Melvin Williams (actor)
Encyclopedia
Melvin D. Williams known as Little Melvin, is a former drug trafficker and organized crime figure in his native Baltimore
, Maryland
. Williams is widely known for his involvement in heroin trafficking in Baltimore in the 1970s and 1980s. Williams also appeared as an actor in the HBO series The Wire
, which explores many Baltimore related subjects including narcotics trafficking and served as the inspiration for Avon Barksdale
.
player in Baltimore. He gained notoriety in Baltimore for his role in quelling rioting in the city in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr in early April, 1968. By that time Williams already had an extensive criminal record and was involved in heroin and cocaine trafficking.
launched an investigation into his activities. One of the investigators working on the case was Ed Burns
.
On December 6, 1984 Williams was arrested on cocaine trafficking charges. On February 7, 1985, he was convicted and sentenced to 34 years in prison. He served part of his sentence in the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary
. In May 1987, the Internal Revenue Service
assessed taxes in the amount of $425,055 and seized the Williams home. While still in prison his life story was featured in a series of articles written by future The Wire
creator David Simon
. "Easy Money: Anatomy of a Drug Empire" a series of five articles was published in the Baltimore Sun in 1987. Williams was released on parole in 1996.
In March 1999 he pistol whipped a man over a $500 debt. Williams, who at the time was on parole and had an extensive criminal record, was sentenced to 22 years in prison in December 2000 after one mistrial. However his sentence was reduced by the same judge who imposed the original 22 year term. He was released from prison in September 2003.
during the show's third season. He played a part referred to as The Deacon during the third and fourth seasons. The BET
show American Gangster
profiled Williams in one episode. In the 1999 film Liberty Heights
, the character Little Melvin portrayed by actor Orlando Jones is loosely based upon Melvin Williams in the early stages of his career.
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. Williams is widely known for his involvement in heroin trafficking in Baltimore in the 1970s and 1980s. Williams also appeared as an actor in the HBO series The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
, which explores many Baltimore related subjects including narcotics trafficking and served as the inspiration for Avon Barksdale
Avon Barksdale
Avon Randolph Barksdale is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire portrayed by actor Wood Harris. Avon is the dominant drug dealer of Baltimore's West Side, running the Barksdale Organization...
.
Early life
Melvin Williams was born in 1941 in Baltimore, Maryland. His father worked as a cab driver while his mother worked as a nurse's assistant. In the 1960s Williams was a well known gambler and poolBilliards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
player in Baltimore. He gained notoriety in Baltimore for his role in quelling rioting in the city in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr in early April, 1968. By that time Williams already had an extensive criminal record and was involved in heroin and cocaine trafficking.
Drug trafficking
Melvin Williams was actively involved with drug trafficking throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. During that time Williams was periodically arrested on minor charges. In the early 1980s federal agents along with the Baltimore Police DepartmentBaltimore Police Department
The Baltimore Police Department provides police services to the city of Baltimore, Maryland and was officially established by the Maryland Legislature on March 16, 1853...
launched an investigation into his activities. One of the investigators working on the case was Ed Burns
Ed Burns
Ed Burns is a producer, screenwriter, and novelist. He has worked closely with writing partner David Simon. They have collaborated on The Corner and The Wire . Burns is a former Baltimore police detective for the Homicide and Narcotics divisions, and a public school teacher...
.
On December 6, 1984 Williams was arrested on cocaine trafficking charges. On February 7, 1985, he was convicted and sentenced to 34 years in prison. He served part of his sentence in the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary
Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary
The United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg is a male inmate high security federal penitentiary and satellite minimum security prison camp housing some 1,000 and 500 respectively, just outside Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The Lewisburg Penitentiary was opened in 1932...
. In May 1987, the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
assessed taxes in the amount of $425,055 and seized the Williams home. While still in prison his life story was featured in a series of articles written by future The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
creator David Simon
David Simon
David Simon is an American author, journalist, and a writer/producer of television series. He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years. He wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with Ed Burns...
. "Easy Money: Anatomy of a Drug Empire" a series of five articles was published in the Baltimore Sun in 1987. Williams was released on parole in 1996.
In March 1999 he pistol whipped a man over a $500 debt. Williams, who at the time was on parole and had an extensive criminal record, was sentenced to 22 years in prison in December 2000 after one mistrial. However his sentence was reduced by the same judge who imposed the original 22 year term. He was released from prison in September 2003.
TV appearances
Williams began to appear on the HBO show The WireThe WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
during the show's third season. He played a part referred to as The Deacon during the third and fourth seasons. The BET
Bet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
show American Gangster
American Gangster (TV series)
American Gangster is a documentary television series, which airs on BET. The show features some of black America's most infamous and powerful gangsters. It is narrated by Ving Rhames. The series premiered on November 28, 2006, with this episode amassing around one million viewers. The first season...
profiled Williams in one episode. In the 1999 film Liberty Heights
Liberty Heights
Liberty Heights is a 1999 comedy-drama film by writer-director Barry Levinson. It is a semi-autobiographical account of his childhood growing up in Baltimore in the 1950s. It marked the last appearance of Ralph Tabakin, who appeared in cameo roles in every Levinson movie since his first, Diner , a...
, the character Little Melvin portrayed by actor Orlando Jones is loosely based upon Melvin Williams in the early stages of his career.
External links
- "American Gangster: Melvin Williams & The Baltimore Hustle" by Alan Kurtz (BlogcriticsBlogcriticsBlogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site—a self-proclaimed "sinister cabal of superior writers"—was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn...
)