Bill Thurman

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

0.7143

Gender

Male

Birthday

04-Nov-1920

Age

(106 years old)

Place of Birth

Texas, USA

Also Known As
  • NO INFO PROVIDED

Bill Thurman

Biography

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


Credits

The Pickle Goes in the Middle The Pickle Goes in the Middle (1973) Character: Mr. Stanovich
A naive stranger gets caught up in a criminal gang's attempt to take over a fast-food franchise.
Hip Hot and 21 Hip Hot and 21 (1967) Character: Lt. Lang
Naïve young country gal Diane gets sold by her abusive father to hunky stud Rick for only fifty bucks. Alas, Rick turns out to be a total no-account jerk who leaves Diane high and dry to fend for herself in a cheap apartment after spending a single night with her. Pretty soon Diane finds herself in all kinds of trouble with the low-life characters who live in the apartment complex with her whom include lesbian junkie Marla and mobster Al Hoffman who runs a go-go bar in town.
The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald (1964) Character: Witness
The Dallas trial of Lee Harvey Oswald, President John F. Kennedy's alleged assassin, is enacted as it might have occurred. After the defense enters pleas of "not guilty" and "not guilty by reason of insanity," 23 witnesses for the prosecution testify. No verdict is returned.
Innocent Prey Innocent Prey (1984) Character: Jim Gardner
A woman living in Dallas discovers that her husband, from New Zealand, is actually a crazed serial killer who murders prostitutes.
Keep My Grave Open Keep My Grave Open (1977) Character: Hitchhiker
A crazy woman who lives in an old mansion thinks she's with her brother/lover, who lures victims to her.
Slumber Party '57 Slumber Party '57 (1976) Character: Mr. Willis
In 1957, a group of high school girls spending the night in a mansion tell each other about their first sexual experiences.
Charge of the Model T's Charge of the Model T's (1977) Character: Sgt. Bond
During WWI, the Germans try to encourages and hires a band of certain Mexican guerrillas and bandits to make trouble on the Texas border and attack the Stonewall Farm. He plans this so the Americans will have no choice but to send more troops to Texas instead of Europe. Masterminding the plot is a German spy who has, at his disposal, the RX4, a specially equipped weapon-bearing automobile of awesome speed, but a U.S. Army lieutenant carries the day with his own fleet of Model T racers.
Sam Sam (1967) Character: N/A
Western set story of cowpoke Sam who spends the hottest Fourth of July in the history of Brewster County dealing with the problems and people of the area.
The Florida Connection The Florida Connection (1975) Character: Deke
Dan Gordon arrives in town on the edge of the Florida Everglades, planning to take part in a drug smuggling operation. He's aided by his friend, Mule Tucker, but runs into opposition from corrupt local cops.
Painted Hero Painted Hero (1997) Character: Old Man Bolen
Virgil Kidder hasn't been in Waco for quite a spell, but now that he's back in town clowning in the rodeo, his troubles are catching up with him quicker than a Brahma bull. Country star Dwight Yoakam makes his leading role debut as Kidder, a "painted hero" who's at his best - and safest - when he's taunting the meanest bulls in the business. It's only when the paint comes off that the real danger strikes on a wild Waco weekend filled with thrills, spills and more twists than an eight second bull ride.
The Long Summer of George Adams The Long Summer of George Adams (1982) Character: Floyd
A middle-age man, in small-town Middle America, lives a momentous year in the mid-20th century.
Hell Raiders Hell Raiders (1969) Character: Tex
In Italy during World War II, an American headquarters is evacuated when German forces break through the front lines. A demolition squad is sent back to the abandoned headquarters to destroy valuable records that were left behind before they fall into German hands.
Stormin' Home Stormin' Home (1985) Character: Bailiff
An aging motor-cross racer, already having lost his wife and daughter to his footlooseness and now about to have his semi-tractor cab repossessed, vows to make one last go of it on his bike in the race of his career.
Hot Blooded Woman Hot Blooded Woman (1965) Character: Railroad Tough
Backwoods bombshell Myrtle marries George, only to find out that George neither can nor wants to satisfy her desires. Lots of heavy breathing, roughing-up and weirdo moralism ensues.
The Sky Trap The Sky Trap (1979) Character: Sheriff
A young man in Arizona, in trying to save his mother’s business, takes off in a sailplane and finds a secret landing strip. He finds that it is being used by drug smugglers, and he works to catch them.
Tom Horn Tom Horn (1980) Character: Ora Haley
A renowned former army scout is hired by ranchers to hunt down rustlers but finds himself on trial for the murder of a boy when he carries out his job too well. Tom Horn finds that the simple skills he knows are of no help in dealing with the ambitions of ranchers and corrupt officials as progress marches over him and the old west.
