Actor Hal Williams, best known for his roles on Sanford and Son and The Waltons, has died.
A representative for Williams confirmed to Deadline that he died on Wednesday, July 15, at his home in Rancho Mirage, California.
Williams had a regular TV presence throughout the ’70s, but he didn’t pursue acting until he was an adult.
“I wasn’t allowed to leave the yard often, and I had a dog named Sandy. I used to play games with him, pretending he was the Lone Ranger and I was Tonto,” he told Columbus Monthly in 2022 about his interest in playing pretend as a child.
Williams previously held jobs as a social worker, corrections officer and postal worker. He went through a career change amid struggles in his marriage to Gay Anderson. (The couple, who shared three children, were married from 1975 to 1976.)
“I sat down after getting divorced and said, ‘What do I really want to try to do before the maker comes and gets me?’ And it was acting. So, I took the plunge and drove to California in 48 hours,” he previously told Get TV. “I gave myself three years.”
Williams scored the role of Smitty on Sanford and Son, which became memorable for his interactions opposite Officer “Hoppy” Hopkins (Howard Platt).
“We did it one time in rehearsal and the producers thought it was funny,” the actor recalled to WKYC, reflecting on his dynamic with his costar. “We did it in the first or second episode and it clicked. Some days, we would come to rehearsal and they didn’t have anything solid. [So the producers would say], ‘Go out, take a break for two hours, and bring us something back.’”
Williams reprised the role on NBC’s Sanford in 1980. He also appeared on On the Rocks, Private Benjamin and The Sinbad Show.
“Those shows have proven to be my detriment at times,” Williams admitted to Antenna TV in 2019. “People don’t realize that I’m a serious actor.”
He continued: “I’ve always tried to keep a foot in both camps, but it’s hard to fight the pigeonholing that goes on. But in all those comedies, you have to remember one thing. I wasn’t the funny guy. I was the straight guy in all the madness.”
Williams also starred as Lester on the sitcom 227 opposite Helen Martin, Marla Gibbs, Regina King, Jackée Harry, Paul Winfield and others. He later made guest appearances on That Girl, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Cannon, Police Woman, Gunsmoke, Police Story, Quincy M.E, Good Times, Knots Landing, The Waltons, The Dukes of Hazzard, Webster, Hill Street Blues, Magnum P.I., Night Court, L.A. Law, Suddenly Susan, Moesha and Parks and Recreation.
Before his death, Williams last appeared on TV in a two-episode arc as Autry on CBS’ Matlock. On the big screen, meanwhile, Williams appeared in Hardcore, The Rookie, Percy & Thunder, Guess Who and Flight.
“I’ve prided myself on choosing a profession where you don’t have to stop working,” Williams told Columbus Monthly. “You just get older as you work.”
