For generations of television viewers, Hal Williams was one of those actors who instantly felt familiar.
Sometimes he wore a police uniform. Other times, he played a husband, father, neighbor, or hardworking family man. Whatever the role, Williams brought a grounded warmth and natural presence that made his characters feel like people audiences might actually know.
The veteran actor, remembered especially for Sanford and Son and 227, died on July 15, 2026, at his home in Rancho Mirage, California. He was 91. His representative confirmed his death, which was reported as being from natural causes.
His passing closed a remarkable career that stretched across nearly six decades of American entertainment.
He Didn’t Begin as a Hollywood Star
Williams’ journey makes his career even more remarkable.
Born Halroy Candis Williams in Columbus, Ohio, on December 14, 1934, he didn’t begin adulthood surrounded by movie studios and television sets.
Before establishing himself as an actor, Williams worked in juvenile corrections. He eventually decided to take a chance on the career he really wanted and moved to California in 1968.
He later recalled giving himself three years to see whether he could make something happen in Hollywood.
Something did.
‘Sanford and Son’ Changed Everything
In the early 1970s, Williams landed the role that introduced him to millions of television viewers.
He played Officer Smith—better known as Smitty—on the enormously popular NBC sitcom Sanford and Son.
Starring Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford and Demond Wilson as his son Lamont, the series became one of the defining television comedies of its era.
Williams’ Smitty became a recurring presence throughout the show’s run. His understated delivery worked particularly well alongside the larger personalities surrounding him.
He didn’t need to dominate a scene to make it memorable.
Smitty Became a Familiar Face
Williams frequently appeared alongside Howard Platt’s Officer Hopkins, or “Hoppy.”
Their interactions became a recurring source of comedy on the series.
Williams later reprised Smitty in Sanford, the follow-up series that brought Redd Foxx back to the character of Fred Sanford.
Yet Smitty represented only one chapter of Williams’ career.
While many actors become permanently associated with their first major television success, Williams kept working.
Another defining role was still ahead.
He Also Became Part of ‘The Waltons’
During the 1970s, Williams appeared repeatedly as Harley Foster on The Waltons.
The role gave audiences another opportunity to see his dramatic abilities and demonstrated a versatility that would become one of the defining qualities of his career.
Williams could step into a comedy and deliver a restrained reaction that made a scene funnier. Then he could appear in a dramatic production and bring an entirely different energy.
Over the years, he accumulated appearances across an extraordinary range of television programs.
Then Came ‘Private Benjamin’
Williams also appeared in the 1980 film Private Benjamin, starring Goldie Hawn.
He played Sgt. L.C. “Ted” Ross.
When the movie was adapted into a television sitcom, Williams returned to the role and became a regular cast member, appearing throughout the series’ three-season run.
By then, Williams had proven something important.
He wasn’t simply the actor who had played Smitty.
He had become a dependable performer capable of moving between film and television, comedy and drama, guest appearances and recurring roles.
But Another Sitcom Would Define His Legacy
In 1985, Williams joined the cast of 227.
He played Lester Jenkins, husband of Mary Jenkins, portrayed by Marla Gibbs.
The NBC comedy centered on residents of a Washington, D.C., apartment building and became a major part of the network’s late-1980s lineup.
Williams appeared as Lester throughout the show’s five-season run from 1985 to 1990.
For viewers who had grown up watching him as Smitty, it was another memorable chapter.
For a younger generation, Lester Jenkins became the role through which they knew Hal Williams best.
Lester Felt Like a Real Husband and Father
Lester wasn’t designed to be the loudest person in every scene.
That was part of what made the character work.
Williams gave him an everyday quality. He could be funny without becoming exaggerated and could shift naturally between frustration, affection, stubbornness, support, and practicality.
Alongside Marla Gibbs’ Mary Jenkins, he helped create a television marriage that audiences watched week after week.
The series also presented a middle-class Black family at the center of a major network sitcom, an important part of the broader changes taking place in American television during that era.
‘227’ Also Introduced Audiences to Future Stars
The show’s ensemble included Jackée Harry, Alaina Reed Hall, Helen Martin, Curtis Baldwin, and a young Regina King.
For King, 227 became her first major screen role.
Williams was part of an ensemble whose work would remain recognizable decades after the final episode aired.
But when 227 ended in 1990, Williams wasn’t finished.
Not even close.
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