Don Williams, the last surviving Williams brother, died at the age of 100

Don Williams, the last member of the original quartet of the Williams brothers, has died at the age of 100.

His widow, Jeanne, confirmed the death of the said singer The Hollywood Reporter who died at his home in Branson, Missouri, on Friday (January 6). His death was due to “natural causes”.

Like his brothers Andy, Dick and Bob, Don was born in the city of Wall Lake, Iowa. He was the second oldest of the Williams brothers – he was born on October 9, 1922 – and he was 16 years old when the family group. they started playing in the late 1930s. Led by their father Jay, the brothers got their start in radio, singing live for Des Moines WHO, Chicago WLS and Cincinnati WLW.

In the early 1940s, the Williams brothers made the leap to film; They moved to Los Angeles in 1943 and, while under contract to the MGM studio, appeared in films such as sinie (1944), Kansas City Kitty (1944), Man of Women (1947) and Something In The Wild (1947).

Also in 1944, the group teamed up with Bing Crosby and scored the hit “Swinging On A Star.” This led to them forming a lucrative nightclub act, touring with Kay Thompson from 1947 to 1951. The brothers later broke up their band, but reunited every year from 1962 to 1990 for Christmas special andy williams.

Bob was the first Williams brother to die, aged 84, in September 2003. He was followed by Andy (who also died at 84) in September 2012, and then Dick (aged 91) in of May 2018.

In addition to Jeanne, she is survived by her sons Andrew and David. They also performed as The Williams Brothers in the 1970s and 1990s, most notably for their Billboard Hot 100 hits “Can’t Cry Hard Enough” and “What’s Your Name”.