# Hal Williams

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 and career

Williams was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. In the early 1960s, he 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. Since then, Willams has appeared in movies such as Paul Schrader's Hardcore, Howard Zieff's Private Benjamin (he also portrayed the role of Sgt L.C. "Ted" Ross in the television series of the same name), and 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. In one of his latest films, Williams portrayed the grandfather in the Bernie Mac film Guess Who which was released in 2005.
Williams appeared as a guest star in the 3rd season, 24th episode of the television series, Kung Fu as a friend of Caine named Caleb.

## Personal life

Williams has been married twice and has three children. On April 11, 1975, Williams married Gay Anderson; they were divorced in November 1976.

## Selected credits
### Theater

| Year | Production | Role | Theater(s) | Notes |
| 1981 | Nevis Mountain Dew | Boise McCanles | Los Angeles Actors Theatre | |

### Film

| 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 | 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

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1971 | The Jimmy Stewart Show | Lt. 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" |