William Allen Asher may not be a household name, but in the world of handmade guitars his reputation runs deep. Better known to musicians as Bill Asher, he is a Los Angeles luthier who has spent more than three decades repairing, restoring, and building instruments played on some of the biggest stages in the world.
His family story is pure Hollywood. William Allen Asher is the eldest son of Bewitched star Elizabeth Montgomery and legendary television director William Asher. Instead of following his parents into acting or directing, he chose a workshop over a soundstage, trading scripts for chisels and earning a loyal clientele of working musicians.
Key Takeaways: William Allen Asher, known professionally as Bill Asher or William Asher Jr., is an American luthier born in Santa Monica, California, in July 1964 according to published reports. He is the eldest child of actress Elizabeth Montgomery and television director William Asher. His career spans more than 30 years of guitar repair and restoration plus about 15 years of building high-end custom guitars through Asher Guitars & Lap Steels. He is widely credited with helping revive the modern electric lap steel guitar, and his personal net worth has not been publicly disclosed.
The quick facts below gather the verified essentials about his life, family, and work in one place.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | William Allen Asher |
| Also known as | Bill Asher, William Asher Jr. |
| Reported birth date | July 24, 1964 |
| Birthplace | Santa Monica, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Luthier (guitar maker) |
| Business | Asher Guitars & Lap Steels, Los Angeles |
| Father | William Asher, television director and producer |
| Mother | Elizabeth Montgomery, actress (Bewitched) |
| Siblings | Robert Deverell Asher, Rebecca Elizabeth Asher |
| Education | University High School, class of 1982 |
| Known for | Custom guitars, vintage restoration, reviving the modern electric lap steel |
Who is William Allen Asher?
William Allen Asher is a Californian luthier and the founder of Asher Guitars & Lap Steels in Los Angeles. He is also the eldest child of two American television icons: actress Elizabeth Montgomery, forever remembered as the nose-twitching witch Samantha Stephens on Bewitched, and director-producer William Asher, who steered landmark sitcoms including I Love Lucy and Bewitched itself.
Anyone asking “who is william allen asher” usually arrives through his famous mother, but his public identity today rests on his own body of work at the workbench. While his name first surfaced in celebrity coverage as the son of a television legend, music publications such as Guitar.com and Premier Guitar have profiled him on his own terms, as a craftsman whose instruments are played by stars rather than a star himself.
Unlike many celebrity children, Bill Asher never chased fame on camera. He earned his standing the slow way: apprenticeship, countless repaired instruments, and finally a line of handcrafted guitars and lap steels bearing his name. A full william allen asher biography is less a Hollywood story than a craft story, the tale of a kid who fell in love with wood in high school and never looked back.
What is William Allen Asher’s age and family background?
Published sources, including his Wikipedia entry, list William Allen Asher’s birth date as July 24, 1964, in Santa Monica, California. If that reported date is accurate, the william allen asher age figure for 2026 is 62. A 2021 profile described him as 56 at the time, which lines up with a mid-1964 birth year.
He grew up in Beverly Hills alongside his younger brother, Robert Deverell Asher, and younger sister, Rebecca Elizabeth Asher. His childhood unfolded in the orbit of classic American television: his mother was starring in Bewitched while his father produced and directed it. A 1967 photograph shows the young William Allen Asher with both parents on the Bewitched set, a snapshot of a family fully immersed in the industry.
His parents’ marriage eventually ended in divorce in the mid-1970s, shortly after Bewitched finished its run. William’s schooling took him through El Rodeo School and Beverly Hills High School before he graduated from University High School in 1982. It was in high school that his real direction became clear: in wood shop class he attempted to build his first guitar body, a project that lit a fuse that has never gone out.
How did William Allen Asher build his career?
The william allen asher career began with an unfinished piece of wood, not a record deal or acting audition. After graduating in 1982, he took his half-built student guitar to a Los Angeles repair shop owned by luthier Jeff Lunsford, asking for help with the electronics and bridge placement. By summer’s end, Lunsford had offered him an apprenticeship.
The apprenticeship years
Asher worked under Lunsford for four years, learning the patient, exacting discipline of repair and restoration. Those years taught him how great instruments are put together and, just as importantly, how they fail and how to bring them back. He later worked alongside respected luthiers including Rick Turner and Mark Lacey, absorbing different approaches to the craft over roughly a dozen more years in Los Angeles repair shops.
In a Guitar.com profile, Asher recalled that neither college nor Tinseltown competed with the moment he realized he could build a guitar with his own hands. Starting out in repair, he says, was the best education a builder could get: he spent nearly 15 years fixing instruments before designing his own line.
Guitar Traditions and Asher Guitars & Lap Steels
After his long apprenticeship and journeyman years, Asher opened his own repair shop, Guitar Traditions, in Santa Monica. He later moved to a private workshop in Los Angeles operating under the name Asher Guitars & Lap Steels. The business covers three sides of the trade: handcrafted custom guitars, vintage instrument repair and restoration, and the design of guitar accessories.
Family remains part of the operation. His brother Robert Asher and Jessika Asher have both been connected with the business, making it a family enterprise in the truest sense. The company has deliberately stayed boutique, building its reputation on custom instruments for professional players rather than mass production.
