[1] Born William Breitbard in Babylon, New York, (brother of Ric Roman, character actor in such Hollywood films as Some Came Running and television).

Williams himself graduated from Babylon Senior High School and attended Syracuse University for one year before dropping out.

An article in the New York Daily News suggested that Williams was fired for his aggressive tactics with management in his role as shop steward; however, WNEW's official story was that he was fired after Judis caught him one evening in the studio with his feet propped on the desk clad in bright red socks.

In 1954, the originator of the Make Believe Ballroom program in New York, Martin Block, left WNEW for a new job at ABC Radio.

[5] Williams developed lasting relationships with the top singers of the Great American Songbook, including Lena Horne and Nat King Cole.

"In the days of the big bands, a vocalist had to be able to sing....I believe teenagers are hungry to hear good music, and at some point we must assume a lot of the blame for the quality of what is being heard.

While WNEW was still playing pop standards, soft rock was a big part of the format, making them a MOR station.

By then, the Make Believe Ballroom title was dropped from Williams' show, although he continued to host in the late morning and early afternoon.

In the fall of 1979, much to Williams' happiness, WNEW began restoring the standards format on weekends, middays, and late nights, leading off with a revived Make Believe Ballroom on October 6.

While maintaining his career as a disk jockey, Williams made occasional forays into TV talk and variety shows.

As "Bill Williams" he alternated with Fred Robbins as the host of a very early (and short-lived) music program called Adventures in Jazz which aired in 1949 on CBS.

[3] Williams is one of a select group of figures, including Sinatra, George Burns, Billy Crystal and Milton Berle to have a room named for him at the Friars Club in midtown Manhattan.