SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
The actor Hal Williams has died. He was best known for playing Officer "Smitty" Smith in the 1970s TV show "Sanford And Son." A representative for Williams told NPR that he died yesterday at his home in Rancho Mirage, California. He was 91. NPR's Chloe Veltman has this remembrance.
CHLOE VELTMAN, BYLINE: Hal Williams got his big break in 1972 when he landed the recurring role of the friendly neighborhood cop on the NBC sitcom "Sanford And Son." "Smitty" and his partner "Hoppy" often dropped in on the show's two protagonists, the ornery widower Fred Sanford and his long-suffering son Lamont. Williams earned big laughs for patiently translating "Hoppy's" very stiff and formal speechifying...
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HOWARD PLATT: (As Officer "Hoppy" Hopkins) So until we apprehend the suspect in question...
VELTMAN: ...Into real talk for Fred and Lamont.
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HAL WILLIAMS: (As Officer "Smitty" Smith) Until this cat gets busted, be cool on copper. And if he hits on you, contact your local fuzz.
VELTMAN: In a TV interview with WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio, recorded just a few days before he died, Williams said he helped the writers develop this shtick.
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WILLIAMS: We did it one time in rehearsal, and the producers thought it was funny.
VELTMAN: Williams worked steadily in both TV and film. In the 1980s, he starred in "227." The NBC sitcom centered on the day-to-day lives of a group of Black, middle-class apartment building residents in Washington, D.C. Williams played Lester Jenkins, a supportive and loving spouse. Here he is trying to fend off the advances of another woman.
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ARNETIA WALKER: (As Christy) You know, you're even sexier than your voice.
WILLIAMS: (As Lester Jenkins) It's the light. I always look good with a three-way bulb.
VELTMAN: Bon In 1934 in Columbus, Ohio, Williams worked as a corrections officer before heading to Hollywood. He was employed as a postal worker while trying to launch his acting career. He told WKYC that even after things took off for him, it was tough sometimes to get cast in dramas.
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WILLIAMS: At one point, my agent was having a hard time getting me for a "Kung Fu" and "The Waltons" and "Gunsmoke"...
RUSS MITCHELL: Yeah.
WILLIAMS: ...And shows like that because it's, oh, we know him. He does comedy.
VELTMAN: But Williams proved his worth in plenty of noncomedic roles, such as the itinerant farm worker Harley Foster in the historical family drama "The Waltons."
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RICHARD THOMAS: (As John "John-Boy" Walton Jr.) You're not heading any place particular, are you?
WILLIAMS: (As Harley Foster) One's as good as another when you're traveling. Whichever way your thumb takes you.
VELTMAN: Hal Williams continued working until very recently. Just last year, he appeared in the CBS "Matlock" reboot. His manager, Zna Portlock Houston, told NPR the actor had a close relationship with his fans throughout his long career.
ZNA PORTLOCK HOUSTON: He was always embraced so warmly, like he was truly their own family.
VELTMAN: The nonagenarian even put in an appearance just this past weekend at a "Sanford And Son" reunion in North Royalton, Ohio. Chloe Veltman, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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