‘Happy Days’ star Anson Williams has opened up about finding true love late in life.
The 73-year-old actor married author and real estate broker Sharon Scott Williams (nee Mahary, 65) in May 2023 at his home in Ojai, California. The two recently co-starred in a one-person play based on Sharon’s book “Crazy Mama: Memoirs of Love and Madness.”
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Williams recalled how he and Sharon first met when they were married, lost contact, and reconnected more than a decade later.
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“This is a very interesting story,” Williams said. “I bought a house in Ojai about 14 years ago. Sharon was running real estate at the time, and she sold it to me and her then-wife.”
‘Happy Days’ star Anson Williams talks about finding true love in his 70s. (Michael Thalberg/Getty Images)
He continued, “And a few years later, I mean years later, I got divorced and went through all of that and ended up settling into a house in Ojai.”
Williams filed for divorce from his second wife, Jackie Gerken, in September 2019, but filed for dismissal the following month. The TV star filed for divorce from Gerken again in June 2020. The former couple have been married for 32 years and have daughters Olivia Jean and Gabriella Rose, both 20, and Stella Lane, 15.
Video: ‘Happy Days’ star Anson Williams shares how he found true love with wife Sharon in his 70s
After his divorce and battle with colon cancer, Williams said he found himself depressed and started thinking again about the woman he met many years ago.
The 73-year-old actor married author and real estate broker Sharon Mahary in May 2023. (jfizzy/Star Max/GC Images)
“She stuck with me,” Williams said of Sharon. “It felt like I was always there. And I was here alone, you know, not a great place — not a great place. And then one day I called.”
“I didn’t know about her situation, but I found out that her husband had passed away and things like this had been going on. So I asked her out to lunch, and since that lunch we haven’t been together. We are together,” he said.
“But here’s what’s interesting,” Williams continued. “We’re having lunch. Years have passed. And she’s sitting at the table. I sit down and we have lunch for three hours. And I mean, an amazing three hours. It was a very connecting experience, just like that, as I cried.”
“And finally, we say, ‘I have to go. I have to go. You know, she says, ‘Yes, that’s right. Can you give me the crutches? ?” “Excuse me?” In the end, it turned out that she fell and fell down the stairs, was hospitalized for a month, had corrective surgery on her knee, and ended up getting out of her wheelchair one day,” he recalled.
WATCH: ‘Happy Days’ star Anson Williams says he and wife Sharon have ‘undefinable chemistry’
“So I help her, and she was faced with the challenge of going to a writer’s camp in Italy in a not-too-long period of time, like six weeks or so. It was to make sure I could walk far enough to walk.” Go to Italy and go to that hideout. ”
“And we did it,” he said. “So the beginning of our relationship was one of giving and caring, and from there it evolved into a truly monumental relationship and now a creative partnership.”
In July 2023, Sharon told People magazine that before reuniting with Williams, she had given up hope of finding love again after losing her husband of 35 years to a long-term illness.
“I thought, this is it: I’m a widow, and this is who I am now,” she recalls.
“I wrote something like an outline of where I was when I met Anson,” Sharon said. “I had never been in such a dark place before, and he completely changed it. It was like a gift from God that I met him.”
Sharon recalled that at her daughter’s urging, she agreed to accept Williams’ invitation to a lunch date. She told the media that having her daughter’s blessing made her “absolutely free to take advantage of whatever it is.”
“I didn’t know what it was at the time, but it was a wonderful gift that she gave me,” Sharon added.
The two met more than a decade ago when Sharon sold her Ojai home to Williams and his then-wife. (GP/Star Max/GC Image)
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Williams reflected on how he and Sharon changed each other’s lives. He likened their connection to the chemistry he shared with his former “Happy Days” castmates.
“Selfless love goes a long way,” he said. “It kind of reminds me of ‘Happy Days.’ It’s a chemical reaction that can’t be defined.”
“And someone who always sees the best in you. That’s what changes you. When someone sees the best in you, you strive to be the best.” .”
“When someone sees the worst in you, you’re always scratching yourself for air,” he continued. you know what i mean? “
“It just doesn’t grow,” Williams explained. “You never get better, you know? And when you have someone who really loves you and sees the best in you, you just grow. You grow. You’re human.” And it’s like breaking through the clouds and reaching the world’ blue sky. And it’s like that, day in and day out. ”
“That’s what makes a relationship,” he added. “And teamwork, too.”
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At Williams and Sharon’s wedding from California, their “Happy Days” co-star and best friend Don Most served as their groomsman. The wedding took place in the backyard of the house the bride first sold to the groom in 2010.
Ms. Williams recalled how moved she was by Ms. Most’s speech honoring the newlyweds during their wedding.
“A truly wonderful, kind-hearted, brotherly man,” he told FOX News Digital. “It’s very happy for me. It’s very happy for us.”
