Actor Austin Stoker, best known for playing Lt. Ethan Bishop in director John Carpenter‘s 1976 classic Assault on Precinct 13, was born on October 7, 1930 in Trinidad… and sadly, it has been confirmed that he passed away on October 7th of this year. His 92nd birthday. Stoker’s wife Robin told The Hollywood Reporter that he died of renal failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She said, “His transition was beautiful.”
Born Alphonso Marshall, Stoker was in a dance troupe with fellow Trinidadian actor Geoffrey Holder (you may remember him as Baron Samedi in the James Bond movie Live and Let Die), and the pair moved to New York together to pursue careers in the entertainment industry. The Hollywood Reporter says, “In 1954, he played the steel drums on Broadway in Truman Capote and Harold Arlen’s House of Flowers, starring Pearl Bailey, Alvin Ailey and Diahann Carroll, then toured in a nightclub act that recorded two albums as well. After serving in the U.S. Army, where he was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Stoker studied acting with Lee Grant and Uta Hagen at the HB Studio in New York, then moved to California.”
He made his screen acting debut in a 1969 episode of Mod Squad, and went on to earn nearly 60 more credits over the decades.
The films and TV shows Stoker worked on include Love, American Style; Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Horror High, McCloud, Kojak, Airport 1975; Sheba, Baby; S.W.A.T., Return to the Planet of the Apes, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries, The Incredible Hulk, Lou Grant, Time Walker, Airwolf, Scarecrow and Mrs. King; Trapper John, M.D.; Cagney & Lacey, Falcon Crest, The Bold and the Beautiful, Arli$$, and Rob Zombie’s 3 from Hell. Aside from Assault on Precinct 13 and the Planet of the Apes projects, one of his most popular roles was in the mini-series Roots, where he played Virgil Harvey.
Stoker was married to actress/singer Vivian Bonnell, who was credited as Enid Mosier when she was in House of Flowers, from 1959 until her death in 2003. In addition to his wife Robin, he is survived by his children, Tiffany and Origen, and his grandsons, Marcus and Austin.
Our sincere condolences go out to Stoker’s family, friends, and fans. I had the chance to meet him several years ago and found him to be incredibly nice. I’m sad to hear he’s gone. He had a great screen presence, and I will be watching some of his movies in tribute very soon.