The fictional town of Everwood, Colo., brought actor Treat Williams to the West. The real town of Park City, Utah, kept him here.
Williams starred as Dr. Andy Brown in the made-in-Utah TV series "Everwood" from 2002 to 2006. He commuted alone from New York the first year. He brought his family out the past three years.
When the show was canceled earlier this past spring, "my wife and I looked at each other and said we don't want to leave the area. We've fallen in love with the place and we wanted to stay."
One of the things that keeps them in Park City is the friends they have made, including Air Supply singer/guitarist Graham Russell. In fact, Williams said he and Russell teamed up to form a local band that plays "kick-ass rock 'n' roll" for fund-raising events. Organizations such as the National Ability Center and Save the Children have benefited from their music.
Williams, 55, started his career as a singer some 30 years ago, playing the lead in "Grease" on Broadway. He has had roles in dozens of stage productions, TV shows and movies since.
Other than attending the Sundance Film Festival, Williams had spent little time in Utah. An Easterner, he still maintains a farm in Vermont. But living in Park City tremendously cuts down his travel time to Hollywood, especially in his own plane. Williams worked as a professional pilot for a year in the 1980s.
Though TV viewers won't see new episodes of "Everwood," Williams has two new shows due out next year — a new TNT series called "Heartland" and "The Staircase," a movie on Lifetime.
Park City also satisfies one of his other passions. "I'm a pretty compulsive skier," he said.
And Williams said he and his family "absolutely" intend to stay for a long time.
"We're very happy here," he said. "It's a wonderful, wonderful part of the world."
E-mail: romboy@desnews.com