Hal Williams
American actor (born 1938)
title: "Hal Williams" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1938-births", "living-people", "american-male-film-actors", "male-actors-from-columbus,-ohio", "20th-century-american-male-actors", "21st-century-american-male-actors", "american-male-television-actors", "20th-century-african-american-male-actors", "21st-century-african-american-male-actors"] description: "American actor (born 1938)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Williams" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American actor (born 1938) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | Hal Williams, Waltons 40th Anniversary 2012.jpg |
| caption | Williams at The Waltons 40th anniversary, 2012 |
| birth_name | Halroy Candis Williams |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| occupation | Actor |
| yearsactive | 1968–present |
| spouse | {{plainlist |
| * {{marriage | Gay Anderson |
| * {{marriage | Renee W. Himes |
| children | 3 |
| known_for | Lester Jenkins – 227 |
| Smitty – Sanford and Son | |
| Dick Blaque - Hardcore | |
| :: |
| name = | image = Hal Williams, Waltons 40th Anniversary 2012.jpg | caption = Williams at The Waltons 40th anniversary, 2012 | birth_name = Halroy Candis Williams | birth_date = | birth_place = Columbus, Ohio, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Actor | yearsactive = 1968–present | spouse = {{plainlist|
| children = 3 | known_for = Lester Jenkins – 227 Smitty – Sanford and Son Dick Blaque - Hardcore Halroy Candis Williams (born December 14, 1938) is an American actor, best known for his recurring roles as Police Officer Smith ("Smitty") on Sanford and Son (1972–1976), Harley Foster on The Waltons (1973–1980), and as the patriarch Lester Jenkins, the husband of Marla Gibbs's character, on the NBC sitcom 227 which originally aired from 1985 until 1990. His film credits include Private Benjamin (1980), Guess Who (2005), and Flight (2012).
Early life
Hal Williams was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio.
Career
In the early 1960s, Williams began acting in community theater in Ohio. Williams worked as a postal worker and corrections officer before moving to Hollywood to pursue an acting career in 1968.
Williams began pursuing his acting career full-time in 1970. In 1973 he appeared as a guest star on the television series Kung Fu, playing a friend of Caine named Caleb in the second-season premiere. In 1975 he reprised the role in the 24th episode of the third season.
Willams has appeared in movies such as Paul Schrader's Hardcore, Howard Zieff's Private Benjamin. He woud reprise the role of Sgt L.C. "Ted" Ross in the television series of the same name. In 1990 he appeared in Clint Eastwood's The Rookie. In the early to mid-1990s, he starred in many of comic Sinbad's productions, including The Sinbad Show and The Cherokee Kid.
Williams portrayed Howard Jones, the father to Bernie Mac's character, in the 2005 film Guess Who.
In 2024 Williams played Autry in the second episode of the TV series Matlock, and reprised the role the following year in the series' tenth episode.
Selected credits
Theater
::data[format=table]
| Year | Production | Role | Theater(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Nevis Mountain Dew | Boise McCanles | Los Angeles Actors Theatre | |
| :: |
Film
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Cool Breeze | Harry, Policeman | Uncredited |
| 1974 | Herbie Rides Again | Ticketing Police Officer | |
| 1979 | Hardcore | "Big Dick Blaque" | |
| 1980 | On the Nickel | Paul | |
| 1980 | Private Benjamin | Drill Sergeant L.C. Ross | |
| 1982 | The Escape Artist | Cop At Mayor's Office | |
| 1990 | The Rookie | Detective Powell | |
| 1996 | The Cherokee Kid | Reverend Peel | |
| 2005 | Guess Who | Howard Jones | |
| 2011 | Night Club | Resident Playing Cards At Casino Night | |
| 2012 | Flight | Whip's Dad | Voice |
| :: |
Television
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Jimmy Stewart Show | Lieutenant Quigley | 1 episode |
| 1971 | That Girl | Herbie Robinson | 2 Episodes |
| 1972–1976 | Sanford and Son | Officer "Smitty" Smith | 20 episodes |
| 1973 | Kung Fu | Caleb Brown | Season 2, Episode 1 - "The Well" |
| 1973-1980 | The Waltons | Harley Foster | 7 episodes |
| 1975 | Gunsmoke | Widge | Season 14, Episode 20 - "Hard Labor" |
| 1975 | S.W.A.T. | Bo Tate | Season 1, Episode 12 - "Sole Survivor" |
| 1975-1976 | On the Rocks | Lester DeMott | 24 episodes |
| 1977 | Quincy, M.E. | Cody | Season 2, Episode 9 - "The Hot Dog Murder" |
| 1979 | Roots: The Next Generations | Aleck Haley | Season 1, Episode 3 - "Part III (1914-1918)" |
| 1979 | What's Happening!! | Mr. Logan | Season 3, Episode 17 - "The Eviction" |
| 1979 | The White Shadow | Henry Judd | Season 2, Episode 3 - "Sudden Death" |
| 1980 | Knots Landing | Magazine Owner | 2 episodes |
| 1980-1981 | Sanford | Officer "Smitty" Smith | 5 episodes |
| 1982 | TJ Hooker | Officer Bryan | Season 1, Episode 1 - "The Protectors" |
| 1981–1983 | Private Benjamin | Sergeant Ted Ross | 39 episodes |
| 1984 | The Dukes of Hazzard | Jonas Jones | Season 6, Episode 21 - "Cooter's Confession" |
| 1984 | Webster | Principal Jenkins | Season 2, Episode 2 - "Webster Long: Part 3" |
| 1984 | The Jeffersons | Kent Tobin | Season 11, Episode 5 - "Some Enchanted Evening" |
| 1984 | Gimme a Break! | Dr. Phil Gray | Season 4, Episode 10 - "Julie's Lie" |
| 1985–1990 | 227 | Lester Jenkins | 115 episodes |
| 1986 | Hill Street Blues | Ken Edwards | Season 6, Episode 15 - "I Want My Hill Street Blues" |
| 1988 | Magnum, P.I. | Dave, The DJ | 2 episodes |
| 1993–1994 | The Sinbad Show | Rudy Bryan | 18 episodes |
| 1997 | * Moesha* | Rosevelt Mitchell | 1 Episode |
| 2019 | A Black Lady Sketch Show | Himself | Season 1, Episode 3 - "3rd & Bonaparte Is Always in the Shade" |
| 2024 | Matlock | Autry | Season 1, Episode 2 - "Rome, in a Day" |
| :: |
References
References
- (August 18, 2022). "Every detail you want to know about Hal Williams". [[UWIRE.
- 978-1-4303-0501-9.
- Kotta, Carmen. (October 10, 1981). "The Face Is Familiar: Hal Williams, Actor!". The Afro-American.
- 978-1-5381-1728-6.
- (September 3, 1987). "Small role led Hal Williams to big part on NBC's hit '227'". Frederick News Post.
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