Theodore "Teddy" Wilson (December 10, 1943 – July 21, 1991) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 character actor

Character actor

A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...

 best known for his recurring role as Sweet Daddy Williams on the CBS sitcom Good Times

Good Times

Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer...

.

Career

Born in New York, New York, Wilson made his acting debut in the blaxploitation

Blaxploitation

Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...

 film, Cotton Comes to Harlem. He would go on to appear in several blaxploitation films of the era. In addition to films, Wilson also landed roles in several popular television shows. Wilson portrayed Earl the postman and barber in the series That's My Mama

That's My Mama

That's My Mama is an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 1974 until December 1975. There are 39 episodes of this series.-Synopsis:...

. He also played several characters in the 1970s sitcom What's Happening!!

What's Happening!!

What's Happening!! is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from August 5, 1976 to April 28, 1979. The show premiered as a summer series. With good ratings and reviews, and after the failure of several other shows on the network, What's Happening!! returned in November 1976 as a weekly...

, including the role of Al Dunbar in a popular two-part episode

Story arc

A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...

. In the conclusion of the two-part episode, Wilson's character gets arrested for bootlegging a Doobie Brothers concert.

In 1977, Wilson starred in the short-lived sitcom The Sanford Arms

The Sanford Arms

The Sanford Arms is an American sitcom that aired from September to October 1977 on NBC. The series is an attempted continuation of the sitcom Sanford and Son.After six seasons, Redd Foxx left Sanford and Son to star in a variety show for ABC...

, a spin-off

Spin-off (media)

In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...

 of Sanford and Son

Sanford and Son

Sanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....

. After the series was canceled, Wilson made various guest appearances in episodes of The White Shadow

The White Shadow

The White Shadow is an American drama television series that ran on the CBS network from November 27, 1978, to March 16, 1981.-Overview:...

(he also wrote a 1980 episode), Enos

Enos (TV series)

Enos is an American television series from the 1980–1981 season that aired on the CBS network. A spinoff of The Dukes of Hazzard, Enos focused on the adventures of Enos Strate, a former small-town deputy in Hazzard County, now having moved to Los Angeles to join the L.A.P.D...

, Gimme a Break!

Gimme a Break!

Gimme a Break! is an American sitcom which aired on NBC from October 29, 1981, until May 12, 1987. The series stars Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and his three daughters.-Premise:...

, The Golden Girls

The Golden Girls

The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...

, and What's Happening Now. In 1986, he had a recurring role on another short-lived series, The Redd Foxx Show

The Redd Foxx Show

The Redd Foxx Show is a short-lived sitcom that premiered January 18, 1986 on ABC. The show ended after four months on air.-Overview:It followed the life of Al Hughes , a New York City newsstand owner who adopted a "street-wise" teenager named Toni...

.

Wilson continued to work steadily throughout the late 1980s and 1990s appearing in Alien Nation

Alien Nation (TV series)

Alien Nation is a science fiction television series, loosely based on the movie of the same name. Gary Graham starred as Detective Matthew Sikes, a Los Angeles police officer reluctantly working with "Newcomer" alien George Francisco , played by Eric Pierpoint...

, Dallas

Dallas (TV series)

Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...

, Family Matters, Tales from the Crypt

Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...

, Gabriel's Fire

Gabriel's Fire

Gabriel's Fire is an American television series that ran on ABC in the USA in 1990–1991. A revamped version of the series, entitled Pros and Cons, aired briefly the following season.-Overview:...

, and Quantum Leap. He was also featured in films The Hunter (1980), Blake Edwards

Blake Edwards

Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...

' A Fine Mess

A Fine Mess

A Fine Mess is a 1986 comedy film written and directed by Blake Edwards and starring Ted Danson and Howie Mandel.The film was intended as a remake of Laurel & Hardy's classic short "The Music Box" and was to be semi-improvised in the same style as the director's earlier comedy, The Party, but...

and That's Life!

That's Life! (film)

That's Life! is a 1986 film with Jack Lemmon and Julie Andrews, directed by Blake Edwards.The film was made independently by Edwards using largely his own finances and was distributed by Columbia Pictures...

(both 1986). Wilson made his last onscreen appearance in Blood in Blood Out

Blood in Blood out

Blood In Blood Out is a 1993 crime-drama film directed by Taylor Hackford. It follows the intertwining lives of the three Chicano relatives, Miklo , Cruz and Paco from 1972 to the mid 1980s...

, a 1993 crime drama

Police procedural

The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...

 released after his death.

Personal life and death

In 1980, Wilson married actress Joan Pringle

Joan Pringle

Joan Pringle is an American actress best known for playing vice principal "Sybil Buchanan" in the TV series The White Shadow. During the third and final season her character was promoted to principal...

