Bill Paxton

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Bill Paxton
Paxton at WonderCon 2014
Born
William Archibald Paxton

(1955-05-17)May 17, 1955
DiedFebruary 25, 2017(2017-02-25) (aged 61)
Cause of deathStroke resulting from heart surgery
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • film director
Years active1975–2017
Spouses
  • Kelly Rowan
    (m. 1979; div. 1980)
  • Louise Newbury
    (m. 1987; his death 2017)
Children2, including James Paxton
Parents
  • Mary Lou (née Gray)
  • John Lane Paxton
RelativesBob Paxton (brother)

William Archibald "Bill" Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and movie director. Notably, he was the protagonist of the movie Twister, as "Bill Harding", with co-star Helen Hunt. Alan Ruck and Philip Seymour Hoffman also co-starred. He is also known for his roles in The Terminator (1984), Weird Science (1985), Aliens (1986), Predator 2 (1990), True Lies (1994), Apollo 13 (1995), and Titanic (1997).

Paxton starred in the HBO series Big Love (2006–2011) and was nominated for an Emmy Award for the miniseries Hatfields & McCoys. He is the father of actor John Paxton. In 1987, he won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Aliens.

Paxton was born on May 17, 1955 in Fort Worth, Texas. He was raised as a Roman Catholic.[1]

Paxton was in the crowd waving when President John F. Kennedy emerged from the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth, on the morning of his assassination, November 22, 1963. There are pictures at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas where 8-year-old Paxton can be seen lifted above the crowd.[2][3]

On February 14, 2017, Paxton underwent open-heart surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California to repair a damaged aortic heart valve and correct an aortic aneurysm. A day later, he underwent an emergency second surgery to repair a damaged coronary artery. His condition deteriorated over the following 10 days, and he died from a post-surgical stroke on February 25 at the age of 61.[4][5][6]

References[change | change source]

  1. Spitznagel, Eric (January 8, 2010). "Bill Paxton Can Defend Polygamy, But He Can't Defend Sarah Palin". Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  2. "Unfair Park - The Day Bill Paxton Saw John F. Kennedy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  3. DiBlasi, Loren (May 25, 2012). "Live With Kelly: Bill Paxton 'Hatfields & McCoys' Interview". Recapo. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  4. "Bill Paxton Dead at 61". TMZ. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  5. "Bill Paxton dead at 61". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  6. "BREAKING NEWS: Twister and Titanic star Bill Paxton dies at age 61". Mail Online. Retrieved 2017-02-26.