William Boyett

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

Early years Boyett was born in Akron, Ohio, the son of Harry Lee and Darcy Stafford Harry Lee's parents were Dorsey H. and Carrie Evelyn Flowers, who married in McLennan County, Texas, on July 9, 1899. Dorsey and Carrie lived in Waco, Fort. Worth and San Antonio, Texas. Boyett often played roles of characters in uniform. His paternal grandfather, Dorsey, participated in the Spanish American War as a corporal in Company F, 2nd Texas Infantry and was also stationed in Laredo, Texas, in 1917, in charge of all non-commissioned officers in Company M, 37th Infantry, while the United States was in conflict with Mexico.

Carrie remarried and in the 1930 U.S. Census, Harry William is enumerated as "Harry" with Carrie, William Cason, and his older brother, Wallace, at 2103 Proctor Avenue in Waco, Texas. Harry William, who was then known as Harry, attended Waco High School, where he was active in theater, the Rostra Literary Society, the Junior Classical League, Boys Chorus, and as a junior was a Texas Interscholastic League contestant in Declamation. While at Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, he won a Shakespeare competition, which led to acting jobs in radio. The 1940 U.S. Census shows that although he was living in Los Angeles on April 1, 1935, he had returned to Waco, and he was again living with his grandmother, Carrie, and his step-grandfather, William Cason. He later permanently moved with his family to Los Angeles, California.

Jack Webb, the executive producer of Adam-12, selected Boyett for the role of LAPD Sergeant “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 bailiff in the 1954 movie version.) Navy Log, 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, Gunsmoke, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, The Rockford Files, The A-Team, Gunsmoke (S7E24’s “Coventry”), 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 appeared as Dr. Dupree in 3 episodes of How The West Was Won 1978

Film Boyett also acted in several motion pictures, such as The Hidden (1987) and The Rocketeer (1991). 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 complications of pneumonia and kidney failure.

Filmography

Street Bandits (1951) as Detective (uncredited) Without Warning! (1952) as Cop Hit by Martin (uncredited) Torpedo Alley (film) (1952) as Submariner (uncredited) By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953) as Miss LaRue's Associate (uncredited) So This Is Love (1953) as George Gershwin (uncredited) Vice Squad (1953) as Officer Kellogg (uncredited) Return from the Sea (1954) as Sailor (uncredited) Dragnet (1954) as Grand Jury Bailiff (uncredited) Shield for Murder (1954) as Policeman Cooper (uncredited) Private Hell 36 (1955) as Mr. Stinson (uncredited) Big House, U.S.A. (1955) as Ranger at Park Exit (uncredited) Strange Lady in Town (1955) as Lieutenant Keith (uncredited) Running Wild (1955) as Minor Role (uncredited) Inside Detroit (1956) as Blair U.A.W. Friend (uncredited) Forbidden Planet (1956) as Crewman (uncredited) Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) as Military Policeman Escort at Fight (uncredited) Francis in the Haunted House (1956) as Kissing Man (uncredited) Behind the High Wall (1956) as Policeman (uncredited) Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956) as Staff (uncredited) Fighting Trouble (1956) as Chips Conroy (uncredited) Emergency Hospital (1956) as Mike - Traffic Officer (uncredited) Until They Sail (1957) as U.S. Marine (uncredited) Young and Dangerous (1957) as Pier Cop (uncredited) Big-Foot Wallace (1957, TV Movie) as First Prisoner The Lady Takes a Flyer (1958) as Flight Mechanic (uncredited) As Young as We Are (1958) as Eric (uncredited) Tarawa Beachhead (1958) as Ullman (uncredited) The Clear Last Chance (1959 Safety Film) as Officer Hal Jackson It Started with a Kiss (1959) as Alec (uncredited) Who Was That Lady? (1960) as Howard (uncredited) Sea Hunt (1958-1960, TV Series) as Policeman / Assistant District Attorney / Police Lieutenant / Paul Garrick / Spy / Saboteur / Mr. Hanson / Eddie Mahar / Newscast / Delmar My Three Sons TV series (8 Jun 1961) as Joe Mitchell in "Firewatch" / (25 Nov 1965) as Coach in "My Son, the Ballerina" / (16 Feb 1967) as Cowboy in "My Son, the Bullfighter" / (10 Feb 1968) as Captain in "Dear Enemy" Sam Whiskey (1969) as Corporal Airport (1970) as Jack Ingram That Girl, The Mail Man Cometh (Season 2, Episode 12, 11/30/1967, TV Series) as photographer Vanished (1971, TV Mini-Series) as Commander Prescott Mobile Two (1975, TV Movie) as Lieutenant Don Carter Gemini Man (1976, TV Mini-Series) as 1st Officer Emergency! (1976-1978, TV Series) as Chief McConnike, Battalion 14 / Battalion Chief #14 / Captain, Station #39 Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977, TV Mini-Series) as Hard Hat Confessions of the D.A. Man (1978, TV Movie) Every Girl Should Have One (1978) as Detective Rand Ike: The War Years (1979, TV Mini-Series) as General Ward Hoffenberg When a Stranger Calls (1979) as Sergeant Sacher The Golden Gate Murders (1979, TV Movie) as Bridge Supervisor Gypsy Angels (1981) as Mr. Allman Bloody Birthday (1981) Space Raiders (1983) as Taggert The Christmas Tree Train (1983, TV Movie) as Ranger Jones (voice) Getting Physical (1984, TV Movie) as Desk Sergeant Sam's Son (1984) as Coach Sutter Which Witch Is Which (1984, TV Movie) as Ranger Jones (voice) The Turkey Caper (1985, TV Movie) as Ranger Jones (voice) The Deliberate Stranger (1986, TV Movie) as Aspen Detective Native Son (1986) as Reporter #3 The Young and the Restless (1986) as Walter Edmonson The Hidden (1987) as Jonathan P. Miller The Adventure Machine (1990, TV Movie) as Ranger Jones (uncredited) The Rocketeer (1991) as Government Liaison Strays (1991, TV Movie) as Dr. Lyle Sokol The Wish That Changed Christmas (1991, TV Movie) as Officer Jones (voice) Newsies (1992) as Judge Movealong Monahan Girls in Prison (1994, TV Movie) as Dr. Shainmark Blood Run (1994, TV Movie) as Briskin Theodore Rex (1995) as Desk Sergeant

Selected Television