In Broad Daylight In Broad Daylight (1991) Character: Virgil Teague
The fanatically uncompromising Len Rowan and his family insult and terrorize the citizens of a small town for years. One day the comment of a saleswoman about Len's son not being able to pay his sweets triggers off his persecution complex. As revenge for the believed insult, the whole family starts stalking the shop owner and her husband... until this escalates and the old man gets badly injured. Len is arrested, but gets off, free on bail. His clever attorney delays the court session for more than a year - while Rowan keeps threatening the witnesses. But then, the people feel they've had enough of this and decide to take the law in their own hands...
In the Year 2889 In the Year 2889 (1969) Character: Tim Henderson
The last seven survivors of a nuclear war barricade themselves against the outside world. Beyond a dense mist, other survivors, radiated and mutant, grow hungry.
Alamo Bay Alamo Bay (1985) Character: Sheriff
A despondent Vietnam veteran in danger of losing his livelihood is pushed to the edge when he sees Vietnamese immigrants moving into the fishing industry in a Texas bay town.
A Bullet for Pretty Boy A Bullet for Pretty Boy (1970) Character: Huddy
A biography of Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, a gangster who started his career at a young age after seeking revenge for his father's murder.
Where the Red Fern Grows Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) Character: Sam Bellington
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
The Eye Creatures The Eye Creatures (1967) Character: Sergeant
A teenager and his girlfriend must save the world from "eye" aliens after their attempts to convince authorities of an invasion fall on deaf ears.
Zontar: The Thing from Venus Zontar: The Thing from Venus (1967) Character: Sheriff Brad Crenshaw
A misguided scientist enables an alien from Venus named Zontar to come to earth in order to "help solve man's problems". However, as soon as Zontar arrives on Earth, it quickly becomes obvious that the three-eyed, bat-winged, skeletal black creature has a hidden agenda.
Encounter with the Unknown Encounter with the Unknown (1972) Character: Second Man
Three eerie tales based on actual events are enacted in this film. First, three college students play a prank on a geeky classmate, who is accidentally shot and killed. His vengeful mother forecasts the deaths of the three young men she holds responsible, on 7, 14, and 21 days hence. And, one by one, her grim predictions come true. Next, a ghoulish sound emanates from a mist-shrouded hole in the Earth near where a Missouri boy has lost his dog. The boy's father is lowered into the hole and lets out an agonizing scream! Finally, a senator returning home from a party finds a lost girl on a bridge and learns from her father that she died years earlier
The Beasts Are on the Streets The Beasts Are on the Streets (1978) Character: Carl Evans
Panic grips a small community after a tanker truck crashes through a fence at a wild animal park, freeing dozens of dangerous beasts.
'Gator Bait 'Gator Bait (1974) Character: Sheriff Joe Bob Thomas
Desirée lives deep in the swamp and supports herself and her siblings by poaching. After an accident involving Deputy Billy and a friend, the Sheriff, Deputy and a family of locals go after Desirée. Soon the hunters become the hunted as she exacts her revenge for their violence against her family.
The Evictors The Evictors (1979) Character: Preacher Higgins
A nice young couple move into an eerie house located in a small Louisiana town, unaware of its violent history.
Skyward Skyward (1980) Character: Pilot #1
Billie Dupree is a flight instructor at an old Texas airport. When a young girl in a wheelchair finds the airport by watching gliders fly, she decides she wants to learn how to fly. Dupree teaches her to fly with some special controls compensating for her handicap. Koup Trenton runs an aircraft repair service and is trying desperately to get an old airplane back in the air. The three, together, put the young girl and the old plane up in the air.
The Sugarland Express The Sugarland Express (1974) Character: Hunter
Married small-time crooks Lou-Jean and Clovis Poplin lose their baby to the state of Texas and resolve to do whatever it takes to get him back. Lou-Jean gets Clovis out of jail, and the two steal their son from his foster home, in addition to taking a highway patrolman hostage. As a massive dragnet starts to pursue them across Texas, the couple become unlikely folk heroes and even start to bond with the captive policeman.
It's Alive! It's Alive! (1969) Character: Greely / Monster
A farmer traps three people in a cave with his pet prehistoric monster.
Spiked Heels and Black Nylons Spiked Heels and Black Nylons (1967) Character: Abel
A policeman's wife becomes a drug addict and goes to work at the dreaded "Club Lesbo;" an affiliation run by gangsters. A haunted devil mask also figures into the, er, um, plot.
The Last Picture Show The Last Picture Show (1971) Character: Coach Popper
