Treat Williams death: How did Everwood and Deep Rising star die?

Richard Treat Williams was an American actor, writer, and aviator who appeared on film, stage, and television.

He first became well known for his starring roles in two 1979 films, the musical Hair and Steven Spielberg’s 1941.

Who was Treat Williams?

Richard Treat Williams was born on December 1, 1951, in Stamford, Connecticut, to Marian (née Andrew), an antiques dealer, and Richard Norman Williams, a corporate executive.

He moved with his family to Rowayton, Connecticut, when he was three. His maternal great-great-great-grandfather was the U.S. Senator from Connecticut William Henry Barnum, a third cousin of the showman P. T. Barnum.

Williams was a distant relative of Robert Treat Paine, who was a signatory to the Declaration of Independence.

Williams played football in high school. He graduated from the Kent School in Connecticut and Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Treat Williams death — Treat Williams in ‘Everwood’ Everett Collection

Treat Williams career

Treat Williams made his film debut in the 1975 thriller film Deadly Hero. The following year he played a supporting role in The Ritz, a squeaky-voiced private detective looking for his suspect in a gay bathhouse.

He came to world attention in 1979, when he starred as George Berger in the Miloš Forman film Hair, which was based on the 1967 Broadway musical.

Over the course of a multi-decade career Treat Williams appeared in dozens of films and televisions shows. He starred as Jack Harold on “Good Advice” (1993–1994), Dr. Andrew ‘Andy’ Brown on “Everwood” (2002–2006), Dr. Nathaniel “Nate” Grant on “Heartland” (2007), Don Kowalski on “Against the Wall” (2011), Benny Severide on “Chicago Fire” (2013–2018), and Mick O’Brien on “Chesapeake Shores” (2016–present).

Treat had more than 130 acting credits to his name, including the films “Hair” (1979), “1949” (1979), “Prince of the City” (1981), “Smooth Talk” (1985), “Mulholland Falls” (1996), “Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous” (2005), and “127 Hours” (2010), the TV movies “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1984) and “The Late Shift” (1996), and the television series “Eddie Dodd” (1991), “Brothers & Sisters” (2006), “White Collar” (2012–2013), “American Odyssey” (2015), and “Blue Bloods” (2016–2021).

Williams has also performed on Broadway, playing Danny Zuko in “Grease” (1972–1980), Utah in “Over Here!” (1974–1975), Jerry Hyland in “Once in a Lifetime” (1978), The Pirate King in “The Pirates of Penzance” (1981–1982), Andrew Makepiece Ladd III in “Love Letters” (1989–1990), and Buddy Plummer in “Follies” (2001). Treat directed the 1994 short film “Texan” and executive produced the 1993 TV movie “Bonds of Love,” and he published the children’s book “Air Show!” in 2010.