Before he played the parent of a son with Down syndrome on Life Goes On (1989), Bill actually taught high school students with Down syndrome.
In 1993, he received the Michael Landon Humanitarian Award for his work
with the Down Syndrome Congress, and then in 1996 he served on the
executive board of the International Special Olympics committee in his
home state of Connecticut.
He and wife Shaw Purnell have two children, A.J. and Maya.