Actor Treat Williams Killed in Motorcycle Accident at Age 71

Actor Treat Williams, known for his roles in the movies Hair and Prince of the City and TV shows including Blue Bloods and Chicago Fire, was killed Monday in a motorcycle accident in Vermont, his agent told People. He was 71 years old.

“He was killed this afternoon. He was making a left or a right [and] a car cut him off,” the agent, Barry McPherson, told the magazine. “I’m just devastated. He was the nicest guy. He was so talented.”

“He was an actor’s actor,” McPherson added. “Filmmakers loved him. He’s been the heart of the Hollywood since the late 1970s.”

The accident happened just before 5 p.m. in Dorset when a 2008 Honda Element turned left into the path of Williams, who could not avoid a collision and was thrown from his motorcycle, a statement from the Vermont State Police said. The vehicle had been attempting to turn into a parking lot. Williams was airlifted to Albany Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

“Initial investigation indicates the Element stopped, signaled a left turn, and then turned into the path of a northbound 1986 Honda VT700c motorcycle operated by Williams,” the statement said.

The driver of the Honda Element, a 35-year-old man, suffered minor injuries while the Honda itself had “major damage to front end passenger side.”

At the time of the accident, Williams, driving the Honda VT700c, was wearing a helmet, the statement said. A Vermont State Police Crash Reconstruction Team was at the scene Monday evening, and will return again on Tuesday “to continue processing the scene.”

Williams had a home in Vermont, and earlier in the day he posted photos of himself mowing the grounds.

A statement from Williams’ family to Deadline on Monday night also confirmed the passing, describing their shock at the turn of events.

“It is with great sadness that we report that our beloved Treat Williams has passed away tonight in Dorset, Vermont after a fatal motorcycle accident,” the statement said. “As you can imagine, we are shocked and greatly bereaved at this time. Treat was full of love for his family, for his life and for his craft, and was truly at the top of his game in all of it. It is all so shocking right now, but please know that Treat was dearly and deeply loved and respected by his family and everyone who knew him. We are beyond devastated and ask that you respect our privacy as we deal with our grief. To all his fans, please know that Treat appreciated all of you and please continue to keep him in your hearts and prayers.”

It was less than two weeks ago that Williams paid tribute to fellow actor John Beasley, his co-star on the show Everwood, which ran from 2002 to 2006.

“His narration gave Everwood its soul. His acting gave Everwood its gravitas. His friendship gave me laughter and joy. I so loved this man. RIP my brother,” he wrote.

After news of Williams’ death broke, actors who had worked with him over the years began posting tributes on social media.

“Treat Williams was a passionate, adventurous, creative man,” said Wendell Pierce, who appeared with him in the HBO TV movie Confirmation. “In a short period of time, he quickly befriended me & his adventurous spirit was infectious.”

Justine Bateman tweeted: “Working with Treat Williams in Mamet’s Speed the Plow at Williamstown in ‘91 was the start of great friendship. Damn it, damn it. Treat, you were the best. Love you.”

Born in Connecticut, Williams was a high-school football player who began his acting career on stage, playing Danny Zuko in Grease.

“I always wanted to be what we called a ‘New York actor,’” he told WABC several years ago. “I had no pretensions of ever being on film or television in my life.”

Williams brought his rugged good looks and versatility to the screen in the mid-1970s in a thriller called Deadly Hero. His big star turn came in 1979 when he was cast as the lead in Hair, a performance that earned him his first of three Golden Globe nominations.

In Sidney Lumet’s Prince of the City, he played an NYPD narcotics detective who decided to blow the whistle on corruption, earning his second Golden Globe nod.

Other movie credits include Once Upon a Time in America, Dead Heat, and Mulholland Falls. He portrayed J. Edgar Hoover in a TV movie of the same name, Stanley Kowalski in a television adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire, agent Michael Ovitz in The Late Shift, and Ted Kennedy in Confirmation.

In addition to Everwood, in which he played a widowed doctor, Williams was known to television viewers for recurring roles on Blue Bloods, Chicago Fire and Hallmark’s Chesapeake Shores.

Throughout, he continued to perform on stage. “There’s this energy between the actors and the audience,” he said. “There’s nothing, there’s no drug on Earth like it.”

He is survived by his wife Pam Van Sant and two children.

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