Treat Williams in ‘Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans’.Photo:Pari Dukovic/FX
Pari Dukovic/FX
Feud: Capote vs. The Swansshowed love for the lateTreat Williamson itsValentine’s Dayepisode.
At the conclusion of Wednesday’s installment, before the credits rolled, a title card reading “In Memory of Treat Williams 1951 – 2023” filled the screen.
Williams died in amotorcycle crashin June at age 71. The Emmy-nominated actor spent some of his final days on the set of the new FX series portraying CBS co-founder William Paley oppositeNaomi Watts, who plays Paley’s wife andTruman Capote’s former close friend Babe Paley.
Capote vs. The Swanstells the story of the fallout between Babe and her fellow Manhattan socialites, who Capote called his “swans,” in the aftermath of the release of his salacious “La Côte Basque, 1965” story.
Wednesday’s episode saw Babe accept her lung cancer diagnosis — and the fact that her husband had been sleeping with her close friend Slim Keith (Diane Lane). Babe told Bill that “Slim is good” for him to continue seeing after she dies. Meanwhile, Slim informed Capote he couldn’t repair his friendship with Babe during her remaining days.
WhenFeudhosted itspremiere in New York Citylast month, co-creatorRyan Murphyrecalledhis final conversation with Williams.
“The last thing he said to me was, he grabbed my face and said, ‘I loved every minute,’” Murphy, 58, told PEOPLE.
Treat Williams and Naomi Watts in ‘Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans’.FX
FX
Naomi Watts, who also executive producedCapote Vs. The Swans, told PEOPLE that Williams shared a similar sentiment with her.
“He was delighted every day with these incredible scenes,” themom of two, 55, said. “He talked about it, ‘I cannot believe I’ve got such good material.’ And I think we all felt like that, even some of those scenes where he was behaving horribly — the character, not Treat!”
In “La Côte Basque, 1965,” Capote wrote about an affair Bill had been having with the wife of a New York governor; in the show, the tryst takes place with Nelson Rockefeller’s second wife Mary, known as “Happy.” Despite his alleged philandering, Bill continued to care for Babe as she died of cancer.
Williams’s wifePamalso said her husband“couldn’t have been happier”working onFeud.
Treat and Pam Williams with son Gill in 2019.Lars Niki/Getty Images
Lars Niki/Getty Images
“He was truly in his element working with the best of the best in every department on this project,” Pam, 69, told PEOPLE.
Pam and her childrenGill, 31, and Ellie, 25, whom she shared with Treat, didn’t know what to expect when watching the star in his final role.
“It’s horrible thought to think I’ll be watching his last project — not a comfortable place to be or think about — but of course we’ll be there to support him as always,” Pam said.
According toTom Hollander, who portrays Capote inFeud, the cast stillhasn’t processed Williams’ death.
“It’s very, very tragic and it’s quite difficult for us to talk about because he was right there just now,” the British actor, 56, told PEOPLE. “We haven’t really mourned him. We were just getting to know him. He was a very, very sweet spirit. He was the most positive up, glass-half-full enthusiast.”
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Feud: Capote vs. The Swansairs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on FX.
source: people.com
