Treat Williams

Info

Full Name: Treat Williams
Date of birth: December 1, 1951
Location: Rowayton, Connecticut
Country: USA
Died at: 71 years old (June 12, 2023)

Treat Williams died 3 years ago, on June 12, 2023. Their last recorded film was in 2024, and their first in 1976. They were active for 48 years, appearing in 23 films that averaged a rating of 6.9/10.

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Tráiler en VOSE de 'Harry Potter' T1

Biography

His name was part of American history before he was even born: Richard Treat Williams Jr. was descended from Robert Treat Paine, one of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence. Born in Connecticut on 1 December 1951 and raised in the coastal village of Rowayton, the sporty kid played college American football before discovering the stage was his true home. He ended up conquering Broadway as Danny Zuko in the original run of 'Grease' and made his film debut in 'Deadly Hero' (1975), the war adventure 'The Eagle Has Landed' (1976) and a small part in 'Marathon Man' (1976).

The long haired star of 'Hair'

Stardom arrived dancing on tables. Milos Forman chose him to play George Berger, the charismatic leader of the hippie tribe in 'Hair' (1979), the countercultural musical that earned him his first Golden Globe nomination, as new star of the year. The adaptation of the legendary Broadway show had him singing and dancing as few leading men of his generation would have dared. Around that time he joined the ensemble of '1941' (1979), the war comedy by Steven Spielberg, and even popped up fleetingly, uncredited, in 'Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back' (1980).

Two years later came what many consider the finest work of his career: the corrupt, tormented cop Danny Ciello in 'Prince of the City' (1981), directed by Sidney Lumet and inspired by a real New York police corruption case. That torrential role, on screen for almost every frame of nearly three hours, brought his second Golden Globe nomination. Sergio Leone then recruited him as union boss Jimmy O'Donnell in the monumental 'Once Upon a Time in America' (1984), alongside Robert De Niro.

Though Hollywood never quite made him the megastar he promised to be, he earned respect as an actor's actor. He left an unnerving mark in the independent drama 'Smooth Talk' (1985), was the unhinged Critical Bill in the cult favourite 'Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead' (1995), the villain of 'The Phantom' (1996), a detective in 'Mulholland Falls' (1996) and an FBI man opposite Harrison Ford in 'The Devil's Own' (1997), as well as leading the seafaring B movie 'Deep Rising' (1998), now a small cult classic.

He also moved audiences as a desperate father in 'The Deep End of the Ocean' (1999), and his take on the all powerful agent Michael Ovitz in the TV film 'The Late Shift' (1996) earned him an Emmy nomination.

Dr. Brown of 'Everwood'

His best loved role arrived in 2002: the widowed brain surgeon Andy Brown, who moves his children to a small Colorado town in 'Everwood'. Across four seasons the series made him a generation's favourite television father, brought him two Screen Actors Guild nominations and served as a springboard for a very young Chris Pratt. The network cancelled it in 2006 amid protests from its faithful.

Meanwhile he kept covering every register: Woody Allen's comedy 'Hollywood Ending' (2002), the crowd pleaser 'Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous' (2005) with Sandra Bullock, and 'What Happens In Vegas' (2008). For Danny Boyle he played James Franco's father in '127 Hours' (2010), later joined Jennifer Lopez in 'Second Act' (2018) and starred in 'Rory's Way' (2018).

From Chesapeake to a posthumous Emmy

Television was his home in the final stretch. He was the mysterious James Bennett, father of the lead, in 'White Collar', a character whose true identity fuelled one of the show's biggest twists, the patriarch Mick O'Brien of the Hallmark romantic drama 'Chesapeake Shores' across six seasons (2016-2022) and the endearing Lenny Ross of the long running police saga 'Blue Bloods'.

His final job was a high note: he played the television magnate Bill Paley opposite Naomi Watts's Babe Paley in the 'Capote vs. The Swans' season of 'Feud', the anthology by Ryan Murphy, released in 2024 when he was already gone. The performance earned him a posthumous Emmy nomination for supporting actor in a limited series, a bittersweet coda to half a century of craft.

Pilot, husband and Vermont neighbour

Away from the spotlight, Williams was a man of simple passions and one extraordinary one: flying. He was a certified commercial pilot, rated to fly jets, prouder of his flight hours than of his films, and he even published a children's book about that world, 'Air Show!'. He had been married since 1988 to the actress Pam Van Sant, with whom he had two children, Gill and Ellie, and for decades he had lived on a farm in the green hills of Vermont, sharing its bucolic life on social media with an enthusiasm that made him a much loved presence.

That is where tragedy found him: on 12 June 2023, a car turned into the path of his motorcycle in the town of Dorset and the actor died at 71. The driver pleaded guilty in 2024 to negligent driving resulting in death. The news prompted an outpouring of tributes from colleagues across every stage of his career, and Hollywood said goodbye to one of its most beloved character actors, the eternal Dr. Brown, a performer who never needed to be a star to leave his mark. His thing, he used to say, was simply to work: on stage, in front of a camera or at the controls of a plane.