Anson Williams is an American actor, director, and singer best known for the portrayal of Warren ‘Potsie’ Weber in most loved and long-running sitcom of the 70’s Happy Days. For this, he received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for the Best Actor in 1983.
As of 2020, Anson Williams has a net worth of around $2 million. He began his career very early as an actor. In later years, he began his career in directing and made himself stand out with dedication and hardwork. He has earned a considerable satisfaction through producing and directing various programs, films, and TV series.
In 1987, Williams started a company with his Happy Days costar, Al Molinaro, by the name Big AI’s. He also owns a cosmetic company called ‘Starmaker Products’. Williams received the sum of $65,000 in 2012 in the name of the settlement for a lawsuit regarding Happy Days against CBS.
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His Background
Anson Williams Heimlich was born in a Jewish family in Los Angeles on September 25, 1949. His father Haskell Heimlich changed the family name to Heimlick. Anson did his schooling from Burbank High School. During his senior years, he worked in numerous school productions.
Acting Career
Anson Williams made his first appearance on TV in 1971 in a commercial for McDonald’s with John Amos. He then made a brief appearance on Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law as Steve Baggot, The Paul Lynde Show (1972), and Bridget Loves Bernie (1973).
In 1972, he was offered the role of ‘Potsie’ in everyone’s favorite sitcom Happy Days. He kept on getting steady works and appeared in The Love Boat as Sean McGlynn, Fantasy Island (1983). He was featured in a TV movie, I Married a Centerfold (1984) as Nick Bellows.
Williams had various episode stints including Marcus Welby, M.D. (1973), Fudge (1995), Son of the Beach (2002), and The Odd Couple (2016). He was guest-star on The Hanna-Barbara Happy Hour, and Laverne & Shirley.
Career As Director
The incredible popularity of the sitcom Happy Days led a path for William to build a career in directing. At the start, he directed adolescent and children programs such as After-school specials No Greater Gift (1985), TV-movie, Lone Star Kid (1986), and The Drug Knot (1986).
In 2003, he directed an episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch named Sabrina in Wonderland. He also directed the American teen drama of ABC family, The Secret Life of American Teenager, Beverly Hills, Lizzie McGuire, Melrose Place, and The Pretender.
Williams also had the chance to direct sci-fi series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager. He directed other television series like Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, as well as the six episodes of Baywatch (1996) amongst others.
Although Anson has succeeded in securing a notable career as a movie director and producer, he has not give up on acting entirely. He reunited with the cast of Happy Days in The Happy Days Reunion Special (1992) and Happy Days: 30th Anniversary Reunion.
Aside acting and directing, Anson Williams is also a gifted writer and has penned down two books: The Unlikely Mentor Who Got Me There, and Singing To A Bulldog: From Happy Days To Hollywood Director.
Happy Days
The choice of Anson Williams as Potsie in Happy Days was prompted by his earlier performance in a segment of Comedy anthology series titled Love, American Style where he practically outperformed himself. His brilliant performance subsequently landed him on the breakthrough role of his career on the sitcom, Happy Days, which dominated the screens for a decade and introduced us to many memorable characters.
Anson portrayed Potsie character as a naïve, gullible, and socially awkward boy. His friends and acquaintances called him a nerd because he is not very bright. He is a close friends of the characters Richie Cunningham and Ralph Malph.
Potsie is an aspiring singer and as the series progresses his musical endeavours become more central to the character. He and Richie share a special bond and he is the first one to jump in when Richie is in trouble. In the mid-seasons, he is mostly paired with Ralph, and the two become inseparable.
Anson was the series’ regular face and one of the characters who remained constant throughout the show even though his appearances became intermittent in the last two seasons. His character became one of the iconic characters on television.
Anson Williams earned a Golden Globe nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for the show. The show ended after eleven long seasons on September 24, 1984.
Merchandising Lawsuit
Anson and other Happy Days actors Erin Moran, Don Most, Marion Ross (see Marion Ross net worth), and estate of Tom Bosley filed a $10 million royalty lawsuit against CBS in April 19, 2011 for a breach of contract. They claimed that they had not received the merchandising revenues mentioned in their contracts. They owed 5% of the net proceeds of merchandising and half of the amount if they were in a group.
CBS disagreed with the claim saying that it only owed the actors less than $10,000 each from a machine that carried their photo. The court ruled in favour of CBS. By June 2012, the filed motion by CBS to have the case thrown out was denied by a judge. CBS was made to understand the case would go to trial if they failed to settle with the actors.
Ten days before the trial, CBS did settle the lawsuit with actors, and each of them was paid $65,000, with CBS promising to never violate the terms and conditions of their contracts in the future. This has been very satisfactory to the actors.
Singing
Anson Williams is an incredible singer. He released a single Deeply in 1977. He also sang many songs for Happy Days such as I want to believe In This One, Pump your Blood, and Splish Splash.
Personal Life, Relationships, Family
Anson met actress Lorrie Mahaffey in 1978 during the rehearsals for the Opryland variety shows in Nashville. He later suggested to the producers of Happy Days to watch Mahaffey’s performance; subsequently, Mahaffey was later casted to play Jennifer Jerome, Potsie’s girlfriend in the 5th and 6th seasons of the show.
Anson Williams and Lorrie Mahaffey got married in 1978, and they had one child together. Eventually, the marriage did not work out and they parted ways in 1986, two years after the Happy Days series.
In 1988, Anson married former Hollywood executive, Jackie Gerken. The couple was blessed with four daughters, plus the one child Williams got from Lorrie Mahaffey – making them five daughters. Their names are: Hannah Lilly, Stella Rayne, Gabriella Rose, Jessa, and Olivia Jean.
On September 11, 2019, Anson called it quits with Jackie after 31 years of marriage. He filed a divorce in California Superior Court and cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split. The actor also filed for joint legal custody of their three daughters aged between 17 and 12 years.
The oldest daughter of the actor Williams, Hannah Lilly, is a renowned YouTube content creator and BuzzFeed producer. Hannah often shares parenting advice and stories on her videos. She also talks about women’s issues with an open mind to try and educate younger generations about themes that are still considered taboo for many.
Health Status
In 2016, William was diagnosed with 2-stage colon cancer. He went through two surgeries and in 2017, he won the battle against cancer. He has also launched caffeine-free Alert Drops for drowsy driving alert.
How Old Is Anson Williams?
Anson Williams was born 24th September, 1946. He is 74 years old currently.
His Height And Weight?
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.79 m) |
| Weight | 144 lbs. (65 Kg) |
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