44 April 25 • 2019
jn

E

than Davison readily reveals 
what he considers the most 
important lesson learned from 
his late father, William Davidson, a 
philanthropist and businessman who 
headed up Guardian Industries and 
owned the Detroit Pistons.
If someone offers an opportunity 
and says the decision must be made 
then and there, always say no, William 
Davidson advised. The reasoning was 
that people need time to think through 
choices, and any rush is taking away 
the freedom to think.
Although that lesson is not part 
of the film Call Me Bill: The William 
Davidson Story, which is kicking off 
this year’
s Lenore Marwil Detroit 
Jewish Film Festival, it is likely to be 
part of small digital vignettes being 
contemplated to follow up on the 
documentary. 
The 90-minute film, being shown 
free at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 2, at the 
Jewish Community Center, precedes 
the showcase of international films 
scheduled May 5-15.
“The thing I like most about the 
film is that it preserves my father’
s 
story and his philosophy in business 
and life,” says Ethan Davidson, 49, 
executive producer with his wife, 
Gretchen, through their El Studio 
444. “I think it could be a benefit to 
audiences because people like to hear 
these kinds of stories.”
The film project, begun seven years 
ago, wasn’
t intended for the public. It 
was meant to be a family legacy with 
archival film footage. 
“My father would not have been 
interested in a film for public con-
sumption,” Ethan explains. “Just a cou-
ple of weeks before my dad died, he 
said he was going to make a short film 
explaining something about himself so 
that his grandkids would have it. He 
must have been feeling his mortality at 
that moment.
“To my knowledge, he never got 
around to making that 10-minute 
film. The next few years went by and 
other people in our family passed 
away. We thought we should, at the 
very least, interview people so we 
could preserve stories of the people 
who knew him best.”

fi
 lm
arts&life

Call Me Bill

A documentary by his son leaves a legacy for 
Bill Davidson’
s family and the world.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Bill Davidson and his son Ethan

COURTESY DAVIDSON FAMILY