Austin Stoker (October 7, 1930 – October 7, 2022) was a Trinidadian-American actor known for his role as Lt. Ethan Bishop, the

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

in charge of the besieged Precinct 9, Division 13, in

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

's Howard Hawks-inspired 1976 film, '' Assault on Precinct 13''. This was one of the few heroic starring roles for a black actor in an

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

of the 1970s outside of the blaxploitation genre. Stoker was born in Port of Spain,

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

on October 7, 1930. He started his career on stage, including the 1954 Broadway production of

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

's '' House of Flowers'', where he met his future wife, Enid Mosier (acting name Vivian Bonnell). Prior to his role as Lt. Bishop, Stoker appeared in several blaxploitation films, often playing

police detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

s. Among these films were '' Abby'' (1974), ''Combat Cops'' (1974), and ''

Sheba, Baby ''Sheba, Baby'' is a 1975 American blaxploitation action film directed by William Girdler and starring Pam Grier and Austin Stoker. Plot Private investigator Sheba Shayne (Grier) returns from Chicago, Illinois to her hometown of Louisville, K ...

'' (1975), in which he played

Pam Grier Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress and singer. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star (although, there are some who dispute that claim and believe Cheng Pei-pei actually holds that distinc ...

's love interest. Some of Stoker's other notable acting roles were in ''

Battle for the Planet of the Apes ''Battle for the Planet of the Apes'' is a 1973 American science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson. It is the fifth and final installment in the original ''Planet of the Apes'' series, produced by Arthur P. Jacobs, following ''Conquest of ...

'' (1973), '' Horror High'' (1974), ''

Airport 1975 ''Airport 1975'' (also known as ''Airport '75'') is a 1974 American air disaster film and the first sequel to the successful 1970 film ''Airport''. It was directed by Jack Smight, produced by William Frye, executive produced by Jennings Lang, a ...

'' (1974), '' Victory at Entebbe'' (1976), and the 1977 television mini-series '' ''Roots''''. Stoker is known to '' Mystery Science Theater 3000'' fans for his role as Dr. Ken Melrose in the 1982 B-movie, ''

Time Walker ''Time Walker'' is a 1982 science fiction horror film directed by Tom Kennedy. Since its release, the film received negative reviews from critics. Under the title ''Being from Another Planet'', it was featured in ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' ...

'', in which he appeared with Darwin Joston, his co-star from '' Assault on Precinct 13''. Stoker died of renal failure at the

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

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, on October 7, 2022, his 92nd birthday.

Filmography

*''

'' (1973) as Bruce MacDonald *'' Horror High'' (1974) as Lieutenant Bozeman *''The Get-Man'' (1974) as LT. Frank Savage *''

'' (1974) as Air Force Sgt. *'' Abby'' (1974) as Det. Cass Potter *''

'' (1975) as Brick Williams *'' Assault on Precinct 13'' (1976) as Lt. Ethan Bishop *'' Victory at Entebbe'' (1976, TV Movie) as Dr. Ghota *''

'' (1982) as Dr. Ken Melrose *''A Girl to Kill For'' (1990) as Guard Number One *''Two Shades of Blue'' (1999) as Security Guard *'' Mach 2'' (2000) as Edwards *''Between the Lines'' (2006) as Charles *''Machete Joe'' (2010) as Raymond Sinclair *''Give Til It Hurts'' (2015) as Reverend Bishop *''Descention'' (2016) as Brother Malcolm (rumored) *''Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel'' (2016) as Himself *''Shhhh'' (2017) as Dave *''

3 from Hell ''3 from Hell'' is a 2019 American horror film written, co-produced, and directed by Rob Zombie. It is the third installment in the ''Firefly'' trilogy, which began with ''House of 1000 Corpses'' (2003), and stars Sheri Moon Zombie, Bill M ...

'' (2019) as Earl Gibson *''Double Down'' (2020) as Vincent Jamison II *''Give Till It Hurts (2022) as Reverend Bishop

References

External links

* 1930 births 2022 deaths American male film actors People from Port of Spain Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United States Trinidad and Tobago male television actors Trinidad and Tobago male film actors African-American male actors American male television actors 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago male actors 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago actors {{US-film-actor-1930s-stub