Bill Paxton, star of '80s and '90s genre films and TV, dead at 61
Bill Paxton, the versatile and beloved character actor whose presence across dozens of genre films and blockbusters in the '80s and '90s made him a uniquely familiar face, has died, Mashable has confirmed. He was 61.
Paxton died Saturday, with the cause cited as "complications from surgery" in a statement from his family:
It is with heavy hearts we share the news that Bill Paxton has passed away due to complications from surgery. A loving husband and father, Bill began his career in Hollywood working on films in the art department and went on to have an illustrious career spanning four decades as a beloved and prolific actor and filmmaker. Bill's passion for the arts was felt by all who knew him, and his warmth and tireless energy were undeniable. We ask to please respect the family's wish for privacy as they mourn the loss of their adored husband and father.
Paxton's may not have been the biggest household name in Hollywood, but you could hardly tell that from his credits: Titanic, The Terminator, Apollo 13, Weird Science, Aliens, Big Love, Marvel's Agens of S.H.I.E.L.D. and most recently the TV adaptation of Training Day -- Paxton was one of those guys who seemed to be in everything. Along the way, he earned the distinction as the only actor to be killed onscreen by a Terminator, an Alien and a Predator.
Punks, astronauts, military men, cops, cowboys, bullying older brothers, family men, mercenaries, embattled polygamists ... Paxton played them all with an everyman ease, or an uncomfortable intensity, or whatever was required for the role. His elastic talents stretched across all genres and types, making him one of the busiest working actors of the past four decades.
It also gave him countless interesting Hollywood trivia footnotes -- did you know, for instance, that Paxton directed and appeared in the music video for the 1980 novelty song "Fish Heads"? -- and made a running joke of his frequent confusion with Bill Pullman, the other everyman named Bill of roughly the same age and career arc (the two did appear together, twice, in the 1990 horror thriller Brain Dead and the 2007 dramedy The Good Life).
Paxton was nominated for an Emmy in 2012 for his role in the TV series Hatfields & McCoys, and was part of the Screen Actors Guild Award-winning ensemble for Apollo 13.
Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Paxton was an 8-year-old boy in the crowd when then-President John F. Kennedy left the Hotel Texas on the morning of his assassination; a photo of the boy being hoisted up for a look still hangs in the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas.
Paxton is survived by his wife of 30 years Louise Newbury and two children, James and Lydia.
Josh Dickey is Mashable's Entertainment Editor, leading Mashable's TV, music, gaming and sports reporters as well as writing movie features and reviews.Josh has been the Film Editor at Variety, Entertainment Editor at The Associated Press and Managing Editor at TheWrap.com.A finalist for the Los Angeles Press Club's Best Entertainment Feature in 2015 for "Everyone is Altered: The Secret Hollywood Procedure that Fooled Us for Years," Josh received his BA in Journalism from The University of Minnesota.In between screenings, he can be found skating longboards, shredding guitar and wandering the streets of his beloved downtown Los Angeles.
