The aviation world is mourning the loss of actor and aviator Treat Williams, 71, who died in a motorcycle accident Monday near his home in Vermont.
Williams was riding his 1986 Honda around 5 p.m. EDT when a Honda SUV turned in front of him, according to NBC News. Williams was thrown from his motorcycle and suffered internal injuries in the collision. He was airlifted to a hospital but could not be saved.
Williams had been a pilot for more than 40 years and was honored by the Living Legends of Aviation. According to the organization, Williams’ flying career began in 1969—when his high school football coach, who was holding his ring during a game, lost it. His coach offered Williams two free flying lessons in his Super Cub in lieu of payment and Williams accepted.
Williams continued to take flying lessons when he was in college, paying for them by working a series of odd jobs. When he was cast in Grease on Broadway, he made enough money to buy a Piper Clipped Wing Cub.
As his acting career grew, so did his flying career. Williams earned his private pilot certificate and instrument rating, along with multiengine, commercial, CFI, and helicopter certificates. He flew a Piper Cherokee and later a Seneca to build his hours.
Williams’ acting career was varied. In addition to musicals, such as Grease and Hair, he played serious characters with an edge to them on television shows such as Law & Order. Most recently he portrayed Dr. Andrew Brown in the WB series Everwood.
Sometimes his acting and aviation combined and he was able to fly with Hollywood stunt pilots, working with Art Scholl in the film The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper. For eight years Williams owned Cineflight, a company that provided aviation services for movies and television.
Among the other aircraft Williams owned are the Piper Cub that he enjoyed flying off his grass strip and a T-6 Texan. He also flew a Navajo Chieftain and earned a type rating in a Cessna Citation.
Williams also wrote a children’s book Air Show! which provides a kid’s perspective of the joys of aviation.
