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

Film

Television