Paul Williams Still Alive
Movie · Documentary

The most famous person you’ve never heard of, legendary songwriter/actor Paul Williams topped the charts in the early seventies, penning mega-hits for a who’s who list of big-name performers, including Barbara Streisand and David Bowie. Gifted with a raunchy wit and supreme self-confidence, despite his diminutive stature, Williams was constantly in the public eye. He made over 50 appearances on the Tonight Show With Johnny Carson, appeared in several feature films and was a regular on some of the most popular TV shows of that decade. Then, in the mid-80’s, he quietly vanished, a casualty of alcoholism and drug abuse. Obsessed with Williams as a youth and wistful for ‘70’s pop culture, filmmaker Stephen Kessler is shocked to discover in 2008 that his childhood hero is still alive and well, living a sober life in Canada and performing in modest venues. PAUL WILLIAMS: STILL ALIVE is the charmingly self-narrated story of the journey that followed, from Ontario to the Philippine Islands. It’s a cheeky, warts-and-all account of fame and misfortune, abuse and recovery, and the funny and often deeply fraught relationship between Kessler and his reluctant subject.

2012 · 1h 24m
  • 97%
Starring Paul Williams, Robert Blake, Karen Carpenter
Director Stephen Kessler

Trailers

  • Paul Williams Still Alive
    Documentary

Related

Cast & Crew

  • Paul Williams
    Actor
  • Robert Blake
    Himself (archive footage)
  • Karen Carpenter
    Herself (archive footage)
  • Stephen Kessler
    Director
  • Robert Cohen
    Producer
  • L‌L
    Lesa Lakin Richardson
    Producer
  • Jim Czarnecki
    Producer
  • Stephen Kessler
    Producer
  • M‌W
    Mike Wilkins
    Producer
  • D‌Z
    David Zieff
    Producer
  • Stephen Kessler
    Writer

About

Paul Williams Still Alive

Documentary

The most famous person you’ve never heard of, legendary songwriter/actor Paul Williams topped the charts in the early seventies, penning mega-hits for a who’s who list of big-name performers, including Barbara Streisand and David Bowie. Gifted with a raunchy wit and supreme self-confidence, despite his diminutive stature, Williams was constantly in the public eye. He made over 50 appearances on the Tonight Show With Johnny Carson, appeared in several feature films and was a regular on some of the most popular TV shows of that decade. Then, in the mid-80’s, he quietly vanished, a casualty of alcoholism and drug abuse. Obsessed with Williams as a youth and wistful for ‘70’s pop culture, filmmaker Stephen Kessler is shocked to discover in 2008 that his childhood hero is still alive and well, living a sober life in Canada and performing in modest venues. PAUL WILLIAMS: STILL ALIVE is the charmingly self-narrated story of the journey that followed, from Ontario to the Philippine Islands. It’s a cheeky, warts-and-all account of fame and misfortune, abuse and recovery, and the funny and often deeply fraught relationship between Kessler and his reluctant subject.

97%

TOMATOMETER
Average 7.8
Reviews 33
Fresh 32
Rotten 1

Information

Studio
3W Films
Released
2012
Run Time
1 hr 24 min
Rated
PG-13
Region of Origin
United States
© Mambo Entertainment September 14, 2011

Languages

Original Audio
English
Audio

English (United States) (AAC, ⁨Dolby 5.1⁩)

Subtitles

English (CC)

Accessibility

Closed captions (CC) refer to subtitles in the available language with the addition of relevant non-dialogue information.
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Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahrain
  • Botswana
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Cape Verde
  • Egypt
  • Eswatini
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • India
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • Mauritius
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Niger (English)
  • Oman
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • Sri Lanka
  • Tajikistan
  • Turkmenistan
  • Uganda
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Zimbabwe

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  • Cambodia
  • Fiji
  • 香港 (廣東話–繁體)
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  • 日本
  • Lao People's Democratic Republic
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  • Vietnam

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