William Boyett
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.
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 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.
