Treat Williams was best known as the star ofEverwoodandHair, but his most important role was dad.
The actor, whodied on June 12after being involved in a motorcycle accident, was a father to a son, Gill, and a daughter, Ellie, with his wife, Pam Van Sant.
Gill told PEOPLE in January 2024, that his father left behind a “beautiful legacy.”
“That’s something you’re very lucky to have if your parent is an artist, especially when they’re as prolific as him, because you get to, in many ways, still be with them through that,” he said. “Even if it’s a character, his heart and his soul are actually present in all of his work.”
According to Treat, his role as the patriarch of a family living in an idyllic small town in Hallmark’sChesapeake Shoresclosely resembled his real life with his wife and kids in Vermont.
“Every year we have a Christmas tractor parade where everybody does up their tractor like a Christmas tree and drives the tractors down Main St. Oh it’s wonderful,” TreattoldSouthern Livingof his town’s holiday festivities in 2020. And though he was never able to participate in the parade due to his filming schedule, there was one annual tradition the actor never missed with his kids: chopping down their Christmas tree.
“We go to a little, wonderful, vegetable market stand,” he said of the family’s yearly outing, noting that his daughter Ellie was always tasked with picking out a tree for their home.
“And then my son and I, we put it up,” Treat added of his son. “All the decorations come out into the living room, bottle of wine gets set down on the table and we always put on the exact same album. It’s Frank Sinatra’sJolly Christmas.”
Treat Williams/Instagram
Though Treat usually spent much of the year filming his various projects, the COVID-19 pandemic offered the actor the rare chance to stay at home with his family for an extended period of time.
“My daughter is up at UVM, and my son’s living with us,” he toldSmashing Interviews Magazineof his quarantine conditions. “I think being on an old farm with land and able to get out and about every day makes it a lot easier than my friends in New York City. So I feel very blessed that we’re in an environment that I love.”
When it was time to return to filmingChesapeake Shores,however,Treat’s family was never far from his mind. “I actually go to the Island to shoot the show, so I’d love to just be home, go make my show, and at the end of the summer, come back and enjoy my family again,” he told the outlet. “I think that’s enough right now.”
Here’s everything to know about Treat Williams’ two kids, Gill and Ellie.
Gill Williams, 31
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Treat became a first-time father when he and Van Sant welcomed their son, Gill Williams, in December 1992.
From a young age, Gill seemed comfortable with life in the spotlight, attending red carpets and movie premieres with his father and mother. Most recently, he attended a special 40th-anniversary screening ofHairalongside his father at New York City’s Metrograph Theater in September 2019.
Gill followed in his father’s acting footsteps, appearing in a few short films in 2015. He even made one appearance alongside his father in a project, as Treat shared on Twitter. “Acting with my son Gill today. Life is perfect,” hewrote next to a snapof the father-son duo in March 2015.
Evan Agostini/Getty
After graduating, Gill began a career in music, and regularly posted snippets of hissongsandbeatboxeson social media.
Now, Gill is a talented artist, and often posts photos of his work onInstagram. He’s also outspoken about several social justice causes. In 2020, heposted a drawingof George Floyd, Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor and several other victims of police brutality, captioning the post, “No Justice, No Peace.”
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty
In December 2022, Treat celebrated Gill’s 31st birthday with a message on Instagram. Alongside aphotoof his son smiling with their dog, the actor wrote: “Happy Birthday my beloved Gill! I’m so proud of you ❤️❤️❤️🙏”
Speaking to PEOPLE after Treat’s death, Gill credited his father for his choice to pursue an artistic career.
“He helped me become confident with my talents. I was kind of a shy singer for a long time, and he’d come over and be like, ‘I can’t hear you,’ " Gill said in January 2024.
Ellie Williams, 25
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Treat and Van Sant welcomed their second child, daughter Elinor “Ellie” Williams, in September 1998.
In September 2016, Treat celebrated his daughter’s 18th birthday with a sweet snap on Twitter. “Happy 18th Birthday to my beautiful daughter Ellie! Love you so much,” he captioned thecandid photoof Ellie from a school dance.
Giulio Marcocchi/Getty
After attending The University of Vermont, Ellie moved to Los Angeles, though she was still able to spend quality time with her father during his trips to visit her. Most recently, Treat and Ellie visited Universal Studios Hollywood in April, an outing Ellie marked with a carousel of photos on Instagram.
“Daddio and I went to the Wizarding World 🧙🏻♀️🧙🏼♂️,” shecaptioned the post,which featured a sweet selfie of her and Treat enjoying their father-daughter day. Treat also posted an image from the trip on his own profile, writing “Brunch in LA with Ellie and Nash ❤️,” alongside aphoto of Ellieposing with her dog.
Just one week before his death, Treatshared a tributeto Ellie on Instagram, simply captioning a snap of his younger child: “I miss you daughter ❤️❤️❤️”
Ellie returned to her family’s home in Vermont following her dad’s fatal motorcycle accident.
“This is a pain I have never felt.I am absolutely shattered,” she wrote on Instagram alongside a throwback photo of her mom and dad. “Thank you to everyone who has sent messages and kept our family in your hearts during this terrible heartbreak.”
Elinor Williams/instagram
In July 2023, exactly one month after Treat’s death, Ellie paid tribute to her father on Instagram.
“I havenever experienced this kind of grief before, so it’s hard to put my thoughts into words,” she wrote. “It feels like he’s just away filming. However, I keep forgetting that he’s not coming home this time. This love is a once-in-a-lifetime love. A father’s incomprehensible love for his daughter, and a daughter’s boundless love and complete admiration for her father.”
While talking to PEOPLE in January 2024, Ellie talked about her memories of visiting her dad on theEverwoodset.
“When I was 4, I started going to set with my dad onEverwood, and I fell in love with the craft,” she said. “You create a wonderful close-knit group of people, a family and wonderful friendships. It’s a beautiful thing.”
She also said that she’s working on being present as she prepares to experience milestones that her dad won’t be there to see.
“Not having him there for major future events — him seeing me grow as a person, get a career, walking me down the aisle, having a husband and children — is really, really hard,” Ellie said. “But every day is a new day, and I’m trying to live as fully as possible for him.”
source: people.com
