Hal Williams, Sanford and Son Star, Dies at 91

Veteran actor Hal Williams, best known for his role on 70s sitcom Sanford and Son, has died aged 91.

Williams, who notably played Officer 'Smitty' Smith on the show from 1972-1976, passed away on Thursday at his home in Rancho Mirage, , his representative confirmed to Deadline.

His cause of death is not yet known.

As Officer Smitty, Williams helped push boundaries with one of television’s earliest Black-led sitcoms. The show starred Redd Foxx as Fred G. Sanford, a widower and junk dealer living in Los Angeles and Grady Demond Wilson as his son Lamont Sanford.

Williams' onscreen police partner was Officer 'Hoppy' Hopkins - played by Howard Platt - with the pair famed for their skits showing Hoppy starting a scene with a complex police explanation of an investigation before Smitty would give a simpler version.

Williams previously told WKYC that the idea for the characters' signature scenes was created in rehearsal.

He said, 'We did it in one time in rehearsal and the producers thought it was funny. We did it in the first or second episode and it clicked. 

'Some days, we would come to rehearsal and they didn’t have anything solid. [So the producers would say,] "Go out, take a break for two hours, and bring us something back."

Williams is seen with Marla Gibbs in 227 in 1985