Posting this here because I haven’t seen his death mentioned, and I often see this as a place for that.
Treat Williams was the father figure I always wanted, I feel like I just lost my Dad, and he was the greatest guy ever; humble, kind, thoughtful, funny, intelligent, warm, generous, adventurous, supportive, loving, and a truly gifted performer who would reportedly burst into song spontaneously (I do this too!). I think about and feel tremendous pain for his widow, his two kids, his friend who owns the shop in front of which his motorcycle was struck (based on his statements I’m afraid he may feel that he didn’t act fast enough, if he does, I hope he can forgive himself, I’m sure he did the best anyone could in that situation) and the man operating the vehicle that hit him… I can only imagine the emotional pain and the wounding of one’s psyche, the result of being the cause of a fatal accident, let alone a beloved stage and screen icon. I figure he may very well have researched Mr. Williams, after the fact, and found an amazing, talented, decent human being who was full of life and love and will be missed by thousands possibly millions of people worldwide. I hope that words of forgiveness have been shared between him and the family. I hope he can forgive himself.
Mr. Williams did many projects over the years, these two fun moments stand out to me:
Talk about range, both of these films came out the same year! What I love about these roles is the duality of personalities; George Berger is kind of a jerk but his heart is in the right place, Cpl. Sitarski’s heart is in the wrong place but he can also exude million-dollar charm (in other scenes, check out the movie). I defy you to find a better dance/fight sequence. I’ve always thought he was great in everything he did, solid performer, never been a TV watcher, so I have yet to see much of what he’s done; so far as I’ve gotten, his role as Dr. Brown on Everwood is worth checking out if you have access. I’m open to recommendations, but not soliciting them.
I’m in the process of rewatching and first time watching all his work I can find. I also plan to continue to learn more about him in order to be more like him. He was working on writing his life story, I hope his family has access and can complete it for him, also by interviewing the people who were close to him throughout his life, especially Marilu Henner, who is blessed or perhaps cursed with a photographic memory, about his early years on broadway. I know I have a lifetimes worth of questions myself.
One memory I’ve found, shared by Mellissa Gilbert, was that he arranged a plane to take her home for a friend’s kid’s memorial service, where all she had to do was pay the pilot’s salary. She had never met the man. She was at an event later on where she finally met him and was able to thank him, she said he modestly accepted her gratitude.
Another memory shared by one of his costars, an actor named Brad Harder, who played his son said that it was more important than anything that the father he was playing displayed nothing but unconditional love and acceptance for his gay son.
I’ve found myself crying, uncontrollably, multiple times daily for over two weeks now, I struggle to concentrate, I’ve woken, heart pounding, visualizing the accident, I feel that nagging pain in my gut, reminding me that something is very wrong, I’ve never been devastated by the death of a celebrity before, sad, but not like this. I’m still not ready to accept it. I’ll fully admit to being over emotional perhaps for a man of my generation (I choke up and tears have been known to fall from my eyes for a good movie quite often, sad and happy moments) the only other time I was hit this hard by a passing was over ten years ago when a very special feline friend, sweetness personified, who would call for her favorite toy (a ball) by name, often when it was in her mouth, she tried her best to verbalize and she was darned close, got sick and died when she was just six years old.
This past Sunday, June 25th, 13 days after his passing, I saw on his Instagram that he had created and arranged for the timed release of a slideshow of seven pictures of him and his wife together over the years in celebration of what would have been 35 years together. The last one had virtual confetti falling, if that doesn’t break your heart you might not have one. I hope she’s doing well; surrounded by loved ones. I’m not a social media person so I’m not sure how it all works, but I’d been looking and learning from his IG and Twitter for days when I noticed a rainbow-like halo around his profile pic, so, curious fellow I am, I clicked it and that’s how I found it, t’was gone the next day. I don’t know that I hoped his wife and kids saw it, may have been too painful, might have been a great gift from beyond, I’ll never know.
My first Treat Williams movie was The Pursuit Of D.B. Cooper, I was 10 and to the best of my recollection, what I recognized was a level of compassion in his eyes and demeanor that inspired me to fantasize that he was my father.
I was born a bastard and my 18 year old mother and her family treated me as such, like I was just a worthless burden, life was a struggle as mom didn’t receive a dime from a deadbeat druggie and insisted on doing it alone, at least without a man. Not having a father figure or even other males in my not so nuclear family to interact with regularly, I always found it difficult to impossible to relate to my male peers. Still do.
In a parallel dimension the musicals I was writing and performing at my house when I was seven and living about an hour or so from L.A. would have inspired someone to get me representation and perhaps some gigs performing. I might have had the opportunity to work with him and ultimately be inspired by him personally, and in a perfect world, be lifelong friends.
I always wanted to learn to fly, and he was a good stick, I would’ve paid good money to learn from him.