Reviving the lap steel guitar
Asher’s signature design contribution came in 1998, when slide guitarist Ben Harper asked him to design a modern electric lap steel modeled on Harper’s acoustic Weissenborn. The prototype impressed Harper so much that he ordered two more, and they made it an artist signature model. When Harper appeared on a music magazine cover holding his Asher lap steel a year later, orders and attention followed.
That project nearly single-handedly revived modern electric lap steel manufacturing, and his instruments are now used from rock and blues to country and Americana. His reported client list includes Jackson Browne, Fleetwood Mac, Paul Simon, The Dixie Chicks, Ben Harper, Robert Randolph, Cindy Cashdollar, Greg Leisz, Emily Robison, and Ed Williams.
Who were William Allen Asher’s parents?
Elizabeth Montgomery, his mother
Born April 15, 1933, Elizabeth Montgomery came from an acting family: her father was screen star Robert Montgomery, and her mother had performed on Broadway. As Samantha Stephens in Bewitched (1964 to 1972), she became one of America’s most beloved sitcom stars.
She met William Asher on the 1963 film Johnny Cool and married him that year; they had three children together. After the marriage ended, she was with actor Robert Foxworth for years, marrying him in 1993. She died of colon cancer on May 18, 1995, at 62.
William Asher, his father
Born August 8, 1921, William Milton Asher was one of television’s most prolific directors: 100 episodes of I Love Lucy and 131 of Bewitched, plus an Emmy in 1966 for directing Bewitched. He also created and directed the 1960s Beach Party movies starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.
His career stretched from early sitcoms like Our Miss Brooks and The Patty Duke Show to later hits including Alice and The Dukes of Hazzard, ending with his retirement in 1990. He died on July 16, 2012, at 90, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. The Asher family’s classic Hollywood footprint runs deep, like that of Anthony Dion Fay, another child shaped by a legendary screen parent.
Who are William Allen Asher’s siblings?
William Allen Asher has two full siblings from his parents’ marriage: younger brother Robert Deverell Asher and younger sister Rebecca Elizabeth Asher. Robert has been associated with the family’s guitar business, while Rebecca’s path has leaned closer to television and entertainment. The family also includes half-siblings through their father’s other marriages, including his adopted brother John Mallory Asher from William Asher’s marriage to actress Joyce Bulifant.
That blend of famous lineage and independent reinvention is a familiar pattern among celebrity children. Readers interested in similar stories may want to read about Thomas Emil Sicks, another son of a celebrated actress who built his own identity outside the spotlight. The story of Carl Ellan Kelley, the half-sister of Aretha Franklin, follows the same pattern of family fame and personal privacy.
Is William Allen Asher married? What about his private life?
Reliable public sources do not document a marriage, wife, or children for William Allen Asher. Because he has kept a far lower public profile than either of his parents, most details of his personal and family life have stayed outside mainstream celebrity coverage. His occasional public material, including photos discussed in music press profiles, focuses on his guitar work: carving necks by hand, restoring vintage instruments, and standing behind the instruments he builds rather than in front of a camera.
What is William Allen Asher’s net worth?
William Allen Asher’s personal net worth has not been publicly disclosed, and no verified financial figures are available. Online estimates should be treated with caution, since none are backed by trustworthy financial reporting. What is established is the scale of his working life: more than three decades of professional guitar repair and restoration, about 15 years of building high-end custom instruments, and a boutique business serving professional musicians. He has earned his living through craft, not celebrity.
Frequently asked questions about William Allen Asher
Who is William Allen Asher?
William Allen Asher, known as Bill Asher or William Asher Jr., is an American luthier based in Los Angeles. He is the eldest son of Bewitched actress Elizabeth Montgomery and television director William Asher, and he runs Asher Guitars & Lap Steels.
How old is William Allen Asher?
Published reports list his birth date as July 24, 1964, which would make him 62 years old in 2026. A 2021 profile described him as 56, consistent with that birth year.
What does William Allen Asher do for a living?
He is a professional guitar maker, repairer, and restorer. Through Asher Guitars & Lap Steels he builds handcrafted custom guitars and lap steels and services vintage instruments for professional musicians.
Is William Allen Asher Elizabeth Montgomery’s son?
Yes. He is the eldest of the three children Elizabeth Montgomery had with her husband, director William Asher. His siblings are Robert Deverell Asher and Rebecca Elizabeth Asher.
Did William Allen Asher become an actor?
No. Although he grew up around television production and was photographed on the Bewitched set as a child, he did not pursue an acting career. His established profession is guitar making.
What is Asher Guitars & Lap Steels?
It is Asher’s Los Angeles boutique guitar company, dedicated to handcrafting custom guitars, restoring vintage instruments, and designing guitar accessories. The company is especially known for its modern electric lap steel guitars.
What is William Allen Asher’s net worth?
His net worth has not been publicly disclosed. No verified figures exist, so online estimates should be treated with skepticism.
For more profiles of famous families and the craftspeople behind the headlines, browse the celebrity stories on The Weird News Blog.
By Mussarat Zafar
