---
name: "Clarence Avant"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/clarence-avant"
fi1m_id: "clarence-avant"
imdb_id: "nm0042782"
tmdb_id: 1413203
wikidata_id: "Q2975545"
roles: []
born: "25 February 1931"
died: "12 August 2023"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 69
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-10-10T11:59:47.333554+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Clarence Avant

## Identity

Clarence Avant

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/clarence-avant
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** clarence-avant
- **IMDb ID:** nm0042782
- **TMDB ID:** 1413203
- **Wikidata ID:** Q2975545
- **Same entity:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2975545, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0042782/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1413203

Actor. Born 25 February 1931 in Climax, North Carolina, USA. Died 12 August 2023.

## Details

- **Born:** 25 February 1931, Climax, North Carolina, USA
- **Died:** 12 August 2023
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 2: 1 acting, 1 other
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 64 (1), 2010s 74 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2975545, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0042782/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1413203

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Searching for Sugar Man*](https://film.one/film/searching-for-sugar-man.md) (74)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Clarence Avant was an American music executive, businessman and film producer. Born in Climax, North Carolina, he began his career managing a nightclub in Newark, New Jersey, in the 1950s before moving into artist management and record labels.

In 1969 he founded Sussex Records, which released albums by Bill Withers, Dennis Coffey, Gallery and Rodriguez. He later served as chairman of Motown Records and worked with artists including Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones. Avant appeared as himself in the documentary *Searching for Sugar Man* (2012) and in *The Color Purple* (1985). He died in Los Angeles in 2023.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

### Performed in (1)

- *The Color Purple* (1985), Fi1m 64, as African Musician — [page](https://film.one/film/the-color-purple.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Searching for Sugar Man* (2012), Fi1m 74, as Self — [page](https://film.one/film/searching-for-sugar-man.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/clarence-avant