‘Police Squad!’ and ‘Naked Gun’ Star Dies at 98
Ed Williams, best known for his role as the earnest lab scientist Ted Olson in the cult classic TV show Police Squad! and the original Naked Gun movies, has passed away at the age of 98.
His granddaughter, Stephanie Williams, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that he died on October 2 in Los Angeles.
Before his breakout role, Williams had a long history in the arts and education. He performed in plays at San Jose State and Stanford University, and acted in numerous radio productions produced by Lillian Fontaine, mother of Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine.
After moving to Los Angeles in 1955, he joined the Don Martin School of Radio and Television Arts and Sciences, putting his acting career on hold to teach broadcasting.
Williams returned to acting in the early 1980s while teaching speech at L.A. City College. He was cast as Ted Olson on ABC’s Police Squad!, a hilarious send-up of police dramas starring Leslie Nielsen and created by Jim Abrahams and Jerry and David Zucker.
The show aired just six episodes in 1982 but later inspired the successful Naked Gun films. Williams and Nielsen were the only actors to appear in both the TV series and the film adaptations. Reflecting on the role in a 2017 interview, Williams said, “I made up for lost time and got a fairly decent part to start coming back into acting.”
In addition to Police Squad! and Naked Gun, Williams often played reverends, priests, and ministers. He famously married Annie Banks (Kimberly Williams) and Bryan MacKenzie (George Newbern) in Father of the Bride (1991).
His television credits included appearances on Cheers, MacGyver, L.A. Law, Matlock, Hooperman, and Sisters. His film roles included Ratboy (1986), Nickel & Dime (1992), High Strung (1992), and Carnosaur (1993).
Williams also had a long career as an educator. He taught broadcasting at L.A. City College and trained many students who later became well-known, including “Real” Don Steele and Bob Eubanks. He once explained why he paused acting for decades: “I do not approve of professors that go out and moonlight and make a lot of money on the side and neglect their classes…That used to make me mad to hear that.”
He eventually returned to acting while maintaining his teaching career, saying, “I felt like the [guy] who’s been trained to be a surgeon, but he didn’t quite get in the operating room. I wanted to get in the operating room.”
Williams served in the U.S. Navy and continued acting into his 90s. He was married to his wife, Nancy, in September 1954. He is survived by Nancy, sons Fred and Ian, and grandchildren Stephanie and Maureen.
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