Fred ‘The Hammer’ Williamson Talks Film, Life and Gary Black Film Fest Honor

As he prepares to accept the GIBFF Lifetime Achievement Award this weekend, legendary action star Fred Williamson opens up in an exclusive interview with The Chicago Defender about his iconic career, the Blaxploitation label, and why he’s far from finished. Fred “The Hammer” Williamson ain’t done.& You would expect a man now in his eighties, with over 125 acting credits, 40 producer and director credits, and a career that spans six decades, to hang it all up and smell the roses. He has every right to. But not Williamson, one of the first Black action heroes to emerge on the big screen during the so-called Blaxploitation era. Nevertheless, he will still receive his flowers this weekend in his hometown of Gary, Indiana, at the Gary International Black Film Festival (GIBFF). The festival will give Williamson the GIBFF Lifetime Achievement Award at Indiana University Northwest on Sunday. It’s a recognition fitting for a movie idol whose films became Black household staples like Hammer,” “Black Caesar,” “Hell Up in Harlem,” and “Three the Hard Way,” work that would eventually spawn films by eventual Black male action stars like Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Will Smith, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Vin Diesel and Samuel...