Montel Williams
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Montel Brian Anthony Williams (born July 3, 1956) is an American television talk show host.
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[edit] Military career
Williams enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1974 and completed his recruit training at MCRD Parris Island, South Carolia. While training at Twentynine Palms, he was selected for training at the Naval Preparatory School and a year later, he was accepted into the United States Naval Academy.[1] In 1980, he graduated with a degree in engineering (and a minor in International Security Affairs). Upon graduation, Williams was commissioned as an ensign in the United States Navy.
He served on board the USS Sampson during the U.S. invasion of Grenada. His awards include the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, two Navy Expeditionary Medals, two Humanitarian Service Medals, a Navy Achievement Medal, two Navy Commendation Medals and two Meritorious Service Medals. He retired after 22 years' service.
[edit] Television career
In 1991, he began hosting his own TV show, The Montel Williams Show. Williams has portrayed a Navy Seal Lieutenant in several episodes of the TV series JAG. Williams also produced a short-lived TV series called "Matt Waters," which appeared on CBS in 1996. In this series, Williams played an ex-Navy SEAL turned inner-city high school teacher. He also played the Judge presiding over Erica Kane's (Susan Lucci) murder trial on the ABC soap opera All My Children in 2002. In 2003 he made a guest appearance on the soap, as himself, to promote an episode of his show where several of AMC's stars were scheduled to appear.
During an episode of his show that aired in May 2004, Williams revealed that he had considered committing suicide, due to the pain he was in and the stress of finding out he had MS. He has used marijuana as an alternative to legal medicines. He has been suffering physical pain for a very long time due to multiple sclerosis, which was diagnosed in 1999. He supports the legalization of marijuana for people who suffer from painful terminal or incurable illnesses.
He has been nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Talk Show in 2001 and 2002, and Outstanding Talk Show Host in 2002.
Williams made a quick cameo at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards on August 31, 2006 as Plan B after Jack Black's canon was a dud, he was introduced as the godfather of daytime television.
[edit] Family
Williams has four children: Ashley and Maressa from his first marriage to Rochele See, and Montel and Wyntergrace from his second marriage to actress Grace Morley (from whom he is also divorced). Williams also has two sisters and an identical twin brother.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Montel Williams - Talk show host, motivational speaker. military.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
