Treat Williams, Best Known for ‘Everwood’ and ‘Prince of the City’ has Died at Age 71
The actor, who is also remembered for roles in ‘Hair’, ‘1941’ and ‘Deep Rising’ was killed while riding his motorcycle in Vermont.
Treat Williams in 'The Substitute 2: School's Out.'
Treat Williams, and actor known for a variety of roles in movies, TV series and on stage, has tragically died in a motorcycle accident in Vermont.
Williams is being remembered as a kind, generous human and a colleague that many were happy to work with.
His death following the accident was confirmed by his longtime agent, Barry McPherson, who issued the following statement:
“He was killed this afternoon. He was making a left or a right [and] a car cut him off. I’m just devastated. He was the nicest guy. He was so talented. He was an actor’s actor. Filmmakers loved him. He's been the heart of the Hollywood since the late 1970s. He was really proud of his performance this year. He's been so happy with the work that I got him. He's had a balanced career.”
Richard Treat Williams was born on December 1st, 1951, in Stamford, Connecticut, and raised in nearby Rowayton. “I had an idyllic childhood, but I didn’t initially realize how idyllic it truly was until I grew older,” he told Vermont Magazine in an interview last year. “Our backyard was the Long Island Sound. My mother had a little sailing and swimming school. I taught at her school, and I used to race blue jay and lightning boats on the sound.”
Leaving home aged 14 to attend the Kent School in Connecticut, the athletic Williams was offered a spot on the football team but turned it down in favor of the theater company at Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Treat Williams in 1998's 'Deep Rising.'
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A long career
So began a career that would straddle screens big and small, and the stage, sometimes crossing between them.
Williams made his movie debut as a cop in Ivan Nagy’s 1975 crime thriller ‘Deadly Hero’ and stuck with the lawman theme to play an earnest detective for Richard Lester in both the stage play and film based on Terrence McNally‘s ‘The Ritz’.
In terms of movies, Williams might best be remembered for a few eclectic roles, including in 1979’s ‘Hair’ and once again on the fictional lawman beat in 1981’s ‘Prince of the City’.
Other movie work included as villain Xander Drax in ‘The Phantom’ and turns in ‘The Eagle Has Landed’, ‘1941’, ‘Once Upon a Time in America’, ‘Dead Heat’, ‘Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead’ and ‘Deep Rising’.
‘Everwood’ and other TV
In 2002, he began portraying the leading role of Dr. Andrew “Andy” Brown on The WB's Greg Berlanti-created drama ‘Everwood’. He starred on the series for all four seasons, and even earned himself a SAG Award nomination for outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series.
He’s since appeared on shows such as ‘Blue Bloods’, ‘Chicago Fire’ and ‘Chesapeake Shores’ and in a number of Hallmark TV movies.
He’s survived by his wife, his wife, Pam Van Sant, and children Gill and Elinor.
Treat Williams in 'The Great Alaskan Race.'
Treat Williams Movies:
- 'The Eagle Has Landed' (1977)
- ‘Hair' (1979)
- '1941' (1979)
- 'Prince of the City' (1981)
- ‘Once Upon a Time in America' (1984)
- 'Dead Heat' (1988)
- 'Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead' (1995)
- 'Mulholland Falls' (1996)
- 'The Phantom' (1996)
- 'The Late Shift' (1996)
- ‘The Devil's Own' (1997)
- 'Deep Rising' (1998)
- 'The Substitute 2: School's Out' (1998)
- 'The Deep End of the Ocean' (1999)
- 'The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All' (1999)
- 'The Substitute: Failure Is Not an Option' (2001)
- 'Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous' (2005)
- 'What Happens in Vegas' (2008)
- 'Howl' (2010)
- '127 Hours' (2010)
- 'Second Act' (2018)
