Boyett served in the Navy during World War II and afterward performed on the stage in both New York City and Los Angeles.

In 1954, Boyett played respected settler Jim Hardwicke in the Death Valley Days episode "11,000 Miners Can't Be Wrong".

Williams, between 1955 and 1959; Boyett also portrayed a policeman in such diverse series as Gang Busters; The Man Behind the Badge; I Led 3 Lives; M Squad; The Detectives; Sea Hunt; Bat Masterson; Batman; Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

[4] Jack Webb, the executive producer of Adam-12, selected Boyett for the role of LAPD Sergeant “Mac" MacDonald after several performances (such as playing Sgt.

Boyett appeared in a number of television programs, such as Official Detective,[6] Navy Log,[7] Laramie, Tales of the Texas Rangers, I Spy, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

(uncredited; "The Secret Sceptre Affair" from 1965), The Andy Griffith Show, Family Affair, Gunsmoke, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, The Rockford Files, The A-Team, Gunsmoke (S7E24’s “Coventry”), Knight Rider, Space Patrol, Rescue 8, Whirlybirds, Ripcord, Murphy Brown and Night Court.

[3] Boyett earned much praise for his highly unusual role in The Hidden as a hospital patient named Jonathan P. Miller, possessed by an alien being with a taste for red Ferraris and rock and roll music.

Boyett's other small roles as a police officer include the crime dramas Vice Squad (1953) with Edward G. Robinson and Shield For Murder (1954) with Edmond O'Brien.