Hal Williams died on 15 July at his home in California. He was 91. Williams was best known for playing Officer "Smitty" Smith in 22 episodes of Sanford and Son and for portraying Lester Jenkins on the sitcom 227 from 1985 to 1990. He began acting in his 30s after working as a postal worker and a corrections officer and moved to Los Angeles in 1968; during Sanford and Son he continued an overnight post office shift because he did not feel financially able to quit. Williams also appeared in films including Private Benjamin, Herbie Rides Again, Hardcore, The Rookie and Guess Who and on TV in The Waltons, The Sinbad Show, The Dukes of Hazzard, Knots Landing, Moesha, Hill Street Blues and the Kathy Bates-led Matlock remake. Jackée Harry wrote that Williams "always carried himself with grace" and helped show America loving, present Black fathers on television.
