg and the Notorious B.I.G., pointing out Rudy Ray Moore came up with the pronunciation 'Biotch!' which Snoop made ubiquitous. Boyd notes how humorous it is Moore carries himself as a sex symbol, taking off his clothes to bed the fine-ass women who can't keep their hand off him.”
Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
genre of films. He also appeared in the first two pilots of what would become All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
as Lionel, the role later played by Mike Evans. Born in New York City, D'urville began his career in the mid 1960s, soon becoming a prominent recurring figure in the genre. Martin acted in several movies of the time, including Black Like Me and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Among his partners was the famous blaxploitation actor Fred “The Hammer” Williamson, playing his partner Toby in the Black Charley. Martin also directed films in his career, including Dolemite
Dolemite
Dolemite is a 1975 blaxploitation feature film, and is also the name of its principal character, played by Rudy Ray Moore, who co-wrote the film and its soundtrack...
, starring Rudy Ray Moore
Rudy Ray Moore
Rudy Ray Moore was an American comedian, musician, singer, film actor, and film producer. He was perhaps best known as Dolemite , the uniquely articulate pimp from the 1975 film Dolemite, and its sequel, The Human Tornado...
. His career ended in 1984 with a heart attack at age 45.
Personal life
D'Urville Martin was born in New York City in 1939. Martin was married to Lillian Martin (? - 1984 his death), and had two children whilst married. Martin had a hard partying lifestyle while in New York, and traveled to Los Angeles numerous times, where he died at the age of 45 in 1984 from heart disease.Early films
Martin's early films were more serious movies than his latter, however he possessed smaller roles in all of them. In addition, these films were not necessarily of the blaxploitation genre, and instead more accounts of the suffering and awkward situations of the African American people.Highlights
Black Like Me (1964) was a film based on the popular book by John Howard Griffin, telling of the true experiences of John Griffin when he passed as a black man. John Horton, the main character, travels through the south meeting real African Americans, and being exposed first hand to the plights and racism on blacks in the South. This important film served as a strong civil rights work, and helped define Martin's Career as his first movie. Marin played <19>, a speaking line extra.Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 American drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, and featuring Hepburn's niece Katharine Houghton...
(1967) was a film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, the film made groundbreaking progress in the sake of its positive representation of the controversial subject of interracial marriage, which had been illegal in most of the United States. The film tells the story of Joanna Drayton, a white female who falls in love with Dr. John Prentice. Martin plays Frankie in the movie.
Rosemary's Baby
Rosemary's Baby
Rosemary's Baby is a 1967 best-selling horror novel by Ira Levin, his second published book. Major elements of the story were inspired by the publicity surrounding the Church of Satan of Anton LaVey which had been founded in 1966.-Plot summary:...
(1968) was a horror/drama/mystery movie about a young couple who have recently moved, and find themselves surrounded by odd neighbors and happenings. When the woman becomes pregnant without explanation, paranoia over her unborn child's safety ensues. Martin plays Diego in the film. This film proved to be one of Martin's more serious movies, and one of his few horror movies.
Later movies
Later movies of D'urville Martin are of the blaxploitationBlaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
genre, and start with The Legend of Nigger Charley
The Legend of Nigger Charley
The Legend of Nigger Charley is a 1972 blaxploitation western film directed by Martin Goldman. The story of a trio of escaped slaves, it was released during the heyday of blaxploitation films....
in 1972. He then continued to act in these types of movies until The Bear in 1983.
Highlights
The Legend of Nigger CharleyThe Legend of Nigger Charley
The Legend of Nigger Charley is a 1972 blaxploitation western film directed by Martin Goldman. The story of a trio of escaped slaves, it was released during the heyday of blaxploitation films....
(1972) is a movie where Fred Williamson as Nigger Charley escapes from being sold to a plantation owner along his Toby, played by D'Urville Martin, and another man. The three fugitives travel through the west, and are treated poorly. When they seek their freedom from the Old West, they are chased by a gang of white men on horseback, vowing to catch them. When the film ends, Martin as Toby asks “Where shall we go now, Charley?” and is answered with “Don't matter. Wherever we go, there's trouble waiting for us.” The film, following its success, had two sequels, The Soul of Nigger Charley
The Soul of Nigger Charley
The Soul of Nigger Charley is a 1973 blaxploitation western film directed by Larry Spangler and starring Fred Williamson. It is the sequel to 1972's The Legend of Nigger Charley. It is followed by Boss Nigger...
and Boss Nigger
Boss Nigger
Boss Nigger is a 1975 blaxploitation film directed by Jack Arnold. It stars former football player Fred Williamson, who both wrote and co-produced the film. Boss Nigger is the first film for which Williamson was credited as screenwriter or producer....
.
Black Caesar (film)
Black Caesar (film)
Black Caesar is a 1973 American blaxploitation film, starring Fred Williamson and Gloria Hendry. The film was written and directed by Larry Cohen. It is a remake of the 1931 film Little Caesar. It features a notable musical score by James Brown , his first experience with writing music for film...
(1973) was a film where Tommy Gibbs, a tough kid, aspires to be a criminal. In his early life, his leg is broken by a cop, and takes his vengeance throughout the rest of the movie. He initiates a hit on a Mob contract, gaining the attention of the Mafia. As he is accepted into the Mob family, he eventually starts a gang war which he wins. Martin plays Reverend Rufus in the movie. The film's sequel was Hell Up in Harlem
Hell Up in Harlem
Hell Up in Harlem is a 1973 blaxploitation film, starring Fred Williamson and Gloria Hendry. The film was written and directed by Larry Cohen...
