BT
Bill Thurman
Actor
Born November 4, 1920Died April 13, 1995 (74 years)
Character actor Bill Thurman was born on November 4, 1920 in Texas. A large, rugged, stocky man with a hard, lined, puffy face, a deep, twangy, amicable voice, a strong, bulky build and a charmingly low-key and down-to-earth unaffected natural screen presence, Thurman often portrayed police officers and assorted scruffy redneck types in a huge number of entertainingly cheap'n'cheesy Southern-fried fright flicks and delightfully down'n'dirty drive-in fare made throughout the 60s and 70s. Bill frequently acted in features for legendary Grade Z low-budget independent filmmaker Larry Buchanan; said movies include "The Eye Creatures," "High Yellow," "Zontar the Thing from Venus," "Mars Needs Women," "Curse of the Swamp Creature," "In the Year 2889," the especially atrocious "It's Alive!," and "A Bullet for Pretty Boy." Moreover, Thurman had bit parts in two Steven Spielberg films: he's a hillbilly hunter in "The Sugerland Express" and an air traffic controller in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Bill's other memorable roles include the abusive Coach Popper in Peter Bogdanovich's magnificent "The Last Picture Show," a doomed hitchhiker in "Keep My Grave Open," a corrupt sheriff in the Claudia Jennings exploitation classic "'Gatorbait," a mean small town deputy in "Ride in A Pink Car," a more amiable sheriff in the fantastic Bigfoot winner "Creature from Black Lake," Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith's father in "Slumber Party '57," a priest in "The Evictors," and the boozy, dissolute Reverend Bill McWiley in the enjoyably crummy "Mountaintop Motel Massacre." Bill Thurman died in Dallas, Texas on April 13, 1995. - IMDb Mini Biography By: woodyanders
Movies & Shows on Plex
Known For
Filmography
| 1996 | Painted Hero · as Old Man Bolen |
| 1991 | In Broad Daylight · as Virgil Teague |
| 1988 | Hawken's Breed · as Jeb Kline |
| 1988 | It Takes Two · as Bus Driver |
| 1985 | The Long Hot Summer (TV Series) · as Houstin |
| 1985 | Silverado · as Carter |
| 1985 | Alamo Bay · as Sheriff |
| 1984 | Innocent Prey · as Jim Gardner |
| 1984 | Places in the Heart · as Homer |
| 1983 | Mountaintop Motel Massacre · as Reverend Bill Mcwiley |
| 1982 | The Long Summer of George Adams · as Floyd |
| 1981 | Raggedy Man · as Sheriff |
| 1980 | Skyward · as Pilot #1 |
| 1980 | Tom Horn · as Ora Haley |
| 1979 | The Evictors · as Preacher Higgins |
| 1978 | Centennial (TV Series) · as Uncle Dick Taylor |
| 1978 | The Beasts Are on the Streets · as Carl Evans |
| 1978 | Dallas (TV Series) · as Phil Bradley |
| 1977 | Keep My Grave Open · as Hitchhiker |
| 1977 | Close Encounters of the Third Kind · as Air Traffic |
| 1977 | Charge of the Model T's · as Sgt. Bond |
| 1977 | |
| 1976 | Slumber Party '57 · as Mr. Willis |
| 1976 | Creature from Black Lake · as Sheriff Billy Carter |
| 1975 | Weed · as Deke |
| 1974 | Where the Red Fern Grows · as Sam Bellington |
| 1974 | Ride in a Pink Car · as Barlow |
| 1974 | The Sugarland Express · as Hunter |
| 1973 | 'Gator Bait · as Sheriff Joe Bob Thomas |
| 1972 | Encounter with the Unknown · as Second Man |
| 1971 | The Last Picture Show · as Coach Popper |
| 1971 | Fairplay · as Jed Bartrum |
| 1970 | A Bullet for Pretty Boy · as Huddy |
| 1969 | It's Alive! · as Greely / Monster |
| 1969 | Hell Raiders · as Tex |
| 1969 | In the Year 2889 · as Tim Henderson |
| 1968 | Mars Needs Women · as Drunk On Pier |
| 1968 | The Other Side of Bonnie and Clyde · as Policeman (uncredited) |
| 1968 | Curse of the Swamp Creature · as Driscoll West / The Swamp Creature |
| 1967 | Zontar: The Thing from Venus · as Sheriff Brad Crenshaw |
| 1967 | Night Fright · as Deputy Ben Whitfield |
| 1967 | Attack of the Eye Creatures · as Sergeant |
| 1966 | Hip Hot and 21 · as Lt. Lang |
| 1966 | The Black Cat · as Bartender |
| 1965 | Hot Blooded Woman · as Railroad Tough |
| 1965 | High Yellow · as Major Bates |
| 1965 | The Yesterday Machine · as Police Detective |
| 1964 | The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald · as Witness |
| 1954 | Disneyland (TV Series) · as Sheriff |