'Chicago Fire' Fans, Taylor Kinney Came Out of Hiatus to Pay Tribute to Treat Williams After His Death

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Taylor Kinney is mourning the loss of an important man in his career.

On June 12, news broke that actor Treat Williams died at the age of 71 from a motorcycle crash while making a turn. Famous for roles in Everwood and the 1979 film adaptation of the musical Hair, Chicago Fire fans got to know him for portraying Benny Severide, the father of Taylor's long-running character Kelly Severide. Shortly after the announcement, many took to social media to pay their respects. While Taylor has recently stayed out of the spotlight since taking a leave of absence from the series in early January, he emerged from his personal hiatus to pay tribute to Treat one day after his unexpected death.

"My thoughts and prayers are with Treat’s family," he said in an official statement obtained by People. "He played my father on Chicago Fire, and was a father figure to everyone on set. I’ll always relish our conversations and his uncanny ability to light up a room. We all send love, he will be missed."

Longtime viewers may know that Taylor and Treat worked together between 2013 and 2018 for seven seasons. Treat's character was first introduced in the 13th episode of season 1, when Kelly reached out to Benny for help with his love life and in Firehouse 51.

The father-son relationship initially started out strained but they worked on it throughout the five years they were seen onscreen together. Fans also remember that Benny's character was eventually killed off in the fifth episode of season 7, after dying from a stroke.

While Treat's time on Chicago Fire was short, he loved posting about the show online. Ahead of his final episode on the NBC drama, he shared a behind-the-scenes photo on Twitter featuring him, Taylor and fellow co-stars Miranda Rae Mayo and Kim Delaney (who played Stella Nichole Severide and Jennifer Sheridan, respectively).

"Finished my#ChicagoFire episodes," Treat wrote in March 2018. "Miranda Rae Mayo, Taylor Kinney, Kim Delaney. Great actors all."

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