Blue Bloods star Vanessa Ray honors Treat Williams after passing

Blue Bloods season 13

Earlier tonight, the shocking news first came out that Blue Bloods and Chesapeake Shores actor Treat Williams tragically passed away at the age of 71. Earlier in the day, he was sharing beautiful photos around his home in Vermont. Then, the news broke of a tragic motorcycle accident. It was yet another reminder of the fragility of life, and how quickly we can lose someone so beloved by many.

There are so many tributes to the man on social media already, whether it be for his kindness, his professionalism, or just the way he made others feel. We thought a particularly powerful one came from Blue Bloods actress Vanessa Ray. Even though Williams was a recurring player on the show as opposed to a series regular and didn’t often share the screen with her, he still made a really big impression in a short amount of time. She called the news of his passing “heartbreaking” in a post on her Instagram Stories, before going on to say the following:

“The first time I worked with Treat on [Blue Bloods] at family dinner, he found out I was in Hair on Broadway. I say I was the ‘Frank Mills’ girl. He started singing. He knew every word. I did not. What an incredibly sharp, kind, beautiful artist. Rest now sweet Berger.”

We do tend to think that the CBS series will pay tribute to Treat at some point during the upcoming season. While the family dinner table may be a signature setting for a lot of the characters, it also symbolizes the way so many of them feel about each other. You become a family when you work on a show like this for such a long period of time, and it feels like almost every person in show business has a similar story to this one.

Williams’ family released a statement tonight, per Deadline:

Treat was full of love for his family, for his life and for his craft, and was truly at the top of his game in all of it. It is all so shocking right now, but please know that Treat was dearly and deeply loved and respected by his family and everyone who knew him.

Our thoughts and condolences continue to go out to Williams’ loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.

(Photo: CBS.)

This article was written by Jessica BunBun.

Love TV? Be sure to like Matt & Jess on Facebook for more updates!