RANCHO MIRAGE—On July 15, actor Halroy Candis “Hal” Williams, passed away at his home in Rancho Mirage. He was 91. Williams is best known for his reoccurring role as “Smitty,” the policeman in the 70s sitcom, “Sanford and Son.”
He was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1938 and worked as a social worker, corrections officer, and as a postal worker in his younger years. In 1968, after a divorce, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. He told Get TV, “I gave myself three years.”
In 1972, Williams appeared in 20 episodes cast as Smitty Smith alongside Howard Platt, who played his fellow officer, Hoppy Hopkins, in “Sanford and Son.” He also played reoccurring role as Harley Foster on “The Waltons.” He had recurring roles on both sitcoms, as well as ABC’s “The Rocks.”
lanced his reoccurring roles as he made appearances Sanford and Son, The Waltons, and for a short time, ABC’s sitcom, On the Rocks. He appeared in the TV adaptation of “Private Benjamin” in 1980 where he portrayed Sgt. Ted Ross. he later found success on the NBC sitcom, “227” playing Lester Jenkins in 1985. He played Rudy Bryan on “The Sinbad Show” on Fox for 1 year starting in 1993.
During his nearly six-decade career, Williams appeared alongside Clint Eastwood in “The Rookie,” James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Willimas, and Courtney B. Vance in, “Percy and Thunder.”
He played opposite George C. Scott in “Hardcore,” Ashton Kutcher, Bernie Mac, and Zoe Saldaña in “Guess Who,” and played Denzel Washington’s father in “Flight.”
Williams also earned guest appearances on the TV series, “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Gunsmoke,” “Good Times,” “Knots Landing,” “Night Court,” “Webster,” “Magnum P.I.,” “Quincy Jones M.E.,” “Hill Street Blues,” “Night Court,” “That Girl,” “Cannon,” “Policewoman,” “Suddenly Susan,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Matlock,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Moesha,” and “A Black Lady Sketch Show.”
Williams once told Columbus Monthly, “I’ve prided myself on choosing a profession where you don’t have to stop working. You just get older as you work.”
He is long-time board member of the Los Angeles Actors’ Theater, founded by Ralph White.
In 1991, Williams established the Mark K.A. Williams Memorial Scholarship Foundation in memory of his son, Mark, who was a broadcasting major who died on a camping trip in the Angeles National Forest in 1977. He created the non-profit based in Palm Desert California to assist students of color with interest in broadcasting and communications to fulfill their collegiate dreams.
Mark was one of three children the actor shared with his first wife. He is survived by two children, three grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
