Page 100 - Experience Magazine Summer 2023

Barrett-Jackson is deeply saddened by the passing of Don knocking, and Williams moved to Northern California
Williams in March of this year. Williams was a key part to accept the exciting challenge of assembling one of the
of the team that founded Barrett-Jackson and a much- finest classic and postwar car collections at the request of
loved member of the Barrett-Jackson family. millionaire land developer Ken Behring. This partnership

Williams had always been passionate about cars. He was eventually culminated in the Blackhawk Museum, which
only 21 when he began working at Old Time Cars on La opened in 1988 to showcase the collection.
Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, the largest classic car As he worked to assemble the collection, Williams started
store west of the Mississippi, and one of the very few in the Blackhawk Collection, Inc., which specialized in the
the entire country. His growing knowledge and passion acquisition and sale of one-of-a-kind classic automobiles
for prewar cars eventually led him to start his own classic and sports and race cars. Three years after its founding
car dealership, and he got involved in the auto auction in 1981, Williams became the first person ever to sell
business when he produced the very first collector car a classic car for more than $1 million with his 1931
auction in California. Figoni-bodied boattail Duesenberg. Williams’ company
In 1979, Williams moved to Arizona, where he joined became one of the world’s leading classic car brokerage
forces with Tom Barrett and Russ Jackson and became firms, buying, selling and assembling entire collections.
intrinsically involved with the Barrett-Jackson Collector It allowed him to indulge in his passion for seeking
Car Auctions. A few years later, opportunity came out the rarest of all classics, one-of-a-kind or limited-
production models from the pre-World War II “golden
Remembering
DON WILLIAMS

SCAN TO WATCH
THE VIDEO TRIBUTE A BELOVED FRIEND AND MEMBER OF THE
BARRETT-JACKSON FOUNDING FAMILY

100 BARRETT-JACKSON EXPERIENCE SUMMER 2023