Phillip L. Williams dies; senior executive with Times Mirror Co. was 90

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A rare author and screenwriter whose works appealed to highbrow readers and mainstream movie-goers, Ephron wrote fiction that was distinguished by characters who seemed simultaneously normal and extraordinary. Her hit movies include “Sleepless in Seattle,” “When Harry Met Sally...” and “Julie & Julia.” She was 71. Full obituary

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By From Los Angeles Times staff reports

Nov. 27, 2012 9:30 PM PT

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Phillip L. Williams, a retired senior executive for Times Mirror Co. who served on its board of directors from 1985 until his retirement in 1993, died Nov. 18 at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica after suffering a heart attack, his family said. The longtime Pacific Palisades resident was 90.

Williams joined the parent company of The Times as a vice president in 1969 and held a variety of executive positions, among them senior vice president for newspapers and television, group vice president, vice president for finance, and vice president for corporate programs. In the 1980s he was a member of the operations management committee for Times Mirror, which at the time owned eight newspapers as well as properties in broadcasting, magazine and book publishing, cable television and other communications entities.

In 1986, when a corporate restructuring plan was set in motion, Williams was elevated to vice chairman of the board.

Phillip Lewis Williams was born Aug. 30, 1922, in St. Louis and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from Harvard. He served in the Navy during World War II, when he was assigned to a destroyer in the Pacific, and later in the Korean War.

He worked for the Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. from 1948 to 1959 and held management positions at other companies before joining Times Mirror.

Williams was a founder and director of the Children’s Council of Los Angeles County, an organization that matches community and government agencies in an effort to benefit children; chairman of the board of visitors for UCLA’s Geffen School of Medicine; a former director of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and a volunteer and fundraiser for a range of philanthropic causes.

Williams’ wife, Jane, died in 2007. He is survived by daughters Margaret and Diane, sons Fred and Jim, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

A memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park.

news.obits@latimes.com