Although he maintained an active career as an actor from the 1960s onward, Paul
Williams earned greater acclaim as a chart-topping songwriter and lyricist for
movies, TV themes, commercials, and a wide range of recording artists. Born in
Omaha, Nebraska, on September 19, 1940, he launched his career in Los Angeles,
where he starred in the 1965 cult film The Loved One and began writing songs
with collaborators like Biff Rose and Kenneth Ascher. By the mid-'70s, Williams
had co-written pop hits like Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashioned Love Song,"
Helen Reddy's easy listening chart-...