Regina King Mourns Her 227 TV Dad Hal Williams: “He Gave Me a Sense of Safety”

The Oscar-winning actress remembered Williams not only as her television father, but as a gentle and protective presence who helped her navigate the entertainment industry as a young performer.

Regina King has shared an emotional tribute to Hal Williams, revealing how deeply her 227 television father influenced her life away from the cameras.

Williams, beloved for portraying Lester Jenkins on 227 and Officer “Smitty” Smith on Sanford and Son, died July 15 at his home in Rancho Mirage, California. He was 91.

King, who began playing Brenda Jenkins on 227 as a teenager, described Williams as a source of safety and stability during her formative years in the entertainment industry.

“I’m saddened by the passing of my TV dad, Hal Williams, but so grateful for the many years, memories and special moments we shared,” King wrote on Instagram.

Hal Williams protected Regina King behind the scenes

 

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King was still a teenager when 227 premiered on NBC in 1985. The role of Brenda, daughter of Lester and Mary Jenkins, became her first professional acting credit and introduced her to a national television audience.

While the program helped launch an extraordinary career, King’s tribute reveals that Williams’ impact extended far beyond their scripted relationship.

“From the time I was young, he gave me a sense of safety that extended far beyond the work we did together,” she wrote.

King recalled that a television set could contain considerable “noise, gossip and politicking,” but Williams protected her from much of that environment. His presence allowed her to remain young, feel cared for and concentrate on her work.

That protection carries additional meaning when considering what King eventually achieved. Following 227, she successfully transitioned from child performer to acclaimed adult actress and director, earning an Academy Award for If Beale Street Could Talk and multiple Emmy Awards across her career.

Williams was present at the beginning—before the awards and widespread recognition—helping create an environment in which a young performer could develop without being overwhelmed by the business surrounding her.

Their onscreen relationship became something real

On 227, Williams portrayed Lester Jenkins, the hardworking husband of Marla Gibbs’ Mary Jenkins and father of King’s Brenda.

Lester was a steady presence within a series filled with large personalities and neighbourhood comedy. He represented a loving and dependable Black father whose importance came from consistency rather than spectacle.

King explained that elements of that fictional relationship fulfilled a genuine emotional need in her life. Because her parents were divorced and her biological father was not always available, she shared moments with Williams that meant more to her than he may have understood.

“I will always treasure the gentleness, steadiness and love he brought into my life,” she wrote.

Her remembrance demonstrates why Williams’ portrayal connected so strongly with viewers. The steadiness audiences recognized in Lester Jenkins was also present in the man working beside King.

He did not simply perform fatherhood when the cameras started rolling. He made his young television daughter feel protected when they stopped.

A Black television family created with intention

King’s tribute also adds greater meaning to Marla Gibbs’ account of how the Jenkins family came together.

Gibbs has explained that when 227 was being developed for television, she fought to ensure Mary Jenkins had a husband. Hal Williams was ultimately cast as Lester, creating the two-parent household at the centre of the series.

Following Williams’ death, Gibbs remembered that decision with gratitude.

“When 227 became a television series, I fought to make sure my character had a husband,” Gibbs wrote. “I’m so glad I did.”

Gibbs said that she, Williams and King became a television family that demonstrated the “love, strength and stability” of a Black household for five seasons.

King’s tribute confirms that the family bond did not end with the show’s cancellation in 1990. The protection and affection represented onscreen developed into lasting relationships between the people behind the characters.

Jackée Harry, who played Sandra Clark on 227, also praised Williams for believing that Black fathers on television should be loving, present and compassionate.

Together, the tributes reveal that Williams did more than portray a positive image. He embodied many of the qualities his character represented.

A final Christmas together

King expressed particular gratitude that she and Williams were able to spend time together during the Christmas before his passing.

“You never know when the last time you’ll see someone in this life will be,” she reflected, adding that she would hold that final time close to her heart.

Williams continued connecting with members of his 227 family throughout his life. Gibbs revealed that they had spoken only weeks before his death, laughing together and still calling one another Mary and Lester decades after the series ended.

For King, the bond remained equally personal. She concluded her message not by addressing Williams as a former colleague, but as a daughter speaking to her father:

“Thank you for being such a beautiful part of my life. This is not goodbye. It’s see you later. I love you. Live in peace, Dad.”

Hal Williams made Black television feel like home

Williams built a career spanning more than five decades, with credits including Sanford and Son, The Waltons, Private Benjamin, The Sinbad Show, Moesha and Matlock.

To many viewers, however, he will always be Lester Jenkins—the father who brought calm and stability to the Jenkins household.

Regina King’s remembrance reveals that his legacy cannot be measured only through episodes, credits or awards. Some of his most important work occurred between scenes, when he protected a young actress from the pressures surrounding her and allowed her to feel safe.

Millions watched Hal Williams play Regina King’s television father.

Her tribute makes clear that, in the ways that mattered most, he became one.

Read Regina King’s complete tribute on Instagram.