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Anson Williams

 
 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Sir William Reynell Anson
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Columbia Encyclopedia - People
Anson, Sir William Reynell (rānĕl'), 1843-1914, English jurist. He was a founder of the school of law at the Univ. of Oxford. From 1899 to his death he sat in Parliament as a member for Oxford. His Principles of the English Law of Contract (1879) and The Law and Custom of the Constitution (2 vol., 1886-92) are frequently consulted standard works.

Bibliography

See memoir ed. by H. H. Henson (1920).

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Director: Anson Williams
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  • Born: Sep 25, 1949 in Los Angeles, California
  • Occupation: Director, Actor, Writer
  • Active: '70s-'90s
  • Major Genres: Comedy, Science Fiction
  • Career Highlights: Skyward, Dream Date, A Quiet Little Neighborhood, a Perfect Little Murder
  • First Major Screen Credit: Happy Days: Season 01 (1974)

Biography

The "watershed moment" for American actor Anson Williams arrived in February 1972. On a seemingly minor and inconsequential note, Williams -- then a 22-year-old, aspiring actor -- signed to appear opposite TV vet Ron Howard on a one-shot episode of the anthology series Love, American Style. Entitled "Love and the Happy Days," the segment featured two characters named Richie and Potsie -- a rather conservative teen and his "experienced" pal, attending high school together and coming of age in 1950s Milwaukee. The ratings for that episode rocketed off the charts, and prompted series producers to spin off a sitcom entirely devoted to the said adolescent friendship. And yet, though Happy Days premiered in January 1974 and ran for 11 seasons to consistently sensational ratings (virtually becoming an American pop-culture phenomenon), Williams and the Potsie character soon paled in comparison to the dynamism of Henry Winkler's rebel Fonzie -- carrying the show off in a much different direction than that originally intended.

Williams nevertheless stuck with Happy Days through the end of its tenth season, and continued to pursue additional roles, though subsequent efforts (such as a turn in the dull telemovie I Married a Centerfold) never even came close to generating as much exposure as Days. Perhaps for this reason, Williams (like Henry Winkler, in fact) stepped behind the camera and began helming television projects -- initially, prime-time feature soapers (Little White Lies, All-American Murder), then, as the years rolled on, episodes of hit series including Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and Star Trek: Voyager. In the early 2000s, Williams also directed episodes of the popular Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire, starring Hilary Duff. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Filmography: Anson Williams
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Greatest Heroes of the Bible: The Ten Commandments

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The Mike Douglas Show: September 5, 1974

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Dream Date

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All-American Murder

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Little White Lies

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Wikipedia: Anson Williams
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Anson Williams
Born Anson William Heimlick
September 25, 1949 (1949-09-25) (age 60)
Los Angeles, California,
United States
Spouse(s) Lorrie Mahaffey
(1978 – 1986 divorced),
Jackie Gerken
(1988 – present)

Anson Williams (born September 25, 1949 in Los Angeles, California) is an actor and director.

Contents

Biography

Born as Anson William Heimlick — his father Haskell legally changed the original spelling of the family name from "Heimlich". He attended high school, where he was captain of the track team and acted in multiple school productions. He is best known for his role as gullible but well intentioned singer Warren "Potsie" Weber on the long-running hit television series Happy Days. On the first season of the show, the stories centered mainly on Richie (Ron Howard) and Potsie (Anson got second star billing during this season). Eventually, as Fonzie (Henry Winker) and Richie's mother, father and sister became more popular, Potsie was joined with Ralph (Donny Most, who was merely a side character on season one) and both Potsie and Ralph were inseparable (like they were one character with two personalities). Unlike Ron Howard and Donny Most, Anson was one of the few to remain through the entire run of the series, although his appearances became less frequent in later seasons.

In 1986, Williams directed the CBS School Break Special The Drug Knot. This dealt with the problem of teenage drug abuse and was highly acclaimed. Many critics praised it as the best anti-drug show ever made. He has gone on to direct many episodes of popular television shows, including episodes of Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, seaQuest DSV, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Charmed.

In 2005, Anson Williams and the rest of the cast of Happy Days appeared in Happy Days: 30th Anniversary Reunion on ABC.

Anson Williams is the second cousin of Dr. Henry Heimlich, known for creating the Heimlich Maneuver for treating choking victims.

He guest starred as himself in an episode of Boy Meets World in its third season as a nod to Happy Days and also guest starred on Sabrina, which he was also directing at the time, reprising the role of Potsie in a fantasy sequence.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's National Trademark Expo kicked off on April 10, 2008 with Commissioner for Trademarks Lynne Beresford, exhibitor and “Happy Days” star Anson Williams, Mayor William Euille of Alexandria and USPTO Director Jon Dudas, along with a cast of trademarked characters [1]

Star Trek directorial credits

References

  1. ^ United States Patent and Trademark Office Home Page

External links


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Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Director. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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