High school seniors and best friends, Sonny and Duane, live in a dying Texas town. The handsome Duane is dating a local beauty, while Sonny is having an affair with the coach's wife. As graduation nears and both boys contemplate their futures, Duane eyes the army and Sonny takes over a local business. Each struggles to figure out if he can escape this dead-end town and build a better life somewhere else.
The Other Side of Bonnie and Clyde The Other Side of Bonnie and Clyde (1968) Character: Policeman (uncredited)
Quasi-documentay on Bonnie and Clyde... Larry Buchanan style!
Mountaintop Motel Massacre Mountaintop Motel Massacre (1983) Character: Reverend Bill McWiley
After several years in an insane asylum, Evelyn, the keeper of the Mountaintop Motel, is released and resumes doing business. She kills her young charge out of anger, but convinces the police it was an accident - and pushed into insanity, she then proceeds to target her guests, first by releasing vermin into their rooms, but then by using her trusty sickle.
Creature from Black Lake Creature from Black Lake (1976) Character: Sheriff Billy Carter
When the word gets out of a mysterious Bigfoot-type creature, two researchers come to a small town to study and hopefully discover the true nature of the beast. With some help from the locals, the two men to learn that the creature may be a very angry and murderous missing link.
Fair Play Fair Play (1972) Character: Jed Bartrum
A young man arrives at the town of Fair Play to see his uncle. What he finds upon arriving is a town hiding a secret from any outsiders. The young man must uncover the truth the townspeople wish to keep hidden in order to save his uncle.
Hawken's Breed Hawken's Breed (1987) Character: Jeb Kline
Hawken is a rugged drifter and loner who meets and comes to rescue a young Shawnee woman, named Spirit in 1840s Tennessee, whom he leaves after saving her from a rouge group of Shawnee Indians. After taking up residence with an old fur trapper and old friend named Jeb Kline, Hawken later meets Spirit again whom runs away from a local fur trader named Tackett, whom she is sold to. Soon, Hawken is up against Tackett and a posse of hired killers, as well as a greedy and racist land owner, named Hickman, who's long abused son Noel whom narrates the entire story, comes to his and Spirit's aid to help them survive.
Mars Needs Women Mars Needs Women (1968) Character: Drunk on Pier
Tommy Kirk leads his fellow Martians to Earth on an interplanetary quest for females. Kirk proves that Martians have impeccable taste when one of his first conquests turns out to be sexy scientist Yvonne Craig.
Raggedy Man Raggedy Man (1981) Character: Sheriff
A divorced mother of two boys is stuck working as a telephone operator in a small Texas town during World War II. Her friendship with a Navy sailor on shore leave causes gossip in town.
Silverado Silverado (1985) Character: Carter
Four unwitting heroes cross paths on their journey to the sleepy town of Silverado. Little do they know the town where their family and friends reside has been taken over by a corrupt sheriff and a murderous posse. It's up to the sharp-shooting foursome to save the day, but first they have to break each other out of jail, and learn who their real friends are.
Curse of the Swamp Creature Curse of the Swamp Creature (1968) Character: Driscoll West / The Swamp Creature
While searching for oil in the deadly swamplands of the Florida Everglades, members of a geological expedition meet an insane doctor who is working on an experiment to create a creature that is part man and part alligator.
It Takes Two It Takes Two (1988) Character: Bus Driver
Travis is due to marry Stephanie in a few days when he is convinced by beautiful saleswoman Jonni to buy a fancy sports car. The car looks good, but it turns out to be a piece of junk. Travis is determined to get satisfaction and he and Jonni hit the road to confront the crooked car dealer.
High Yellow High Yellow (1965) Character: Major Bates
Cynthia Wood, a 17-year-old, light-skinned black girl, tries to pass off as white after getting hired of a wealthy movie magnate Mr. Langley who has family problems with his spoiled wife and his promiscuous teenage daughter and son.
Ride in a Pink Car Ride in a Pink Car (1974) Character: Barlow
A man, thought to be dead, returns to his hometown in Florida. He finds his wife re-married and the town now ruled by corrupt forces.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) Character: Air Traffic
After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.
Night Fright Night Fright (1967) Character: Deputy Ben Whitfield
A government space experiment into the effects of cosmic rays on animal life goes horribly wrong, creating a mutant monster that terrorizes a rural community.
The Black Cat The Black Cat (1966) Character: Bartender
A mentally unbalanced man is obsessed with the idea that a black cat is possessed. He tortures and kills it. Later, he comes to believe that the cat has returned from the dead to kill him.



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