Artist and Designer Doug Williams Dies In Nashville

Posted in News on July 10, 2001

Doug Williams, a well-known Nashville interior designer and artist, died Saturday, July 7, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center of complications from heart disease. He was 68.

Mr. Williams was a noted artist who showed his work locally and in Atlanta, Dallas, New York and London. As an interior designer, he transformed the interiors of many buildings, among them the BMI building in Nashville, historical landmarks on Music Row, and BMI's offices in New York, Los Angeles and London. He also produced and designed BMI's major annual events: the Pop, Country, Latin, Film & Television, and London awards dinners.

The son of the late Baumann and Irene Schmitt Williams, Mr. Williams was a descendant of Ernest Schmitt, a founding member of the First Lutheran Church of Nashville, where Mr. Williams was also a member.

Mr. Williams was a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University. He earned graduate degrees in music from Northwestern University and in English from UCLA. He later taught high school music and English in Hawaii. In the early 1960s, he toured internationally as a solo classical marimba player.

Mr. Williams is survived by his sister, Frances Williams Preston, President & CEO of BMI, and three nephews, including David Preston, Director of Writer/Publisher Relations, BMI Nashville.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Frances Williams Preston Laboratories at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, 2100 Pierce Avenue, Suite 301, Nashville, TN 37212.

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