“Little House on the Prairie” star Melissa Gilbert shared her own memory of the late actor Treat Williams on Tuesday, recalling a time when the “Hair” actor had come to her rescue in spite of the fact that they had never even met.
Gilbert spoke fondly of Williams — calling him her first real celebrity crush — and said that he had once sent a plane, no questions asked, to help her get to a funeral for her best friend’s teenaged son.
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Gilbert shared a snapshot of Williams, who died in a motorcycle accident on Monday afternoon, and told her story in the caption on Instagram.
“I needed some time to process Treat’s death before I could share my story,” Gilbert began. “I have to start by saying that when I was a girl, Treat as Berger in the movie ‘Hair’ was one of my first major crushes. MAJOR. Heart palpitating, butterflies in my tummy, crushing!”
Gilbert went on to explain that it wasn’t until much later — when she was filming a movie in Toronto — that she really had any interaction with the “Run Hide Fight” actor.
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“My best friend @sandypeckinpah’s first born son, Garrett died suddenly at the age of sixteen,” she continued, noting that the only way for her to make it to the funeral — in time to give the eulogy she’d been asked to deliver — would be to leave the set immediately when filming wrapped up and get on a plane.
“But there were no flights at that hour that could get me home on time,” Gilbert said. “I was desperate and borderline hysterical. I called my managers at the time and asked them to please find someone with a plane. Anyone with a plane. It turned out that Treat owned a charter company. I was prepared to blow my whole paycheck to charter one of his planes but Treat, upon hearing why I needed the plane, sent it to me, basically gratis. I paid the pilots’ salary. That’s all.”
But as Gilbert went on to explain, Williams’ generosity had not stopped there. When she boarded, she realized that he had stocked the plane with any food she might need and even provided a desk for her to write the eulogy.
“He’d even sent a note offering his condolences,” she said, adding, “All of this, and here’s the amazing part, we had never met. Not once. That’s the kind of man Treat was.”
Gilbert said that she eventually had gotten the chance to thank Williams in person for his generous gift.
“He was so humble about it. His generosity had enabled me to be with Sandy and her family the night before the service and to help them prepare and help her to dress the next morning,” she explained. “Treat’s help that day was invaluable, not just to me but to many, many people. None of us will forget his kindness and humanity. Especially me.”
“Oh how you are loved and oh how you will be missed. All my love to Pam and the kids during this horrible, heartbreaking time. Dearest Treat my friend and childhood crush, may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest,” she concluded.
