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Hal Williams looked back at the legacy of Sanford and Son in an interview just days before his death at 91
Williams said that Sanford and Son had “real” humor and gave viewers “one laugh after another”
Williams also starred in 227 and Private Benjamin
Hal Williams always kept Sanford and Son in a special space in his heart.
Williams, who died on July 15 at the age of 91, at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., spoke to WKYC, an NBC affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio, just days before his death. In the interview, shared online on July 10, Williams remembered what made Sanford and Son such a classic.
“Because the humor was so real and wasn’t artificial, and it was just generally funny, funny, funny, one laugh after another all the time,” he told the hosts.
Sanford and Son starred Redd Foxx as Fred G. Sanford and Demond Wilson as his son Lamont. Adapted from the BBC series Steptoe and Son, the series also featured Hal Williams as Officer “Smitty” Smith and Howard Platt as Officer Howard “Hoppy” Hopkins.
The anchors asked Williams what Sanford and Son was like behind the scenes, adding that working with Foxx, a stand-up comedian who was known for his raunchy act, must have been “a little bit of a treat.”
“I can’t really tell the truth,” Williams joked of Foxx, who died in 1991 at 68. He remembered that Foxx preferred working off a live audience and didn’t want to rehearse during the week when there wasn’t one.
From left: Howard Platt, Hal Williams and Redd Foxx in ‘Sanford and Son’
Credit: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
Instead, during rehearsals, Foxx would practice some of his “blue” comedic material that he performed in Vegas. “We got that for free,” Williams said.
The anchors also asked Williams about working with Hoppy; the pair’s dynamic would see Hoppy explain something in highfalutin police jargon, until Williams’ Smitty explained it to Fred and Lamont in much simpler terms.
“We did it one time in rehearsal and the producers thought it was funny, so the writers started asking us to bring us stuff that was current,” he said. After they did their routine in their first or second episode, “It clicked.”
“Some days we would come to rehearsal, they didn’t have anything,” he remembered. They would tell them, “Fellas, go out and take a break for 2 hours and bring us something back.”
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Sanford and Son ran from 1972 to 1977. Williams’ interview was in support of a reunion of Williams and Platt, 88, held in Ohio on July 10 and 11, where they also appeared alongside the Sanford and Son salvage truck from the series.
Reflecting on his long career, which included his five-year run on the sitcom 227, he said, “50 years that I’ve been lucky enough to do what I do. And 11 television series, that’s unheard of, really.”
He added that a lot of people didn’t know about other work he did, assuming he only did comedy because of Sanford and Son and 227, which starred Marla Gibbs, Jackée Harry and Regina King.
He remembered his agent hearing from producers, “Oh, we know him. He does comedy.” But he felt, “We do not do comedy. We are professional actors.”
The cast of ‘227.’ From left: Helen Martin, Curtis Baldwin, Alaine Reed Hall, Kia Goodwin, Jackée Harry, Marla Gibbs, Hal Williams and Regina King
Credit: Embassy Pictures/Fotos International/Getty
Williams’ other roles included The Waltons, the movie and TV series Private Benjamin, On the Rocks, The Sinbad Show and Moesha.
After his death, some of his costars paid tribute to him on Instagram. Gibbs, 95, remembered that they met years before 227, when he was part of a play at Crossroads Theater.
“When 227 became a television series, I fought to make sure my character had a husband,” Gibbs wrote. “I’m so glad I did. Hal, Regina King, and I became a television family that showed the love, strength, and stability of a Black family for five wonderful seasons.”
She continued, “But what I treasured most was our friendship. Even after the show ended, Hal never stopped checking on me. We talked just a couple of weeks ago, laughing and carrying on like we always did…we still call each other Mary and Lester after all the years. I never imagined it would be our last conversation.”
Harry, 69, wrote, “What a gentleman. Hal always carried himself with grace, and he always had me laughing. I’ll never forget him telling me to trade in my little Mercedes because, ‘You’re a star now!’ “
She wrote, “He was also a stand-up guy who believed Black fathers on TV should be loving, present, and compassionate. He helped show America what that looked like.”
Lenny Kravitz remembered meeting Williams when they did a play together. ” As we grew closer you became like a brother to my mother and you fulfilled that role by becoming involved in my life,” he wrote, noting that Williams would pick him up from school. “I’m so blessed that we reunited in the last few years and shared more time together.”
Questlove also remembered Williams as “the nicest cat ever,” noting that Williams had played his father in an episode of Parks and Recreation.
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