.
Hammer (film)
Hammer (film)
Hammer is a 1972 blaxploitation film directed by Bruce Clark. The film was released following the successes of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song and Shaft, notable 1971 films that popularized black cinema....
(1972) was a film where B.J. Hammer is a boxer who rises up the ranks with help from the Mafia. However, Hammer doesn't realize that the help comes with a price: He is asked to throw a fight. Gangsters threaten to harm his girlfriend in an attempt to force him to go through with their plan. He eventually is forced to save his dignity of his girlfriend who has been kidnapped. This blaxploitation film was one of the many films that popularized black cinema. Martin plays Sonny in the movie.
The Get-Man (1974) is a movie where a Police officer become obsessed with a sadistic killer called "The Zebra Killer" who has kidnapped his girlfriend and discoveries many murders along the way while tracking him down. Martin plays the pimp in the movie, showing his transition into more mainstream blaxploitation-style acting roles.
Directing
Martin directed the wildly popular movie DolemiteDolemite
Dolemite is a 1975 blaxploitation feature film, and is also the name of its principal character, played by Rudy Ray Moore, who co-wrote the film and its soundtrack...
. Dolemite is a film where a pimp played by Rudy Ray Moore is set up by Willie Greene and the cops. They did so by planting drugs, stolen furs, and guns in his car's trunk so as to get him arrested. This gives him a 20 year sentence. However, one day, the warden and Queen B plan to get him out of jail. He then gets pardoned and released. This leads to the characters taking revenge on Willie Green and Mitchell for what they did to him. In the film, he has many sidekick girls baking him up, as they are karate warriors. Throughout the movie Dolemite attempts to regain his reputation through the streets, a common theme in blaxsploitation movies. Martin plays the villain in the movie,Willie Green, in addition to directing it. This movie shows D'Urville Martin as many talented, as both director and actor. The movie implements the use of flashbacks, as Dolemite is jailed at the beginning of the movie, and remembers detectives examining the trunk of his car in which stolen fur coats and drugs are found in. This is made obvious to be a framing, but is in jail anyway. Willie Green is seen in the initial flashback as one of the people framing Dolemite. The movie then inspired a sequel, The Human Tornado
The Human Tornado
The Human Tornado also known as Dolemite II, a 1976 cult blaxploitation film, was the sequel to Dolemite. It starred Rudy Ray Moore as Dolemite and Ernie Hudson as Bo.-Plot:...
, that was not directed by D'Urville Martin and was released in 1976.
Cultural significance
As a prominent supporting actor in blaxploitation movies, D'urville Martin helped define the genre with all of its controversy. The later films of D'urville Martin all fell into this category, and as time progressed, the popularity and controversy over these films increased. These films, following the lead of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss SongSweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is a 1971 American independent drama film, written, produced, scored, directed by, and starring Melvin Van Peebles, father of actor Mario Van Peebles . It tells the picaresque story of a poor African American man on his flight from the white authority...
possessed certain attributes that are epitomized in Martin's movies. Amongst other things, stereotypes of the genre of movie were extremely prominent in all of his movies. For example, in The Get-Man D'urville Martin plays a pimp in the movie. This common job for characters was one of the defining factors for these movies. In addition Martin takes on the job of both a hit man and drug dealer in his later movies. These roles are extremely common qualities in blaxploitation movies, and Martin does them all. Another quality possessed by his later movies is the setting of things in the ghetto, such as The Get-Man and Hammer.
These films targeted black audiences across the country, but mainly those of the lower class. They were extremely popular amongst these audiences, but were wound in a complex affair with controversy. They were accused of stereotyping blacks, and as a result many called for the ending of the genre. Organizations such as the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is an African-American civil rights organization. SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
, and the Urban League condemned these films, and formed the Coalition Against Blaxploitation. Eventually, with the support of many professionals in black film, media exposure forced the end of the genre by the late 1970s. This type of film made D'Urville Martin quite popular as a supporting actor, but his abrupt death did not allow him to perform in later, lessened versions of blaxploitation.
D'urville Martin preformed alongside many famous actors, notably Fred Williamson, who went on to act in The Inglorious Bastards (1978).
Directing served as D'urville Martin's career high, with the movie Dolemite. Dolemite proved to be a good stereotype for blaxploitation movies in the era, and to this day is still one of the most popular. The movie still inspires spoofs today, such as in Black Dynamite
Black Dynamite
Black Dynamite is a 2009 American film starring Michael Jai White, Salli Richardson, Arsenio Hall, Kevin Chapman and Tommy Davidson. It is a spoof of 1970s blaxploitation films...
(2009). Todd Boyd, a cultural historian, finds that Rudy Ray Moore's depiction of Dolemite is linked “to rappers like Snoop Dogg and the Notorious B.I.G., pointing out Rudy Ray Moore came up with the pronunciation 'Biotch!' which Snoop made ubiquitous. Boyd notes how humorous it is Moore carries himself as a sex symbol, taking off his clothes to bed the fine-ass women who can't keep their hand off him.”