. The couple had two children. On July 21, 1991, Wilson died of a stroke

Stroke

A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

 at the age of 47 in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1970	Cotton Comes to Harlem	Barry
1972	Come Back, Charleston Blue Come Back, Charleston Blue Come Back Charleston Blue is a 1972 film starring Godfrey Cambridge and Raymond St. Jacques, loosely based on Chester Himes' novel The Heat's On. It is a sequel to the 1970 film Cotton Comes to Harlem.-Plot:...	Cemetery Guard
1972 to 1973	The Waltons The Waltons The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...	Hawthorne Dooley	2 episode
1973	Cleopatra Jones Cleopatra Jones -Plot:Cleopatra Jones is a strikingly beautiful black model with an array of flamboyant outfits. Modeling, however, is only a cover for her real job as a secret government agent. Jones is a Bond-like heroine with power and influence; an object of awe for her flashy wardrobe, her ’73 silver and...	Pickle (Doodlebug's hood)
1973 to 1974	Roll Out Roll Out Roll Out is an American sitcom that aired Friday evenings on CBS during the 1973-1974 television season. Starring nightclub comedian Stu Gilliam and Hilly Hicks, and featuring Ed Begley, Jr...	High Strung	8 episodes
1974	M*A*S*H	Warrant Officer Martin "Marty" Williams	Episode: "The General Flipped at Dawn"
1975	Medical Story	Hadley	Television movie
1976	The River Niger The River Niger The River Niger is a play by American playwright, Joseph A. Walker, first performed by New York City's Negro Ensemble Company off-Broadway in 1972. The production made its Broadway debut with a transfer to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on 27 March 1973 for a run of 162 performances.-Characters :*...	Chips
1976	All in the Family All in the Family All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...	Whitey Monroe	2 episode
1976 to 1979	Good Times Good Times Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer...	Sweet Daddy Williams	7 episodes
1977	The Greatest	Gardener	Credited as Theodore R. Wilson
1979	The White Shadow The White Shadow The White Shadow is an American drama television series that ran on the CBS network from November 27, 1978, to March 16, 1981.-Overview:...	Doug Buchanan	Episode: "A Christmas Present"
1980	Loose Shoes Loose Shoes Loose Shoes is a 1980 comedy film directed by Ira Miller and featuring Bill Murray. The film is presented as a series of movie trailers with titles such as The Howard Huge Story, Skate-boarders from Hell and The Invasion of the Penis Snatchers...	Elijah Abdoul Jamaal Muhammed	Alternative titles: Coming Attractions Quackers
1981	The Oklahoma City Dolls	Tom Petree	Television movie
1982	The Ambush Murders	Jay King	Television movie
1983	Amanda's Amanda's Amanda's is an American sitcom inspired by the 1970s British sitcom Fawlty Towers. Amanda's aired on ABC from February 10, 1983 to May 26, 1983.-Synopsis:...		Episode: "Last of the Red Hot Brothers"
1984	Weekend Pass Weekend Pass Weekend Pass is a 1984 comedy film written and directed by Lawrence Bassoff, based on a story by Mark Tenser.-Plot:Four Navy recruits fresh from boot camp graduation in San Diego spend a weekend pass together out on the town in Los Angeles before shipping out for further training.-Principal...	Nat
1985	The New Twilight Zone The New Twilight Zone The Twilight Zone is the first of two revivals of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1950/60s television series of the same name. It ran for two seasons on CBS before producing a final season for syndication.-Series history:...	Henderson	Segment: "Night of the Meek"
1986	Stewardess School Stewardess School Stewardess School is a 1986 American comedy film starring Brett Cullen and Don Most. It is also known for being one of voice veteran Rob Paulsen's very few onscreen roles, and up until the early 2000's, one of the most played films on the American cable channel Comedy Central.-Plot:When frat boys...	Probation Officer
1986	227 227 (TV series) 227 is an American situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, until May 6, 1990. The series starred Marla Gibbs as a sharp-tongued, inner-city resident gossip and housewife, Mary Jenkins...	Cousin Ray	Episode: "We the People"
1987	Cagney & Lacey Cagney & Lacey Cagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988...	Judge Charnas	Episode: "Easy Does It"
1987	Maid to Order Maid to Order Maid to Order is a 1987 comedy/fantasy film starring Ally Sheedy.-Plot:Rich and spoiled twenty something Jessie Montgomery winds up in jail after a life of wild partying...	Woodrow
1988	The Golden Girls The Golden Girls The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...	Ben	Episode: "Brother, Can You Spare That Jacket?"
1989	Mama's Family Mama's Family Mama's Family is an American television sitcom that premiered on NBC on January 22, 1983. It was cancelled in May 1984, but NBC would continue to air reruns until September 1985. In September 1986, Mama's Family returned in first-run syndication, where it aired for an additional four seasons,...	Gus	Episode: "More Power to You"
1990	Beauty and the Beast Beauty and the Beast (TV series) Beauty and the Beast is an American drama series which first aired on CBS in 1987. Creator Ron Koslow's updated version of the fairy tale has a double focus: the relationship between Vincent , a mythic, noble man-beast, and his Catherine , a savvy assistant District attorney in New York; and a...	Raymond Ensign	Episode: "Legacies"
1991	Life Stinks Life Stinks Life Stinks is a 1991 comedy-drama directed by and starring Mel Brooks. It is known as one of the few Mel Brooks comedies that is not a parody, nor at any time does the film break the fourth wall. It co-stars Lesley Ann Warren, Howard Morris and Jeffrey Tambor...	Fumes	Alternative title: Life Sucks
1992	The Vagrant	X-Rays
1993	Blood in Blood Out Blood in Blood out Blood In Blood Out is a 1993 crime-drama film directed by Taylor Hackford. It follows the intertwining lives of the three Chicano relatives, Miklo , Cruz and Paco from 1972 to the mid 1980s...	Wallace	Alternative title: Bound by Honor

External links