Austin Stoker (born October 7, 1943) is a Trinidadian-American actor
known for his role as Lt. Ethan Bishop, the police officer in charge
of the besieged Precinct 9, Division 13, in John Carpenter'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 of the
1970s outside of the blaxploitation genre.Stoker was born in Port of
Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. He started his career on stage, including
the 1954 Broadway production of Truman Capote'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 detectives. Among these
films were Abby (1974), Combat Cops (1974), and Sheba, Baby (1975), in
which he played Pam Grier's love interest. Some of Stoker's other
notable acting roles were in Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973),
Horror High (1974), Airport 1975 (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, in which he appeared with Darwin Joston, his
co-star from Assault on Precinct 13.
known for his role as Lt. Ethan Bishop, the police officer in charge
of the besieged Precinct 9, Division 13, in John Carpenter'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 of the
1970s outside of the blaxploitation genre.Stoker was born in Port of
Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. He started his career on stage, including
the 1954 Broadway production of Truman Capote'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 detectives. Among these
films were Abby (1974), Combat Cops (1974), and Sheba, Baby (1975), in
which he played Pam Grier's love interest. Some of Stoker's other
notable acting roles were in Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973),
Horror High (1974), Airport 1975 (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, in which he appeared with Darwin Joston, his
co-star from Assault on Precinct 13.
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