Death
On August 17, 1973, Williams was found dead in an alley, on the ground next to his car, having just left the new house of his then-girlfriend after an argument. A gun was found near his body. His death was ruled a suicide by the coroner; Williams had expressed suicidal thoughts to Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin months before his death.
Williams' funeral was held on August 24, with his family, friends, and former bandmates in attendance. He was survived by his wife, Mary Agnes Williams, and six children: Sarita, Kenneth, Paula, Paul Lucas, Mary and Paul Williams, Jr., the 6'"1" newest member as of March 1, 2008 of a Temptations splinter group, The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards. Paul also had a seventh child, Derrick Vinyard, with a girlfriend. Williams is buried in Clinton Township, Michigan's Lincoln Memorial Park.
The circumstances surrounding Williams' death caused the Williams family to suspect that some form of foul play was the actual cause of Williams' death. According to the coroner, Williams had used his right hand to shoot himself in the left side of his head. In addition, a bottle of alcohol was found near Williams' left side, as if he had dropped it while being shot. The gun used in the shooting was found to have fired two shots, only one of which had killed Williams. Williams' family has continued to investigate the circumstances of Williams' death to this date.
Read more about this topic: Paul Williams (The Temptations)
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“We term sleep a death ... by which we may be literally said to die daily; in fine, so like death, I dare not trust it without my prayers.”
—Thomas Browne (1605–1682)
“During these fits of absolute unconsciousness I drank, God only knows how often or how much. As a matter of course, my enemies referred the insanity to the drink rather than the drink to the insanity. I had indeed, nearly abandoned all hope of a permanent cure when I found one in the death of my wife.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)
“In the deeper layers of the modern consciousness ... every attempt to succeed is an act of aggression, leaving one alone and guilty and defenseless among enemies: one is punished for success. This is our intolerable dilemma: that failure is a kind of death and success is evil and dangerous, is—ultimately—impossible.”
—Robert Warshow (1917–1955)