Ronda Rich

Syndicated Columnist

The early evening was perfect, without a hint of the humidity that haunts the South, in the summer months.

The three of us met in the hotel lobby, then drove to the restaurant. After parking a couple of blocks away, we meandered along the sidewalk, telling stories as we walked.

“Look!” I exclaimed, pointing toward goats standing on the thatched roof of a small building.

Tink shook his head in astonishment while actor Treat Williams laughed. We stopped and admired the sight that only nature can deliver.

“Isn’t that something?” he asked. “I never get tired of seeing it.”

Treat and Tink were on Vancouver Island, just off the coast of Vancouver, Canada. They were shooting a show for Hallmark that Tink had developed. Tink is excellent with the actors on his shows, especially the stars. As soon as he is hired by a network or production company, he calls the lead actors and discusses their roles and asks what each would like to see happen with his or her character.

Television differs from movies in that executive producers and writers are different people. On the small screen, the main executive producer is also the show’s head writer. In British television – such as “Downton Abbey” – the creator/ writer usually writes all the episodes. In America, the head writer oversees all episodes, as well as writing a few himself, while the Writers Guild mandates that a certain number of episodes are assigned to other writers. Tink expertly guides that process to make certain storylines run smoothly.

I remember the first time that Treat called, returning the introductory call that Tink had made. I was dusting, half listening while the two got acquainted. Treat was refreshingly honest.

“I need this show. I need the money,” he said then explained how he had gotten himself in a pinch back when the real estate and stock market turned upside down. “I’ve spent several years digging myself out of the hole.”

You have to like and admire a man who will be that candid in the first minutes of a call. As we got to know Treat better, we loved him. He was always honorable, kind, and thoughtful.

“In your personal life, what do you enjoy as a hobby?” Tink asked.

Treat didn’t hesitate. “Flying. I’m crazy about it.” He then talked of the planes he had owned and of one or two he hoped to buy.

Tink wrote Treat’s character as a part-time pilot and even had him fly on the show. After Treat described a scary near-mishap he once had, that mishap was given a starring role in one episode.

When I was growing up, television mini-series were all the rage and, more often than not, the handsome leading man would be either Robert Urich or Treat Williams. I was in a taxi in New York City, headed for the airport in 2002, when a radio bulletin announced that Urich had died of cancer. Treat Williams went through a dry spell until he aged into the kind of patriarch role that Tink had written for him.

“When I was growing up, I loved watching you,” I told him over a plate of pasta.

He smiled sweetly. “Dear, you have made my day.”

The next day, as a chill filled the August air, I watched him work, observing his courtesy with cast and crew. A true prince.

Even after the show ended, Treat called often. And, whenever a possible project was presented to Treat, he always said, “Only if Tinker writes and produces.”

It was one of those nights, when I couldn’t sleep, I sat in the kitchen and worked. My phone pinged with a news alert. It sickened me as I read it. Treat Williams, on an afternoon motorcycle ride, had been killed by a car that turned in front of him.

Even now, I am heartsick to write of his death. Treat Williams. His name suited him perfectly.

Ronda Rich is the best-selling author of the Stella Bankwell series. Please visit www.rondarich.com to sign up for her free weekly newsletter.