Hal Williams, the veteran actor best known for playing Officer "Smitty" Smith on "Sanford and Son" and Lester Jenkins on "227," has died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California. He was 91.
His representative confirmed the death occurred Wednesday, July 15, though no cause was disclosed. Williams had several other recurring roles that spanned many years, including Harley Foster on "The Waltons," Sergeant Ted Ross on "Private Benjamin," and Rudy Bryan on "The Sinbad Show."
Notably, Williams and his "Sanford and Son" co-star Howard Platt reunited just days before his death, appearing together at a special event in Ohio dubbed the "Sanford & Son: The Last Episode Celebration," where they met fans and answered questions alongside the show's original truck.
Williams' big break came in 1972 when he was cast as Officer Smith on "Sanford and Son," starring alongside Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson. He later starred as Lester Jenkins on "227" from 1985 to 1990, playing husband to Marla Gibbs' character and father to Regina King's character over the show's five-season run.
Beyond the screen, Williams' legacy carried a deeply personal dimension. Decades ago, he established the Mark K.A. Williams Memorial Scholarship Foundation, named for his late son Mark, to provide funds to students of color pursuing college degrees in television and communications. The gesture reflected the same generosity colleagues remembered him for - Williams once told an interviewer his approach to life was simple: "I keep people around me who are positive."
Tributes poured in from friends and co-stars, including Ernest Harden Jr., who called Williams his "TV Dad" and recalled speaking with him by phone just a day before he passed. For a career built on bringing warmth to television families, Williams leaves behind a legacy that, in the end, was just as real off-screen as it was on it.
