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William Boyett (January 3, 1927 – December 29, 2004)[1] was an American actor best known for his roles in law enforcement dramas on television from the 1950s through the 1990s.

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William Boyett
Boyett in the Public Safety Council film, Last Clear Chance (1959)
Born	(1927-01-03)January 3, 1927 Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Died	December 29, 2004(2004-12-29) (aged 77) Mission Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1951–1998
Spouses	Willagene Wither (1947–1950) Joan Reynolds (1957–2004) (his death) (2 children)
Children	One daughter, one son

Early years

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.[2]

Military service

Boyett served in the Navy during World War II and afterward performed on the stage in both New York City and Los Angeles.

Television

In 1954, Boyett played respected settler Jim Hardwicke in the Death Valley Days episode "11,000 Miners Can't Be Wrong". Boyett was often cast as a law-enforcement officer, most notably as Dan Matthews (Broderick Crawford)'s patrol officer on Highway Patrol, where he appeared in 65 episodes, either as Sgt. Johnson or Sgt. Williams, between 1955 and 1959; Boyett also portrayed a policeman in such diverse series as Gang Busters; The Man Behind the Badge; I Led 3 Lives; M Squad; The Detectives; Sea Hunt; Bat Masterson; Batman; Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.; and Star Trek: The Next Generation.[3]

Jack Webb, the executive producer of Adam-12, selected Boyett for the role of Sgt. "Mac" MacDonald after several performances (such as playing Sgt. Sam Hunter) in both iterations of Webb's Dragnet.[4] (Boyett can also be seen uncredited as a bailiff in the 1954 movie version.)[3] Boyett appeared as MacDonald on Adam-12 for its entire 1968–1975 run.

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". In the 1961 My Three Sons episode "Fire Watch", he was a forest ranger.

Boyett appeared in a number of television programs, such as Official Detective,[5] Navy Log,[6] Laramie, Tales of the Texas Rangers, I Spy, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (uncredited; "The Secret Sceptre Affair" from 1965), The Andy Griffith Show, Family Affair, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, The Rockford Files, The A-Team, Gunsmoke, Knight Rider, Space Patrol, Rescue 8, Whirlybirds, Ripcord, Murphy Brown and Night Court. He also appeared in numerous episodes of Emergency! as Chief McConnikee of Los Angeles County Fire Department's Battalion 14. Boyett also occasionally appeared in television commercials.

Film

Boyett also acted in several motion pictures, such as The Hidden (1987) and The Rocketeer (1991).[2] Boyett earned much praise for his highly unusual role in 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. He also appeared in a well-known short public safety film entitled Last Clear Chance (1959) as Patrolman Hal Jackson. Interest in the film was renewed by its appearance in a 1993 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Boyett's other small roles as a police officer include the crime dramas Vice Squad (1953) with Edward G. Robinson and Shield For Murder (1954) with Edmond O'Brien.

Death

Boyett died December 29, 2004, in Mission Hills, California, five days before his 78th birthday, from pneumonia and kidney failure.[7][8]

Filmography

Selected Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1953	Death Valley Days	Jim Hardwicke	Episode "11,000 Miners Can't Be Wrong"
1959	Have Gun - Will Travel		Season 4, Episode 7 "Fragile"
1988	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Lt. Dan Bell

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References

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 IMDb
• William Boyett at AllMovie
• William Boyett at Find a Grave
• William Boyett at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)

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