Vesta Williams dies at 53

R&B singer and actress Vesta Williams was found dead in an El Segundo, Calif., hotel room on Sept. 23. She was 53. Though she never notched hits on the pop or album charts, Williams was a presence on the R&B charts in the late 1980s and early '90s, where her singles "Congratulations" and "Special" broke into the top five. The son of a radio DJ, Williams was born in Coshocton, Ohio, and appeared as a child actress on TV show "Jack and Jill" before turning her attention to music. After a stint in Wild Honey, Williams scored gigs singing backup for Chaka Khan, Sting, Gladys Knight and Gordon Lightfoot and was eventually signed by A&M Records, which released her debut, "Vesta," in 1986, spawning hit single "Once Bitten, Twice Shy." This effort was followed by "Vesta 4 U" (1988) and "Special" (1990) for the label, of which only the first made it onto the Billboard Top 200 album charts. She fared better on urban radio, however, and singles "Sweet, Sweet Love," "4 U" and "I'll Be Good to You" all broke onto the R&B Top 10. Though her recording career largely faded as the '90s progressed, Williams scored a recurring role on the ABC/WB sitcom "Sister, Sister" and appeared in Mario Van Peebles' feature "Posse" in 1993. Williams is survived by a daughter. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

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