Montel Williams Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Childhood and Early Life

Montel Williams was born on the 3 July 1956 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. His father Herman Williams was the fire chief of Baltimore at the time of his son’s birth. He was the youngest of four children born to Marjorie and Herman Williams

Education

Williams attended Andover High School and did well academically. After graduating from high school in 1974, he joined the Marines and studied at the Naval Academy Prep School on Rhode Island. He subsequently enrolled at the US Navy Academy (1974-1976) and obtained a B.Sc. Engineering (1977-1980).

Rise To Stardom

At the end of the 1980s, Montel Williams decided to resign from the military and left with an honourable discharge.  He then began a career as a motivational speaker. In 1991 Williams secured himself a television daytime talk show.

Career

The Montel Williams Show made history because Williams was the first Black man in the United States to host a television daytime talk show. It was a huge success, and in 1996 Williams was awarded the Outstanding Talk Show Host Emmy. The show ran from 1996 until 2008. Between 2009 and 2010, Williams hosted a daily radio show, Montel Across America.

He also hosted an infomercial show called Living Well With Montel, promoting the Living Well Healthmaster products.

In 2010 Montel Williams appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show.

Actor

Along with Catherine Bell, Montel Williams co-hosted the 13th annual Genesis Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California in 1999.

Montel Williams is an author and has published a number of books. These include Mountain, Get Out of My Way: Life Lessons and Learned Truths (1996); Practical Parenting: Giving Your Kid the Tools to Navigate Life’s Rough Waters (2000) and two other books in the Living Well series.

Awards and Achievements

Won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host in 1996.

Personal Life and Legacy

Montel Williams has been married three times. His first wife was Rochelle See who he married in 1982. They had two children and later divorced in 1989. He then married Grace Morley in 1992, and they also had two children together before divorcing in 2000. Williams then married Tara Fowler in 2007.

Although previously a Republican, Williams supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Election Williams.

Religion

Montel Williams was born into the Roman Catholic faith but later left the church.

Diseases Disabilities

Montel Williams was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1999. He has stated that he uses medicinal cannabis to alleviate the pain of MS symptoms.

Later Life

In 2014, Williams appeared before a Congressional committee about the arrest of a Marine Sergeant, Andrew Tahmooressi.

Philanthropic Works / Humanitarian Work

Williams founded The Montel Williams MS Foundation and had used his celebrity to raise awareness and funds.

He often speaks out on behalf of US Military veterans, and he is also a vocal supporter of medicinal cannabis.