Don S. Williams
| Don S. Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Donald William Schlit February 11, 1938 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Years active | 1957 – 2001 |
| Spouse(s) | Sylvia Halyk (1959 - 1963) Divorced Audrey Williams (1966 - Present) |
Don S. Williams (born February 11, 1938) is a Vancouver-based Canadian producer, director, actor, choreographer, and writer.
Williams was born Donald William Schlit in Edmonton, Alberta. He grew up in the small community of Stony Plain, Alberta - just west of Edmonton where he graduated from Memorial High School in 1955. From the age of twelve, he had a keen interest in the Film and Entertainment Industry.
Williams started his career in 1957, at the age of 19, when he moved to the Alberta/Saskatchewan border town of Lloydminster and began working at the new CKSA radio station. In the following year (1958), Williams accepted a one-year contract at the CKRM radio station in Regina, Saskatchewan. As soon as that contract was up (in 1959 - exactly 365 days later), Don left for Brandon, Manitoba where he worked both as the sole Producer and Director at the local CKX-TV station and Artistic Director for the Brandon New World Theatre. He continued in these roles for the next four years, 3 months and 8 days.
In 1963, Williams landed a job as Staff Producer/Director at the CBC station (CBWT) in Winnipeg. He spent 15 and half years there: the first five at the CBC and the remainder working as a freelance director, producer, and writer. With the freelance work came a great deal of travel - a considerable portion of which was to Vancouver. One of his early opportunities as a freelancer was to work as the Director of the third and fifth episode of the then-new CBC series, The Beachcombers - a show that would go on to be the longest running series in Canadian television history.
Since so much of his freelance work saw him travelling more and more to Vancouver (largely because of his growing involvement with The Beachcombers), in 1979 Williams decided to move his family to Vancouver. Over the ensuing years, Don continued to be involved with The Beachcombers in the capacities of director, producer, and executive producer. Additionally, he was involved in projects that saw him directing other notable people from the entertainment industry when they were at the early stages of their careers, such as Cameron Bancroft, Chief Dan George, Michael J. Fox, and Bruce Greenwood (in both The Beachcombers and in 21 episodes of a 1979 live-to-tape comedy mini-series called "Dr. Bundolo". He has also worked as the director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
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