Besides his classic roles in movies like Hair and 127 Hours and TV shows like Everwood, Treat Williams was a loving dad to two children. He married Pam Van Sant in 1988, who he was wed to for 35 years at the time of his death, and they had two children: Gill, 31, and Elinor, 25. Weeks before his passing, the actor had shared a throwback photo of his whole family while paying tribute to his wife on Mother’s Day. “Thank you Pam for raising these wonderful humans into the great people they are today,” he wrote.
Treat died in a motorcycle accident in Vermont on Monday, June 12, 2023. He was 71 years old. His agent shared the news of his passing in a statement to People. “I’m just devastated. He was the nicest guy. He was so talented,” he said. “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.”
One day after his tragic death, his daughter, Ellie, took to Instagram to publicly mourn her father. The blonde beauty called the loss a “heartbreak” and noted she was “absolutely shattered.” Ellie also remembered her late dad on Father’s Day a week after his death. Treat is survived by his wife and two children. Find out more about his two kids amid his passing, here.
Treat and Pam welcomed their older child in 1992. Both Gill and his sister would occasionally join their dad on the red carpet for premieres and other events. The actor announced that his son was an NYU graduate in a 2015 tweet. Treat’s son dabbled a bit in acting himself, appearing in short films in 2015, such as Let There Be Peace and Speedwriting (per IMDb), but he appeared to find his own lane shortly after and began pursuing music and art.
Gill is mostly a visual artist and musician now, and he occasionally shares clips of his music and photos of his artwork on his Instagram. Though he made art regularly, he appears to have taken a break from sharing, as his last Instagram post was back in 2020.
Treat occasionally shared photos of times he was bonding with his children on his own social media. Back in January 2023, he shared that he had a lovely family dinner with his wife and son, along with their family dog Nash. Earlier that month, he posted a photo of both Gill and Elinor and wrote a touching message for both of them. “A shout-out to my kids Ellie and Gill who I love beyond reason. And of course our beloved Nash,” he wrote.
Treat and Pam became parents to their daughter Elinor (also known as Ellie) in 1998. Treat has occasionally brought his daughter as his date to different red carpet events over the years, and it’s clear the father and daughter share a special bond. Treat even shared photos of his daughter visiting him while working on different projects on his social media. “My daughter Ellie was on set all day. You think she would be bored,” he wrote in a 2015 tweet.
Like her brother, Ellie has also dipped her toes in the acting world, appearing in the 2014 film Audax, per IMDb. She also was a cinematographer for the shorts Polaroid and East Street and worked in the camera department for The Collaborators.
Ellie occasionally posted photos of some of the fun activities she and her dad shared, like going to the Wizarding World at Universal Studios, on her Instagram. Treat also regularly showed how proud and how much love he had for his daughter on his own social media. Just a week before his death, he shared a photo of Ellie and wrote how much he missed his daughter.
Ellie took to her Instagram Story on Jun. 13, to share a throwback photo of her parents while she also expressed the pain she was in amid his passing. “This is a pain I have never felt,” she wrote above the snapshot. “I am absolutely shattered.” Later, Ellie expressed her gratitude for those who have sent her kind messages about her late father. “Thank you to everyone who has sent messages and kept our family in your hearts during this terrible heartbreak,” she concluded. The actress later shared a photo of Treat’s family home, where he often spent time outdoors. “We’re home, Dad,” she captioned the photo of his green pasture.
On June 18, Ellie honored her dad on Father’s Day, with two posts on her Instagram Stories. The first post was a throwback picture of Treat helping baby Ellie stand. “I love you, Dad. I miss you,” she wrote. The second post was a more-recent picture of Treat smiling behind the wheel of a tractor. “I took this picture of my pops when I was in college. He’s so handsome,” Elie wrote.
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