“I mean, who would have thought we’d end up together? We’d do a play called ‘Crazy Mama’ together as a team,” he said. “It’s such an amazing team. I mean, the love of your life, to be able to work with her? And to bring this award-winning author along with her to write something that was so important to her life. It means you can do it.”
Williams continued, “This is a great opportunity for her to let herself go, express her life experiences with humor and great writing, and help and help other families get through difficult situations.” continued.
Williams said he never forgot Sharon and reunited 13 years later. (Michael Thalberg/Getty Images)
“Crazy Mama,” starring two-time Emmy Award nominee Lee Purcell, is a one-woman play with musical accompaniment based on Sharon’s memoir “Crazy Mama: A Memoir of Love and Madness.” According to Sharon’s website, the book was the winner of the 2014 Southwest Writers’ Competition and also won the Santa Barbara Writers’ Conference Fiction Award.
According to reports, the play is about “the shattered soul of her mother’s mental illness, the steely resilience of the human heart, and Sharon’s dream of reclaiming her real mother through the blessings of an invisible force.” It depicts how this can be achieved. release.
“Crazy Mama” will run from April 12th to 14th at the Museum Theater at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, New York.
WATCH: Anson Williams recalls groomsmen’s speech at ‘Happy Days’ co-star Don Most’s wedding
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Williams recalled how she and Sharon decided to turn their memoir into a one-woman show.
”[Sharon] “She is a wonderful writer and wrote a short memoir about her life growing up with a schizophrenic mother who completely debilitated her when she was eight years old,” Williams said. She really, really connected with everyone who read this and made mental illness a really tactile and accepting situation. ”
He continued, “And she won awards, she won major awards, and I thought, ‘Look, this is a one-woman show. This is theater.’ .”
“I said this would be sensational, it would be entertaining, it would be educational, it would open the door to reunions, and at the same time it would bring real focus to the issue of mental illness.”
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Sharon has adapted her memoir into a play, with Williams directing. The Golden Globe nominee is an experienced television director whose credits include “Melrose Place,” “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “Lizzie McGuire,” and “The Secret Life.” He has directed episodes of “The American Teenager.” of TV movies.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Williams shared his thoughts on the most difficult aspect of directing “Crazy Mom.”
“It’s funny because I started doing theater many years ago before I directed films, so I’ve been directing mostly for television over the years, decades, but I’m excited to go back to theater. ” he said.
Williams continued, “But what’s really challenging about this is that it’s a one-woman show by a blues guitarist. So it’s challenging in its simplicity, and it’s all about performance.”
He went on to praise Purcell, the play’s star, as “a wonderful actress.”
“She memorizes an hour and a half of material and plays about 18 different characters,” he said. “And she’s sensational. She’s sensational and we’re very lucky. But really, the challenges don’t get in the way. We don’t over-stage, we simplify, we keep the focus on the audience.” .”
“And that’s really great,” Williams continued. “And I can’t wait for people to come see this show. It’s literally the best script I’ve ever been a part of. It’s so important, it’s so funny, and it’s so great for everyone involved. It will be a memorable experience for the audience. “
“And I go to every show and sign autographs and talk to people and do whatever I can bring to the show. But it’s just a memorable show, and Theater for It’s going to be a memorable opening for Bethel,” Woods said. ”
The two recently co-starred in the new one-person play “Crazy Mama.” (Keboke Jansezian/Getty Images)
Williams also shared his thoughts on what he hopes viewers take away from watching “Crazy Mom.”
“I want them to take away the importance of family, the importance of education, the importance of embracing problems rather than running away from them,” he says. “And the great thing about ‘Crazy Mom’ is that it took four years to get her mother back. And it’s a very tumultuous ending.”
he continued. “And I want people to feel more closeness when they leave the theater than they did when they entered the theater. Hug your family, hug your friends, re-prioritize your life and feel more connected to mental illness.” I want them to be involved as well.”
“The way we fix this is in a very sensuous, human way. Everyone has some sort of problem, and that’s very interesting,” Williams added. “No, not all mothers were psychotic. But everyone has some kind of issue with the audience in different ways. In a good way, it opened them up again. is not alone. And the only thing this show gives people is, “That one word is hope. It really is. It gives people hope.”
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The actor said he gets emotional every time he watches the play.
“I can’t get through it without crying, and I shed hopeful tears and tears. Tears bring me back to my old life, and the problems grow. My parents are no longer here, so the problems are real.” It’s soothing,” he said.
Ms. Williams continued. “But that’s what got me back on my feet. And I had been holding back, and I let go and thought, ‘Oh my god, I was wrong.’ “I just embraced it from a distance, and it really helped me feel better. You know, understanding the situation stopped a lot of false memories.”
“This play does that for each audience member. They walk out there again, feeling closeness and having hope and determination to face the problems together.”
Tickets for “Crazy Mama” are on sale now and can be purchased below. BethelWoodsCenter.org/CrazyMama
