William Boyett
| William Boyett | |
|---|---|
Boyett in a 1959 Public Safety Council video
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| Born |
January 3, 1927 Akron, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | December 29, 2004 (aged 77) Mission Hills, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Pneumonia and Kidney failure |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1951–1998 |
| 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.
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.
Boyett 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," Highway Patrol", M Squad, The Detectives, Sea Hunt, Batman and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Adam-12 executive producer Jack Webb selected him for the role of Sgt. "Mac" MacDonald after several performances (such as playing Sgt. Sam Hunter) 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.
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."
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