Acting
Bill Thurman
Born Nov 4, 1920 · Texas, USA · Died Apr 13, 1995
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
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Acting
Painted Hero
1997
Drama · Thriller
In Broad Daylight
1991
Drama · Thriller · TV Movie
It Takes Two
1988
Comedy · Romance
Hawken's Breed
1987
Adventure · Western · Drama
The Long Hot Summer
1985
Drama
Silverado
1985
Western · Action · Drama
Stormin' Home
1985
Action · Drama · TV Movie
Alamo Bay
1985
Drama
Innocent Prey
1984
Horror
Mountaintop Motel Massacre
1983
Horror · Thriller
The Long Summer of George Adams
1982
Drama · TV Movie
Raggedy Man
1981
Drama
Skyward
1980
Drama · Family · TV Movie
Tom Horn
1980
Western · Action · Drama
The Sky Trap
1979
Crime · Adventure · Family
The Evictors
1979
Crime · Horror · Thriller
The Beasts Are on the Streets
1978
Thriller · TV Movie · Horror
Dallas
1978
Soap · Drama · Family
Keep My Grave Open
1977
Horror
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1977
Science Fiction · Drama
Charge of the Model T's
1977
Comedy
Slumber Party '57
1976
Comedy
Creature from Black Lake
1976
Mystery · Horror · Drama
The Florida Connection
1975
Drama · Action
'Gator Bait
1974
Action · Thriller · Drama
Where the Red Fern Grows
1974
Drama · Family
Ride in a Pink Car
1974
Thriller · Action
The Sugarland Express
1974
Crime · Drama
The Pickle Goes in the Middle
1973
Encounter with the Unknown
1972
Horror · Mystery
Fair Play
1972
Comedy · Western
The Last Picture Show
1971
Drama · Romance
A Bullet for Pretty Boy
1970
Action · Drama · Crime
It's Alive
1969
Horror · Science Fiction · TV Movie
Hell Raiders
1969
Drama · TV Movie · War
In the Year 2889
1969
Horror · Science Fiction · TV Movie
The Other Side of Bonnie and Clyde
1968
Documentary · Crime
Mars Needs Women
1968
Science Fiction · TV Movie
Curse of the Swamp Creature
1968
Horror · Science Fiction · TV Movie
Zontar: The Thing from Venus
1967
Horror · Science Fiction · TV Movie
Night Fright
1967
Science Fiction · Horror
The Eye Creatures
1967
Horror · Science Fiction · TV Movie
Hip Hot and 21
1967
Drama
Spiked Heels and Black Nylons
1967
Comedy · Drama
The Black Cat
1966
Horror
Hot Blooded Woman
1965
Thriller · Drama · Romance
High Yellow
1965
Drama
The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald
1964
Drama