Veteran Hollywood actor William Boyett passed away on December 29 of complications from pneumonia and kidney failure. He was 77. Star Trek: The Next Generation viewers will remember Boyett as Lt. Dan Bell in "The Big Goodbye" and a Policeman in "Time's Arrow, Part II." (Boyett was often cast as a police officer.)

Boyett's long career spanned 50 years of television, radio, theater and film work, including regular appearances in classic TV shows such as Adam-12. Other notable TV work includes Highway Patrol, Dragnet, Family Affair, My Three Sons, Get Smart, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, Sea Hunt, Batman, Mission: Impossible, The Outer Limits, Emergency!, Knots Landing, T.J. Hooker and General Hospital.

Boyett was born in Akron, Ohio, and raised in Waco, Texas. He graduated from USC and later served in the U.S. Navy. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Donations in the name of Boyett can be made to the Motion Picture & Television Fund and the Music Center Education Division.