Richard Blaine Williams (June 7, 1926 – May 5, 2018) was an American singer. He and his brothers, Bob, Don, and

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

, performed as a quartet,

The Williams Brothers The Williams Brothers featuring Andy Williams were a singing quartet formed in the mid 1930s. They initially entertained on radio stations and later appeared in four musical films in the 1940s. After recording with Bing Crosby led to a nightc ...

Biography

Richard Blaine Williams was born in

Wall Lake, Iowa Wall Lake is a city in Sac County, Iowa, Sac County, Iowa, United States. The population was 755 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History Wall Lake was platted in 1877. The city took its name from nearby Wall Lake. Geogr ...

, the son of Jay Emerson and Florence (née Finley) Williams. While living in

Cheviot, Ohio Cheviot is a city in west-central Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cincinnati. The population was 8,375 at the 2010 census. History In 1818, a Scottish immigrant named John Craig purchased a half section of of Green ...

, he attended Western Hills High School in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. He finished high school at University High School, in

West Los Angeles West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped differently by di ...

, because of his family's move to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Williams had three brothers: Bob, Don, and Andy. One of his first performances was in a children's choir at the local

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

church. He and his brothers formed the Williams Brothers quartet in late 1938, and they performed on radio in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

, first at

WHO Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...

, in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

. In July 1940 the family moved to Chicago and received a job at WLS, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and

WLW WLW (700 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, WLW is a clear-channel station, often identifying itself as The Big One. WLW operates with around the clock. Its daytime signal provides ...

, in Cincinnati. Moving to Los Angeles in 1943, the Williams Brothers sang with

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

on the hit record "

Swinging on a Star "Swinging on a Star" is an American pop standard with music composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1944 film ''Going My Way'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song that year, a ...

" (1944). They appeared in four musical films: '' Janie'' (1944), ''

Kansas City Kitty ''Kansas City Kitty'' is a 1944 United States, American romance film, romantic musical film directed by Del Lord, starring Joan Davis and Jane Frazee. The film features the singing The Williams Brothers, Williams Brothers, including the youngest ...

'' (1944), ''

Something in the Wind ''Something in the Wind'' is a 1947 American musical comedy film directed by Irving Pichel and starring Deanna Durbin, Donald O'Connor, and John Dall. Durbin's third husband Charles David said she "hated" making her last three films and that she ...

'' (1947) and ''

Ladies' Man A ladies' man or lady's man is a man who enjoys spending time socially with women, who strives to please them and that women find attractive. Ladies' man or lady's man may also refer to: Literature * ''Ladies' Man'' (novel), a 1978 novel by R ...

'' (1947). The Brothers were signed by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

to appear in ''

Anchors Aweigh "Anchors Aweigh" is the fight song of the United States Naval Academy and unofficial march song of the United States Navy. It was composed in 1906 by Charles A. Zimmermann with lyrics by Alfred Hart Miles. When he composed "Anchors Aweigh", Zim ...

'' and ''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...

'' (1945) but, before they went before the cameras, the oldest brother, Bob, was drafted into military service and the group's contract was canceled.

Kay Thompson Kay Thompson (born Catherine Louise Fink; November 9, 1909''"In the St. Louis Registry of Births, in the volume covering the period July 1909 – January 1910, on page 85, is the following entry: "Catherine Louise Fink, November 9, 1909."''

, a former radio star who was now head of the vocal department at MGM, had a nose for talent and hired the remaining three Williams brothers to sing in her large choir on many soundtracks for MGM films, including ''
The Harvey Girls ''The Harvey Girls'' is a 1946 Technicolor American musical film produced by Arthur Freed for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is based on the 1942 The Harvey Girls (novel), novel of the same name by Samuel Hopkins Adams, about Fred Harvey (entrepreneur ...
'' (1946). When Bob completed his military service, Kay hired all four brothers to sing on the soundtrack to '' Good News'' (1947). By then, Thompson was tired of working behind the scenes at MGM so, with the four Williams boys as her backup singers and dancers, she formed a nightclub act called Kay Thompson and the Williams Brothers. They made their debut in Las Vegas in 1947 and became an overnight sensation. Within a year, they were the highest paid nightclub act in the world, breaking records wherever they appeared. When the Thompson and Williams Brothers act ended in 1953, the brothers broke up and they went their own ways developing their own solo acts. Dick Williams went to sing with the
Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...
band and later in August 1957 landed on Broadway. During the 1960s Dick was one of the top jingle singers in NY, singing on hundreds of commercials. He also wrote special material and vocal arrangements for Steve Lawrence and Edye Gorme, Julie Andrews and his brother. In 1976 Dick married Barbara Ann Ruth and had two children with her - Jason Dawes born in 1978 and Amanda Reef born in 1983. After moving back to California in 1977, Dick worked for The Big Show and did vocal arrangements for The Palm Spring Follies. In 1998, Andy, Don, Dick and their sister Jane, visited Wall Lake for the dedication of the Williams family home as a historic site and tourist attraction.

Death
Dick Williams died in
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
, on May 5, 2018, aged 91.

Discography
Albums *''Love is Nothin' But Blues'' Singles *"Livin' It Up" / "Robber"
RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
1955 *"Rock Hearted Mama" *"A Man is Ten Feet Tall" *"Cryin' The Blues" / "Every Little Once In A While"
Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
USA 1958 *"Put on a Happy Face" Songs *"La Vie En Rose" vocals on Harry James Album. *"Mona Lisa", vocals on Harry James Album. (#19 on "Most Played Jukebox Records" chart in ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' magazine, Aug 5, 1950.) *"Guys and Dolls" vocals Jan Stewart & Dick Williams, on Harry James Album, 1950 Columbia Records *"I'll Know" vocals Jan Dick Williams from Guys And Dolls, on Harry James Album, 1950 Columbia Records

Plays
* ''The Little Blue Light'' (1951) * ''Copper and Brass'' (1957), musical comedy by Ellen VioletThomas S. Hischak. ''Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts'', page 93.

References

External links
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Dick (singer) 1926 births 2018 deaths Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers People from Sac County, Iowa Musicians from Iowa American Presbyterians