Actor Treat Williams, whose nearly 50-year career included starring roles in the TV series Everwood and the movies Hair and Prince of the City, died Monday after a motorcycle crash in Vermont, state police said. He was 71.
Shortly before 5 p.m., a Honda SUV was turning left into a parking lot when it collided with Williams’ motorcycle in the town of Dorset, according to a statement from Vermont State Police.
“Williams was unable to avoid a collision and was thrown from his motorcycle. He suffered critical injuries and was airlifted to Albany Medical Center in Albany, N.Y., where he was pronounced dead,” according to the statement.
Williams was wearing a helmet, police said.
The SUV’s driver received minor injuries and wasn’t hospitalized. He had signalled the turn and wasn’t immediately detained, although the crash investigation continued, police said.
‘He was the nicest guy’
Williams, whose full name was Richard Treat Williams, lived in Manchester Center in southern Vermont, police said.
His agent, Barry McPherson, also confirmed the actor’s death.
“I’m just devastated. He was the nicest guy. He was so talented,” McPherson told People magazine.
“He was an actor’s actor,” McPherson said. “Filmmakers loved him. He’s been the heart of Hollywood since the late 1970s.”
The Connecticut-born Williams made his movie debut in 1975 as a police officer in the movie Deadly Hero and went on to appear in more than 120 TV and film roles in comedy and drama, including the movies The Eagle Has Landed, Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead, 1941 and Deep Rising.
He was nominated for a Golden Globe award for his role as hippie leader George Berger in the 1979 film adaptation of the hit musical Hair, as well as for his work in Prince of the City.
He appeared in dozens of television shows, and starred from 2002 to 2006 in Everwood as Dr. Andrew Brown, a widowed brain surgeon from Manhattan who moves with his two children to the Colorado mountain town of that name.
“The many times we worked together — always wonderful and I was always excited for the next time. Sending all my love to your family Treat. Fly high my friend,” Canadian actress Emily VanCamp, who starred on Everwood, said on Instagram.
More recently, Williams had a recurring role as Lenny Ross on the TV show Blue Bloods.
Williams’s stage appearances included Broadway shows, such as Grease and Pirates of Penzance.
Tributes from former co-stars
Colleagues and friends praised Williams as kind, generous and creative.
Actress Kathy Baker said a “nicer, more professional and dearer man you’ll never meet,” while recalling their time on a Toronto-based production.
I’m so shocked and sad to hear about the passing of Treat Williams. He was my TV husband for five months in Toronto on “Against the Wall”, and a nicer, more professional, and dearer man you’ll never meet. With my condolences and love to his family. ???? Treat????
—@thekathybaker
“Treat and I spent months in Rome filming Once Upon a Time in America,” actor James Woods tweeted. “It can be pretty lonely on the road during a long shoot, but his resilient good cheer and sense of humour was a Godsend. I really loved him and am devastated that he’s gone.”
“Treat Williams was a passionate, adventurous, creative man,” actor Wendell Pierce tweeted. “In a short period of time, he quickly befriended me & his adventurous spirit was infectious. We worked on just 1 film together but occasionally connected over the years. Kind and generous with advice and support. RIP.”
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