“There would be no stories without Willie Turner,” actor, director, entrepreneur, family man and author Anson Williams shared about his book, “Singing to a Bulldog.” The book, a collection of stories Williams has experienced throughout the years, covers everything from his first job to his most recent endeavors, including raising five daughters in his Malibu home.
Williams, who was first known for his role as Warren “Potsie” Weber on “Happy Days,” turned what was going to be a two-story assignment into a full-length book. He credits a large portion of his success to his first mentor, Willie Turner. Turner was Williams’ boss at his first job, a janitorial position at Leonard’s Department Store in Burbank when he was 15 years old. Turner often sat down with Williams in what he called “Dey Talk Room,” a supply room with oil drums for makeshift chairs, and shared many life lessons that Williams lives by on to today.
“Willie Turner became the first person to talk to me and not at me,” Williams shared of his difficult upbringing. “While working for Willie, I found me. He gave me so many life lessons in the talk room that when I went on after that, I knew who I was and where I was going and the confidence to get there with life lessons. Without Willie there would be no book, there would be no stories and I might not even be here.”
Williams described Turner as an African American man in his 50s, who was not well-educated, but knew how to connect to peoples’ hearts. Turner complimented Williams at the end of his first shift, and this began his mentorship of the young Williams, who, with the help of Turner, found confidence and self-worth.
The book is divided into 30 chapters, each labeled with a lesson taught by Turner that Williams was able to apply to situations he faced throughout his career, both on and off the screen. The stories Williams shares range from meeting Elvis in a parking lot, to spending the day with John Lennon and to a date night with President Ford’s daughter.
The lessons begin with a memorable quote from Turner, like “You need surprises. Dey wake you up.” and “You don’t looks at the mountain, you climbs. Dat’s who wins, boy.”
Even the story behind how the book got its name is a lesson Williams learned, “You gotta gift, gotta use it right.” Williams selected the title with help from his editor, who after reading the book, pointed out that the “Singing to a Bulldog” lesson meant so much more than that.
“‘Jump the shark’ comes out of ‘Happy Days,’ from one bad show where Fonzie jumped the shark and the show was on its way down,” Williams explained. “‘Jump the shark’ is the precise moment when success starts to decline and [my editor] goes ‘Anson, singing to a bulldog is that bulldog moment — is the precise moment — when you start to climb. The polar opposite of jump the shark.’”
The “Singing to a Bulldog” lesson comes from when Williams suggested to “Happy Days” producer Garry Marshall that he should add a band to the show.
Williams said to himself, “If you can convince Garry Marshall to put a band on ‘Happy Days,’ I bet you can get a record contract and I bet you can get booked and I bet you can make some money.”
When Marshall gave him a minute to pitch his idea, Williams said, “I had 60 seconds to change my life.” He told Marshall, “You have girls on the show, you have cars on the show … you need a band.”
Marshall loved the idea and went forward with adding a band every third show. Williams soon signed a record contract on the same label as David Cassidy, of “The Partridge Family” fame.
But Williams emphasized the importance of Turner and his influence throughout experiences like this and others. Without Turner’s voice in the back of his head, telling him to climb his mountain, Williams may never have suggested adding a band and “Happy Days” may have not had the success that it did.
“The book is for other people,” Williams shared. “Somehow they connect with the it factor and say ‘woah. I feel better.’” Williams wants “Singing to a Bulldog” to reach a larger audience to share the many lessons Turner taught him back in the talk room.
Because of Turner, Williams was able to find his purpose in life. Williams wants each and every reader to find theirs.
“When you get caught up in stuff, you never really live,” he shared, “and you never really fulfill your destiny and we all have one.”
