William "Bill" Paxton (May 17, 1955 - February 25, 2017) was an American actor and film director.
The films in which he appeared include The Terminator (1984), Weird Science (1985), Aliens (1986), Predator 2 (1990), Tombstone (1993), True Lies (1994), Apollo 13 (1995), Twister (1996), Titanic (1997), U-571 (2000), Vertical Limit (2000), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), and Nightcrawler (2014). Paxton also starred in the HBO drama series Big Love (2006-11), earning three Golden Globe Award nominations during the show's run. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for portraying Randolph "Randall" McCoy in the History channel miniseries Hatfields & McCoys (2012). Paxton's final film appearance was in The Circle (2017), released two months after his death.
Video Bill Paxton
Early life
Paxton was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, the son of Mary Lou (née Gray) and John Lane Paxton. His father was a businessman, lumber wholesaler, museum executive, and occasional actor, most notably appearing in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films. Paxton's great-great-grandfather was Confederate Brigadier General Elisha Paxton, one of the commander's of the legendary Stonewall Brigade who was killed in action at the Battle of Chancellorsville. His mother was Roman Catholic, and he and his siblings were raised in her faith. Paxton was in the crowd when President John F. Kennedy emerged from the Hotel Texas on the morning of his assassination on November 22, 1963. Photographs of an 8-year-old Paxton being lifted above the crowd are on display at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas, Texas. On the Marc Maron podcast, Paxton revealed that at the age of 13 he contracted rheumatic fever which had damaged his heart. During his teens, Paxton worked as a paper delivery boy with Mike Muir.
Maps Bill Paxton
Career
Among Paxton's earliest roles were a minor role as a punk thug in The Terminator (1984), a supporting role as the lead protagonist's bullying older brother Chet in John Hughes' Weird Science (1985), and the melodramatic Private Hudson in Aliens (1986).
He directed several short films, including the music video for Barnes & Barnes' novelty song "Fish Heads", which aired during Saturday Night Live's low-rated 1980-81 season. He was cast in a music video for the 1982 Pat Benatar song "Shadows of the Night", in which he appeared as a Nazi radio officer.
Music career
In 1982, Paxton and his friend Andrew Todd Rosenthal formed a new wave musical band called Martini Ranch. The band released its only full-length album, Holy Cow, in 1988, on Sire Records. The album was produced by Devo member Bob Casale and featured guest appearances by two other members of that band. The music video for the band's single "Reach" was directed by James Cameron.
1980s
Paxton reunited with Cameron on The Terminator (1984) and Aliens (1986). His performance in the latter, as Private William Hudson, earned him the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor.
1990s
He and Cameron collaborated again on True Lies (1994) and Titanic (1997), the latter of which was the highest-grossing film of all time at its release. In his other roles, Paxton played Morgan Earp in Tombstone (1993), Fred Haise in Apollo 13 (1995), the lead in Twister (1996), and lead roles in dark dramas such as One False Move (1992) and A Simple Plan (1998).Film: 1990 Navy SEALs as Dane with Charlie Sheen & Michael Biehn.
2000s-2010s
Paxton directed the feature films Frailty (2001), in which he starred, and The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005). Four years after appearing in Titanic, he joined Cameron on an expedition to the actual Titanic. A film about this trip, Ghosts of the Abyss, was released in 2003. He also appeared in the music video for Limp Bizkit's 2003 song "Eat You Alive" as a sheriff.
His highest profile television performances received much positive attention, including his lead role in HBO's Big Love (2006-2011), for which Paxton received three Golden Globe Award nominations. Paxton also received good reviews for his performance in the History Channel's miniseries Hatfields & McCoys (2012), for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award, alongside co-star Kevin Costner.
In 2014, he played the role of the villainous John Garrett in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and a supporting role in Edge of Tomorrow (2014). He starred alongside Jon Bernthal, Rose McGowan, and John Malkovich as a playable character in the 2014 video game Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (downloadable "Exo Zombies" mode). In February 2016, Paxton was cast as Detective Frank Roarke for Training Day, a crime-thriller television series set 15 years after the events of the eponymous 2001 movie; it premiered a year later.
Personal life
Paxton was married from 1979 to 1980 to Kelly Rowan. In 1987, he married Louise Newbury; together, they had two children, James and Lydia.
In February 2017, a few weeks prior to having cardiac surgery, and ultimately his death, Paxton stated in an interview with Marc Maron that he had a damaged heart valve, the result of suffering from rheumatic fever in his youth.
Death
On February 25, 2017, Paxton died at the age of 61 from complications following heart surgery. A representative for the family released the following statement to the press on February 26:
Paxton's cause of death was a stroke resulting from complications from his heart and aorta surgery that he underwent on February 14, 2017.
He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
Upon learning of his death, a number of storm chasers paid tribute to his Twister role by spelling his initials across Kansas and Oklahoma via the Spotter Network.
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
Video game
Awards and nominations
References
External links
- Bill Paxton on IMDb
- Bill Paxton at the TCM Movie Database
- Bill Paxton at AllMovie
- Bill Paxton and Bill Paxton - Movie Director at The Numbers
- Bill Paxton on National Public Radio in 2005
- Bill Paxton on National Public Radio in 2002
- "Bill Paxton". Find a Grave. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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