In my later childhood years I showed an aptitude for singing and acting in several different groups of performers in various locations, still as a child, never anything pro, just public school, church and stuff. When I was 13 or 14 the creating and performing of music became my thing, thinking I could still act in music videos, then directing, one day feature films, lofty, I know.
As an adult, I spent decades as a professional musician and singer, not to any great success due to career crippling insecurities (taking work that was beneath my abilities and allowing, or perhaps even subconsciously looking for people to verbally abuse me in both professional and personal situations) I only recently realized stems from all the dogging I got as a child for being different from family and peers, and I just have yet to find my people. I’ve often wished I was gay, my femininity would make more sense at least. Not to say all gay men are feminine, I know better than that. I hope I don’t offend anyone, I mean it respectfully.
By no means do I want to make this about me, and I don’t mean to go on and on, in my head or here online, I’m certainly not looking for sympathy for me, I’m sure this pain in me will subside over time, while never completely gone. Not being part of his circle of friends and family I’m going through this alone, but I’m sure there are souls out there with similar feelings, comparable experiences, or perhaps even a celebrity Dad fantasy because you had none, and you can relate to some/any of this, and I believe just the act of writing is cathartic for me and will help bring me peace even if I don’t post it.
I’d like to apologize to anyone reading all of this and finding it less than coherent, I’m quite scatterbrained at the moment over this. Thank you, for your patience and your time. FWIW, I’ve never posted anywhere near this much about anything, ever. Not really a poster, so...
To be clear I’m not looking for anything from anybody, I just want to get this off my chest. Also, I wish I was writing less about me and more about Treat Williams.
I feel I should explain my lack of the usual three lettered acronymic sentiment, I’m not against its usage and I’m sorry if I offend, but if there is anything beyond this mortal coil, if my spirit is free to go wherever and/or do whatever and I have no body to exhaust, and/or there is a Heaven/Rainbow Bridge where I can visit those who shared a true bond with me, who have passed; resting would NOT be on my daily planner, I’d rather soar. These days my beat-up old body has me resting far more than I would like. I don’t believe he wanted or needed resting yet; just my perspective.
Or is it just to ward off zombies? In that case I get it.
My intentions with this are to let people know who are fans and might have missed the news, to share my love and admiration for a man I never met, to introduce people who never heard of him to one of the great performers of his generation, personally I always thought he should have had a Harrison Ford like career, but based on what I’ve learned from his interviews, social media and from people who actually knew him, career ambition was completely superseded by his desire to have beautiful home life and an amazing family, and by all accounts he achieved that and more.
Bravo Treat Williams, Bravo.
Treat Williams was the father figure I always wanted, I feel like I just lost my Dad, and he was the greatest guy ever; humble, kind, thoughtful, funny, intelligent, warm, generous, adventurous, supportive, loving, and a truly gifted performer who would reportedly burst into song spontaneously (I do this too!). I think about and feel tremendous pain for his widow, his two kids, his friend who owns the shop in front of which his motorcycle was struck (based on his statements I’m afraid he may feel that he didn’t act fast enough, if he does, I hope he can forgive himself, I’m sure he did the best anyone could in that situation) and the man operating the vehicle that hit him… I can only imagine the emotional pain and the wounding of one’s psyche, the result of being the cause of a fatal accident, let alone a beloved stage and screen icon. I figure he may very well have researched Mr. Williams, after the fact, and found an amazing, talented, decent human being who was full of life and love and will be missed by thousands possibly millions of people worldwide. I hope that words of forgiveness have been shared between him and the family. I hope he can forgive himself.
Mr. Williams did many projects over the years, these two fun moments stand out to me:
Talk about range, both of these films came out the same year! What I love about these roles is the duality of personalities; George Berger is kind of a jerk but his heart is in the right place, Cpl. Sitarski’s heart is in the wrong place but he can also exude million-dollar charm (in other scenes, check out the movie). I defy you to find a better dance/fight sequence. I’ve always thought he was great in everything he did, solid performer, never been a TV watcher, so I have yet to see much of what he’s done; so far as I’ve gotten, his role as Dr. Brown on Everwood is worth checking out if you have access. I’m open to recommendations, but not soliciting them.
I’m in the process of rewatching and first time watching all his work I can find. I also plan to continue to learn more about him in order to be more like him. He was working on writing his life story, I hope his family has access and can complete it for him, also by interviewing the people who were close to him throughout his life, especially Marilu Henner, who is blessed or perhaps cursed with a photographic memory, about his early years on broadway. I know I have a lifetimes worth of questions myself.
One memory I’ve found, shared by Mellissa Gilbert, was that he arranged a plane to take her home for a friend’s kid’s memorial service, where all she had to do was pay the pilot’s salary. She had never met the man. She was at an event later on where she finally met him and was able to thank him, she said he modestly accepted her gratitude.
Another memory shared by one of his costars, an actor named Brad Harder, who played his son said that it was more important than anything that the father he was playing displayed nothing but unconditional love and acceptance for his gay son.
