William Boyett

William Boyett
File:William Boyett.jpg Boyett in a 1959 Public Safety Council video
Born	(1927-01-03)January 3, 1927 Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Died	Mission Hills, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Pneumonia and Kidney failure
Resting place	Cremated
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1951-1998
Spouse(s)	Joan Reynolds (1957-2004) (his death) (2 children)
Children	One daughter, one son

William Boyett (January 3, 1927 – December 29, 2004) was an American actor best known for his work as the low-key but authoritative Sergeant William 'Mac' MacDonald on the police drama Adam-12. Adam-12 executive producer Jack Webb selected him for the role after several performances in both iterations of Webb's Dragnet (Boyett can also be seen uncredited as a Baliff in the 1954 movie version). Boyett stayed with the series for its entire 1968–1975 run. Boyett also co-starred with Broderick Crawford in 64 episodes of Highway Patrol as either Officer Johnson or Sergeant Williams.

Life and career

Boyett was born in Akron, Ohio, and lived there until the 1940s, when he moved with his family to Los Angeles, California. He won a Shakespeare competition in high school which led to acting jobs in radio. He served in the Navy during World War II and afterward performed on the stage in both New York City and Los Angeles.

Boyett was often cast as a law-enforcement officer, and portrayed that role in such diverse series as Gang Busters, The Man Behind the Badge, I Led 3 Lives, M Squad, The Detectives, Sea Hunt, Batman and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. He also made eight guest appearances on CBS's Perry Mason throughout the series' nine-year run, mostly in law-enforcement roles. In 1962 he played slain police officer Otto Norden in "The Case of the Hateful Hero." The defendant was his rookie partner James Anderson played by Richard Davalos, cousin of series regular Lt. Anderson played by Wesley Lau. He also played a corporate executive, Buck Osborn, in the 1961 episode, "The Case of the Renegade Refugee."

Boyett appeared in a number of television programs, such as Tales of the Texas Rangers, I Spy, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (uncredited; "The Secret Sceptre Affair" from 1965), Family Affair, Fantasy Island, The Rockford Files, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The A-Team. Whirlybirds, and Night Court. He was well known for his role as Sgt. "Mac" MacDonald in the long running police drama show "Adam-12".

He also acted in several motion pictures, such as The Hidden (1987) and The Rocketeer (1991). Boyett earned much praise for The Hidden as a hospital patient named Jonathan P. Miller, possessed by an alien being with a taste for red Ferraris and rock and roll music. Boyett also played Battalion Chief McConnike on the 1970s series Emergency!. He also appeared in a short film entitled "Last Clear Chance" as Patrolman Hal Jackson.

Boyett died December 29, 2004 in Mission Hills, California, at the age of 77, of complications from pneumonia and kidney failure. He left behind a wife, two brothers, a son and daughter, and two granddaughters.

Further reading

• Associated Press (January 3, 2005). Actor William Boyett, 77, Akron native, dies in L.A. Akron Beacon Journal, p. B6.

External links

• William Boyett at the Internet Movie Database
• William Boyett at Find a Grave
• William Boyett at AllMovie
• William Boyett at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)