He studied history of art and filmmaking with Standish Lawder at
Yale University, began making short art films, moved to New York City, and worked for D.A. Pennebaker during the Ziggy Stardust
era. He  was artist-in-residence at City College, and taught
filmmaking, film history, and screenwriting at New York Institute
of Technology, Brooklyn College, Hunter College, and Fordham University.  

In 1984, Withers authored a textbook, INTRODUCTION TO FILM.

In 1991 he received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the
Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College.

For several years Withers served as Executive Director of the New York Expo of Short Film & Video, a 40-year-old international festival
of independent shorts.

Withers has won awards for his short films at festivals in the 
United States, France, and Germany, and received an Independent Filmmaker Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.