William Boyett 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.
In 1954, Boyett played respected settler Jim Hardwicke in the Death Valley Days episode "11,000 Miners Can't Be Wrong". It details the competition between Columbia and Sacramento to be the capital of California. When he informs the sheriff that he had killed a man in self-defense, Hardwicke is forced to stand trial. Political influence coerces the jury to find Hardwicke guilty. His lawyer, Ed Barrett, develops a bizarre scheme to free his client from the hangman's noose. Barrett steals from a safe in the local bank a petition with 11,000 signatures of persons who want Columbia to be the capital, rewrites the first page to call for a pardon for Hardwicke, and appeals to the governor, who is impressed that so many signed. The governor orders Hardwicke's release, but Columbia loses out to Sacramento. 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 1955-59; 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; Batman; Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.; and Jack Webb, the executive producer of Adam-12 selected Boyett for the role of Sgt. "Mac" MacDonald after several performances in both iterations of Webb's Dragnet. Boyett stayed 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, Navy Log, Laramie, Tales of the Texas Rangers, I Spy, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Andy Griffith Show, Family Affair, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, The Rockford Files, The A-Team,”Archie Bunkers Place”, Knight Rider, Rescue 8, 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.
Film
Boyett also acted in several motion pictures, such as The Hidden and The Rocketeer. 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. He also appeared in a short public safety film entitled Last Clear Chance as Patrolman Hal Jackson. Other small roles as a police officer include the crime dramas Vice Squad with Edward G. Robinson and Shield For Murder with Edmond O'Brien.
