Cure Williams, star of ‘Everwood’ and ‘Deep Rising’, dies at 71

CNN
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Williams, a veteran actor who starred in the TV dramas “Blue Bloods” and “Everwood,” passed away Monday night as a result of a motorcycle accident in Vermont, his longtime agent, Barry McPherson, told CNN.

He was 71 years old.

according to Vermont State PoliceThe accident occurred around 5:00 p.m. EST Monday on Vermont Route 30 when a motorist attempted to turn left into a parking lot and collided with Williams, who was operating a 1986 Honda VT700c motorcycle. Williams was thrown from his motorcycle and injured. seriously injured. Officials said he was flown to Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York, where he was pronounced dead.

Born in Rowayton, Connecticut, Richard Treat Williams studied theater in college and moved to New York shortly after his graduation. There, he picked up the role of John Travolta’s understudy in ‘Grease’ and later replaced him as Danny Zuko.

Williams’ varied screen career included an early role in director Milos Forman’s adaptation of the musical “Hair” in 1979, followed by a starring role with another A-list director, Sidney Lumet, in the gritty secret drama “Prince of the City.” after two years.

While Williams appeared destined for major stardom, his next several films did not equal that early promise, though he continued to work steadily, including a TV movie remake of “A Streetcar Named Desire” and additional TV movies in which he played boxer Jack Dempsey. and FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover.

In the 1990s, the actor split a different kind of role, playing a villain in the comedy adaptation “The Phantom” and super-agent Michael Ovitz in the HBO movie based on the book “The Late Shift,” on “The Tonight Show” succession battle between Jay Leno and David Letterman. He received a Primetime Emmy nomination for the role.

Later that decade, Williams enjoyed leading action star status in the 1998 B-movie “Deep Rising,” about a deadly sea monster, starring opposite Famky Jansen, Whis Studi and Djimon Hounsou.

Williams then found newfound success in television, starring in the CW series “Everwood” for four seasons in the strings and a more recent stint in “Chicago Fire.” He was also part of the core cast of the movie “Chesapeake Shores,” appearing in 53 episodes between 2016 and 2022. Also last year, he co-starred in the HBO short “We Own This City,” and producer David Simon’s chronicle of corruption and domestic politics in Baltimore Police Department.

The late actor is survived by his wife, Pam Van Sant, and their two children.

“I am devastated,” McPherson told People of Williams on Monday. “He was the nicest guy. He was so talented.”

“He was an actor. Filmmakers loved him. He’s been the heart of Hollywood since the late ’70s.”

In 2020, Williams filmed the movie “Acting lessons As for Netflix, he said, “The only thing I would say to the younger cast is, mind what you do, not how you do it.

“If you’re very focused on what you want to say, or what you’re trying to tell the other person, or what you’re sharing with the audience, you’ll feel more comfortable and, I think, honest.”