Hal Williams, Sanford and Son and 227 actor, dies at 91

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.

Set us as preferred Hal Williams, a veteran actor known for his roles as a friendly neighborhood police officer on “Sanford and Son” and a hard-working patriarch on “227,” has died.He was 91.Williams died Wednesday morning at his home in Rancho Mirage, his representative Zna Portlock Houston told The Times in an email on Thursday.“Hal Williams is legendary for his acting skills, his compassion and his community engagement,” Houston wrote, describing the actor as “an icon and a true professional.” “He never turned away a fan.

He was always embraced so warmly, like he was truly their own family, because he was a cultural touchstone who represented an image of Black fatherhood that was loving and steadfast.Offscreen he was a sound advisor, lively debater and devoted friend.”His death follows a recent trip to Ohio celebrating his work on the NBC sitcom “Sanford and Son,” on which he portrayed Officer “Smitty” Smith from 1972 to 1977.

Entertainment & Arts Demond Wilson, the actor best known for playing Lamont Sanford on the 1970s sitcom “Sanford and Son,” has died from complications of cancer at 79.In one of his final television interviews just days prior to his death, Williams spoke about one of the show’s recurring bits, which saw his character translate his partner Officer “Hoppy” Hopkins’ (Howard Platt) police talk into a vernacular that Fred (Redd Foxx) and Lamont Sanford (Demond Wilson) could understand.“A lot of the stuff we created ourselves off camera and put it in the script,” Williams said when he appeared with Platt on a morning news show on Cleveland’s Fox 8.“A lot of the times, they didn’t have jokes in the script … because they didn’t know the jargon from the Black community.”Born Halroy Candis Williams on Dec.

14, 1938, in Columbus, Ohio, Williams was wo...