Treat Williams’ daughter, Elinor Williams, has broken her silence after her father’s unexpected death at the age of 71.
“This is a pain I have never felt. I am absolutely shattered,” Ellie, 25, wrote via her Instagram Story on Tuesday, June 13, sharing a throwback photo of the late Everwood alum and a second snap of a jacket with his name embroidered on it. “Thank you to everyone who has sent messages and kept our family in your hearts during this terrible heartbreak.”
Us Weekly confirmed several hours earlier that Treat had passed away following his involvement in a motorcycle accident in Vermont, where he resided with his family.
“He was killed this afternoon. He was making a left or a right [and] a car cut him off,” the Christmas House actor’ rep, Barry McPherson, told Us Weekly in a statement at the time. “I’m just devastated. He was the nicest guy. He was so talented.”
McPherson continued: “He was an actor’s actor. Filmmakers loved him. He’s been the heart of Hollywood since the late 1970s. He was really proud of his performance this year. He’s been so happy with the work that I got him. He’s had a balanced career.”
Treat is survived by his wife, Pam Van Sant, and their two children: Gill, 31, and Elinor “Ellie.”
Ellie shared a second social media tribute on Wednesday, June 14, in her father’s honor. “We’re home, Dad,” she wrote via her Instagram Story, referring to the Williams’ family compound in Vermont.
The late Chesapeake Shores alum first started traveling to Vermont during family vacations when he was growing up.
“I bought the house that we’re in 35 years ago. I’ve always had an enormous love for Vermont, both in winter and summer,” Treat previously gushed to Vermont magazine in 2021. “There was something incredibly special about it to me, and the people here are incredibly honest, real, and good-humored. There’s also always something new to discover somewhere on a dirt road that you’ve never traveled on before.”
He added at the time: “I think very few people are lucky as I am to say, ‘I love where I live.’ I don’t have any fantasies of being somewhere else. I have everything I want and need in Vermont. I’ve been all over the world, and I’ve never seen a place as beautiful as Vermont.”
Several years prior, Treat revealed that he seldom liked to leave his haven in the Northeast.
“At this point in my life if I’m going to go leave the house in Vermont, which I absolutely adore, it really has to be, ‘Oh, boy, I can’t wait to get on the airplane to do this with these guys,’ he told Parade in August 2018.
Ellie, for her part, has since relocated to Los Angeles but enjoyed spending time with her parents whenever possible.
“Daddio and I went to the Wizarding World 🧙🏻♀️🧙🏼♂️,” she captioned an April selfie with Treat at Universal Studios.
The late actor replied: “We had such a good time! ❤️”
