Thalmus Rasulala Thalmus Rasulala was the actor who portrayed Captain Donald Varley in the second season episode in . Personal life . Rasulala was born Jack Crowder in Miami , Florida . He went by his birth name when he first began his career , but took the name of Thalmus Rasulala when he began starring in films in the 1970s . He was an alum of the University of Redlands in California . Rasulala died of a heart attack due to complications from leukemia in Albuquerque , New Mexico . He was 51 years old . Career . 1960s . Rasulala began appearing on television in the 1960s , landing small roles on such programs as " Perry Mason " and " The Twilight Zone " . He appeared in two segments of the NBC anthology series " Kraft Suspense Theatre " , the first of which was written by Robert Hamner and featured guest stars James Gregory and Warren Stevens . His second episode also featured TOS regular Leonard Nimoy , as well as Morgan Jones , Garry Walberg , and Jason Wingreen . In 1968 , Rasulala was part of the original cast of the daytime soap opera " One Life to Life " , portraying the character of Lt . Jack Neal . actor Allan Miller was also part of the show ' s inaugural cast . Rasulala left the series in 1970 and made his film debut that same year , playing a police officer in the comedy " The Out of Towners " . Graham Jarvis and comedy team Paul Dooley and Richard Libertini also had roles in this film . 1970s . During the 1970s , Rasulala starred in several blaxploitation films . His first was 1972 ' s " Cool Breeze " , in which he played the leader of a group of bank robbers . That same year , he co - starred opposite TOS guest star William Marshall in " Blacula " , playing Dr . Gordon Thomas . Elisha Cook , Jr . appeared in this film , as well . Rasulala ' s subsequent blaxploitation credits included " Willie Dynamite " ( with Robert DoQui , Albert Hall , and George Murdock ) and " Mr . Ricco " ( with Eugene Roche and Jason Wingreen ) . He also co - starred opposite Fred Williamson in 1975 ' s " Bucktown " and 1976 ' s " Adiós Amigo " , the latter of which was written and directed by Williamson . Rasulala ' s other film credits during the 1970s included " Cornbread , Earl and Me " ( with Hal Baylor , Bernie Casey , Stefan Gierasch , Logan Ramsey , and Madge Sinclair ) , " The Last Hard Men " ( with Sam Gilman ) , " Fun with Dick and Jane " ( with the aforementioned Allan Miller ) , and the 1979 docudrama " The Bermuda Triangle " ( with Albert Hall , Glenn Morshower , and Warren Munson ) . He also appeared in such made - for - TV movies as " Last Hours Before Morning " ( opposite Ed Lauter and George Murdock ) , " Killer on Board " ( with Susan Howard ) , and " The President ' s Mistress " ( with Michael Bell , Gail Strickland , Jason Wingreen , and Biff Yeager ) . Perhaps Rasulala ' s best - known role is that of Bill Thomas on the sitcom " What ' s Happening ! " , appearing frequently between 1976 and 1977 . He also had guest spots on such popular programs as " All in the Family " , " Mission : Impossible " , " Sanford and Son " , " Good Times " , and " The Jeffersons " . On " Sanford and Son " , he appeared in two episodes , one with Ron Glass and the other with Joan Pringle . In addition , he made an appearance on the seventh episode of NBC ' s " Saturday Night Live " and appeared in the first two parts of the 1977 mini - series " Roots " as Omoro , the father of Kunte Kinte , who was played by TNG regular LeVar Burton . 1980s and 1990s . In 1984 and again in 1985 , Rasulala guest - starred on " T . J . Hooker " , the police action series which starred William Shatner in the title role and James Darren as Officer Jim Corrigan . His first episode , " Death Strip , " also guest - starred Sam Anderson , while Julie Cobb and Gary Lockwood appeared in Rasulala ' s second episode , " To Kill a Cop . " In 1986 , Rasulala reprised his " What ' s Happening ! " role for an episode of the follow - up series , " What ' s Happening Now ! " Rasulala also appeared in such shows as " The Greatest American Hero " ( in an episode with John Hancock ) , " Cagney & Lacey " ( with Dan Shor ) , and two episodes of " Simon & Simon " , one with Michael J . Pollard and James Sloyan and another with John Schuck . He also co - starred with Whoopi Goldberg in the 1989 " CBS Schoolbreak Special " entitled " My Past Is My Own " . In addition , Rasulala co - starred with several " Star Trek " alumni in the 1981 TV movie " The Sophisticated Gents " , including Bibi Besch , Bernie Casey , Robert Hooks , Albert Hall , Janet MacLachlan , Davis Roberts , Paul Winfield , and Alfre Woodard . He also worked with MacLachlan and Winfield in the 1983 TV movie " For us the Living : The Medgar Evers Story " . His other TV movie credits during the 1980s included " The Jerk , Too " ( with Ray Walston ) , " The Defiant Ones " ( with Ed Lauter and Wil Wheaton ) , and " The Preppie Murder " ( with Diedrich Bader and David Spielberg ) . Rasulala acted alongside LeVar Burton for the second time after " Roots " for the 1984 short film " Booker " . He also had six feature film credits during the 1980s . In 1986 , he was seen in the action - thriller " Born American " ( with David Coburn ) and the comedy " The Boss ' Wife " ( with Christopher Plummer and Robert Costanzo ) . He also had two films open in 1988 : the Steven Seagal action thriller " Above the Law " and the actioner " Bulletproof " . He then appeared in 1989 ' s " The Package " , which starred Joanna Cassidy . Between 1989 and 1990 , Rasulala played Police Captain Boltz in an updated version of the classic series " Dragnet " . He also played a police commissioner in the popular 1991 film " New Jack City " , which also featured Bill Cobbs . Rasulala ' s last TV movie was 1990s " Blind Vengeance " , which co - starred Richard Lineback and James Parks . His last two films – the drama " Judgement " and the comedy " Mom and Dad Save the World " – were released posthumously in 1992 . " Judgement " co - starred Raymond Cruz and the aforementioned Ed Lauter , while " Mom and Dad Save the World " co - starred Wallace Shawn .