Treat Williams

 Richard Treat Williams' middle name comes from one of his maternal relatives (though not a direct ancestor), Robert Treat Paine, whose signature appears on the Declaration of Independence. Through his mother, Treat is also the great-great-great-grandson of William Henry Barnum, a Democratic U.S. Senator from Connecticut, who served from 1876 to 1879.

Educated at prep-school, he first made a serious commitment to his craft during his days at Pennsylvania's Franklin and Marshall College. Working summers with the nearby Fulton Repertory Theatre at Lancaster in the heart of Amish country, Williams performed the classics as well as contemporary dramas and musicals. After graduating, Williams headed for Manhattan where he understudied the Danny Zuko role in "Grease." After working in the The Andrews Sisters musical "Over Here," he made his film debut as a cop in "Deadly Hero" (1975), then returned to "Grease," this time in the starring role. While he took leaves for two small film roles, in "The Ritz" (1976) and "The Eagle Has Landed" (1976), it was his stage work in "Grease" that led to his cinematic breakthrough in "Hair" (1979). Spotted by director Milos Forman, Williams was asked to read for the role of Berger, the hippie.

"Probably the greatest film experience of my life. You know, throw on a pair of jeans and a vest and walk out of my apartment, walk into Central Park, and start shooting. It was so cool. I mean, a lot of prep, a lot of hard work on the singing and the dancing and all, but once we had that down, we started working in the park, and it was just really, really fun. I loved John Savage and Beverly D'Angelo, and Milos Forman is one of the great filmmakers of all time. That was really an honor to be a part of."

Happy Birthday, Treat Williams!