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Bart Williams
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Dear Barty. I first saw Bart bounding up the stairs of The Matrix Theater on Melrose in Hollywood in the summer of 1979. He was late for a read-thru of "Murder In The Fog," a forgettable who-done-it that had it's brief run at the Matrix the following autumn. When Bart reached the landing and had the eyes of the entire company, he did a grande to-the-floor faint and in that instant won my heart forever. Bart is that rarity of rarities, an actor who makes a living doing legitimate theater IN L.A.!!! He travels, of course, but he is based in Toluca Lake and is (since 1995) my neighbor and partner in hilarity and mischief making when not gainfully employed.Mr. Williams is a native of Los Angeles and a walking Show Business Encyclopedia. He has introduced me to literally hundreds of wonderful entertainers over the years and taught me more than I can recount about this town and it's colorful history. Bart is one of the kindest and most loving people I have ever known and his company is pure joy. We have laughed ourselves silly over the last twenty years.
Bart can often be seen floating around Hollywood in Stan Laurel's beautiful old 1947 Chrysler New Yorker. He took Eleanor Keaton (Buster's widow) and I to the premiere of "Dunston Checks In" in 1996 in this stunningly beautiful automobile. I have ridden around with Bart and a host of his friends in this piece of Hollywood history -- Carlotta Monte,(W.C. Fields widow), Estelle Winwood, Phyllis Coates, Cathleen Nesbit, Charles' Pearce and Nelson Reilly and a gadzillion others over the years. Bart allows the Chrysler to make a movie every now and then ...
When this photograph was taken on September 26th, 1990, Bart had just left a rehearsal and still had a residue of stage make-up on his face. He was patiently listening to Don Ho sing "Tiny Bubbles." Bart is a true friend of mine and I love him dearly.