I’ve found myself crying, uncontrollably, multiple times daily for over two weeks now, I struggle to concentrate, I’ve woken, heart pounding, visualizing the accident, I feel that nagging pain in my gut, reminding me that something is very wrong, I’ve never been devastated by the death of a celebrity before, sad, but not like this. I’m still not ready to accept it. I’ll fully admit to being over emotional perhaps for a man of my generation (I choke up and tears have been known to fall from my eyes for a good movie quite often, sad and happy moments) the only other time I was hit this hard by a passing was over ten years ago when a very special feline friend, sweetness personified, who would call for her favorite toy (a ball) by name, often when it was in her mouth, she tried her best to verbalize and she was darned close, got sick and died when she was just six years old.
This past Sunday, June 25th, 13 days after his passing, I saw on his Instagram that he had created and arranged for the timed release of a slideshow of seven pictures of him and his wife together over the years in celebration of what would have been 35 years together. The last one had virtual confetti falling, if that doesn’t break your heart you might not have one. I hope she’s doing well; surrounded by loved ones. I’m not a social media person so I’m not sure how it all works, but I’d been looking and learning from his IG and Twitter for days when I noticed a rainbow-like halo around his profile pic, so, curious fellow I am, I clicked it and that’s how I found it, t’was gone the next day. I don’t know that I hoped his wife and kids saw it, may have been too painful, might have been a great gift from beyond, I’ll never know.
My first Treat Williams movie was The Pursuit Of D.B. Cooper, I was 10 and to the best of my recollection, what I recognized was a level of compassion in his eyes and demeanor that inspired me to fantasize that he was my father.
I was born a bastard and my 18 year old mother and her family treated me as such, like I was just a worthless burden, life was a struggle as mom didn’t receive a dime from a deadbeat druggie and insisted on doing it alone, at least without a man. Not having a father figure or even other males in my not so nuclear family to interact with regularly, I always found it difficult to impossible to relate to my male peers. Still do.
In a parallel dimension the musicals I was writing and performing at my house when I was seven and living about an hour or so from L.A. would have inspired someone to get me representation and perhaps some gigs performing. I might have had the opportunity to work with him and ultimately be inspired by him personally, and in a perfect world, be lifelong friends.
I always wanted to learn to fly, and he was a good stick, I would’ve paid good money to learn from him.
In my later childhood years I showed an aptitude for singing and acting in several different groups of performers in various locations, still as a child, never anything pro, just public school, church and stuff. When I was 13 or 14 the creating and performing of music became my thing, thinking I could still act in music videos, then directing, one day feature films, lofty, I know.
As an adult, I spent decades as a professional musician and singer, not to any great success due to career crippling insecurities (taking work that was beneath my abilities and allowing, or perhaps even subconsciously looking for people to verbally abuse me in both professional and personal situations) I only recently realized stems from all the dogging I got as a child for being different from family and peers, and I just have yet to find my people. I’ve often wished I was gay, my femininity would make more sense at least. Not to say all gay men are feminine, I know better than that. I hope I don’t offend anyone, I mean it respectfully.
By no means do I want to make this about me, and I don’t mean to go on and on, in my head or here online, I’m certainly not looking for sympathy for me, I’m sure this pain in me will subside over time, while never completely gone. Not being part of his circle of friends and family I’m going through this alone, but I’m sure there are souls out there with similar feelings, comparable experiences, or perhaps even a celebrity Dad fantasy because you had none, and you can relate to some/any of this, and I believe just the act of writing is cathartic for me and will help bring me peace even if I don’t post it.
I’d like to apologize to anyone reading all of this and finding it less than coherent, I’m quite scatterbrained at the moment over this. Thank you, for your patience and your time. FWIW, I’ve never posted anywhere near this much about anything, ever. Not really a poster, so...
To be clear I’m not looking for anything from anybody, I just want to get this off my chest. Also, I wish I was writing less about me and more about Treat Williams.
I feel I should explain my lack of the usual three lettered acronymic sentiment, I’m not against its usage and I’m sorry if I offend, but if there is anything beyond this mortal coil, if my spirit is free to go wherever and/or do whatever and I have no body to exhaust, and/or there is a Heaven/Rainbow Bridge where I can visit those who shared a true bond with me, who have passed; resting would NOT be on my daily planner, I’d rather soar. These days my beat-up old body has me resting far more than I would like. I don’t believe he wanted or needed resting yet; just my perspective.
Or is it just to ward off zombies? In that case I get it.
My intentions with this are to let people know who are fans and might have missed the news, to share my love and admiration for a man I never met, to introduce people who never heard of him to one of the great performers of his generation, personally I always thought he should have had a Harrison Ford like career, but based on what I’ve learned from his interviews, social media and from people who actually knew him, career ambition was completely superseded by his desire to have beautiful home life and an amazing family, and by all accounts he achieved that and more.
Bravo Treat Williams, Bravo.
