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
Known For
Dallas
1978
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1977
The Last Picture Show
1971
Silverado
1985
The Long Hot Summer
1985
The Sugarland Express
1974
Where the Red Fern Grows
1974
'Gator Bait
1974
Tom Horn
1980
Creature from Black Lake
1976
It Takes Two
1988
Raggedy Man
1981
Filmography
Dallas
as Phil Bradley · 1978
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
as Air Traffic · 1977
The Last Picture Show
as Coach Popper · 1971
Silverado
as Carter · 1985
The Long Hot Summer
as Houstin · 1985
The Sugarland Express
as Hunter · 1974
Where the Red Fern Grows
as Sam Bellington · 1974
'Gator Bait
as Sheriff Joe Bob Thomas · 1974
Tom Horn
as Ora Haley · 1980
Creature from Black Lake
as Sheriff Billy Carter · 1976
It Takes Two
as Bus Driver · 1988
Raggedy Man
as Sheriff · 1981
Curse of the Swamp Creature
as Driscoll West / The Swamp Creature · 1968
Alamo Bay
as Sheriff · 1985
Spiked Heels and Black Nylons
as Abel · 1967
In Broad Daylight
as Virgil Teague · 1991
Zontar: The Thing from Venus
as Sheriff Brad Crenshaw · 1967
Mars Needs Women
as Drunk on Pier · 1968
Mountaintop Motel Massacre
as Reverend Bill McWiley · 1983
Encounter with the Unknown
as Second Man · 1972
Sam
· 1967
Innocent Prey
as Jim Gardner · 1984
Keep My Grave Open
as Hitchhiker · 1977
Ride in a Pink Car
as Barlow · 1974
A Bullet for Pretty Boy
as Huddy · 1970
Charge of the Model T's
as Sgt. Bond · 1977
The Evictors
as Preacher Higgins · 1979
Hawken's Breed
as Jeb Kline · 1987
It's Alive
as Greely / Monster · 1969
In the Year 2889
as Tim Henderson · 1969
The Long Summer of George Adams
as Floyd · 1982
The Pickle Goes in the Middle
as Mr. Stanovich · 1973
Skyward
as Pilot #1 · 1980
The Eye Creatures
as Sergeant · 1967
The Sky Trap
as Sheriff · 1979
The Beasts Are on the Streets
as Carl Evans · 1978
Stormin' Home
as Bailiff · 1985
The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald
as Witness · 1964
Painted Hero
as Old Man Bolen · 1997
Hip Hot and 21
as Lt. Lang · 1967
The Black Cat
as Bartender · 1966
Night Fright
as Deputy Ben Whitfield · 1967
Slumber Party '57
as Mr. Willis · 1976
The Other Side of Bonnie and Clyde
as Policeman (uncredited) · 1968
Fair Play
as Jed Bartrum · 1972
The Florida Connection
as Deke · 1975
Hot Blooded Woman
as Railroad Tough · 1965
Hell Raiders
as Tex · 1969
High Yellow
as Major Bates · 1965