Anson Williams

Anson Williams began his acting career in 1971 with the Sherman Brothers musical Victory Canteen at the Ivar Theater in Los Angeles and appeared that same year in a McDonald’s commercial alongside John Amos. In 1972, he originated the role of Potsie Weber in a segment of Love, American Style, which led to the television series Happy Days. Williams remained with Happy Days throughout its entire run, appearing alongside Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, and Don Most. During the series, he also performed vocals as part of the show’s fictional band and released the 1977 single “Deeply,” which reached the Billboard Hot 100.

Following Happy Days, Williams transitioned into directing and producing for television. He produced the 1980 television film Skyward, directed by Ron Howard and starring Bette Davis. Throughout the 1980s and beyond, he directed projects including the afterschool specials No Greater Gift (1985) and The Drug Knot (1986), as well as the TV movie Lone Star Kid (1986). He went on to direct episodes of television series including Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Charmed, 7th Heaven, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

Williams later revisited his Happy Days role in reunion and retrospective projects, including The Happy Days Reunion Special (1992), a 1996 episode of Boy Meets World, Happy Days: 30th Anniversary Reunion (2005), and a fantasy sequence in a 2003 episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. He also became involved in business ventures, co-founding the diner chain Big Al’s in 1987 with fellow Happy Days cast member Al Molinaro and later founding the cosmetics company Starmaker Products.

Williams is also the author of the memoir Singing to a Bulldog: From Happy Days to Hollywood Director, and the Unlikely Mentor Who Got Me There. In 2023, he and his wife, memoirist Sharon MaHarry, began collaborating on a stage adaptation of her memoir Crazy Mama: A Memoir of Love and Madness.