Ed Williams, the longtime actor who is best known for playing Ted Olsen on “Police Squad!” and in the “The Naked Gun” films, died Oct. 2 in Los Angeles. He was 98.
His nephew Marty Wolfe Williams-Wilson first shared the news to social media last week, and his passing was further confirmed Thursday by granddaughter Stephanie Williams.
“Our beloved Uncle Ed passed away peacefully last night in Los Angeles,” Marty wrote on Facebook. “Professionally, he was a successful actor. Personally, we adored him and will miss him.”
Williams was born Edwin Wallace Williams in San Jose, Calif. on Nov. 26, 1926. He was raised rather poor, as his family was heavily impacted by the Great Depression. He recalled in a 2017 retrospective interview with Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters not even having a radio to listen to, igniting his love and excitement for the medium.
Though he got his feet wet in acting, having starred in several college plays and radio productions, he served as a broadcasting and speech teacher at Los Angeles City College. He then pivoted back to acting after retiring from broadcasting. During his lifetime, he also served in the U.S. Navy, worked as a salesman at KSJO Radio and as a booth announcer at KCET television.
He officially retired from teaching in 1989 following a 28-year tenure at Los Angeles City College.
He appeared in six episodes of “Police Squad!” as lab scientist Ted Olsen in 1982 before its cancellation, and he’s admitted to being surprised when he got the call six years later to revisit the short-lived project for “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!” in 1988. He and star Leslie Nielsen were the only two original cast members brought back for the feature film project, which spawned two sequels and a 2025 reboot starring Liam Neeson.
“I was very lucky in that regard,” he said of his return, adding of Nielsen: “He was a consummate professional, and he really knew how to do it and do it well. I think he was superior.”
While Williams is best known as Ted on screen, other standout projects from his career include “The Giant of Thunder Mountain,” “Canosaur,” “Ratboy,” “Going to the Chapel,” “High Strung,” “Father of the Bride,” and other films through the early ’90s. His final performance was five episodes of “Hollywood Radio Players.”
He is survived by his wife Nancy and his sons, Fred and Ian. He also has two grandchildren, Stephanie and Maureen.
