Celebrity Biographies
Bill Paxton
The death of Bill Paxton due to complications derived from a surgical operation on February 25, 2017 shocked Hollywood, since he was only 61 years old and was considered one of the most solvent secondary. He was known mainly for his roles under the orders of James Cameron in “Aliens, the return” and “Titanic”.
Born in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 17, 1955, William Archibald Paxton, known as Bill, was the son of businessman John Lane and housewife Mary Lou Gray, who instilled in him the Catholic faith. At eight years old, the boy was in the crowd attending President John F. Kennedy’s departure from the Hotel Texas on the morning of November 22, 1963, when he was assassinated. In some photos at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas, there are photos of the boy being held up by his father so he could see above the crowd.
At 18, he moves to Los Angeles to seek his fortune. He found work at New World, Roger Corman ‘s production company , where he ended up building sets, under the orders of the then also very young James Cameron . Despite his despotic character, the two became friends. After leaving the company, Paxton transferred to New York University to study acting. While trying to break into the business as an actor, he was reunited with Cameron, who gave him his first big break, as the leader of the gang attacking the newly arrived cyborg from the future, in Terminator . He was so happy with his work that after the actor was required as the stalking brother of the protagonist in The Exploding Woman(1985), and an army officer in Commando (1985), gave him a job again as a sarcastic marine in Aliens, the return .
Despite titles such as Night Travelers (1987), The Fury of the Wind (1989), Predator 2 (1991) or Tombstone: The Legend of Wyatt Earp (1993), he did not shine again until he got on the nerves of Arnold Schwarzenegger when his fictional wife, Jamie Lee Curtis , dates him in Dangerous Lies , again at Cameron’s command.
After its success they began to cast important characters in titles like Apolo 13 (1995) or Twister (1996). But his most remembered character belongs to another of James Cameron’s films, Titanic , in their fourth and last collaboration together to date. There was Brock Lovett, a treasure hunter whose thirst for valuables leads him to organize an expedition to the remains of the famous ship.
In addition to interpreting titles such as A Simple Plan (1998) and Resistance (2003), Bill Paxton tried his luck as a director with two feature films, Chill (2001) and Game of Honor (2005), which did not have much impact. His latest works include Edge of Tomorrow (2014) and Nightcrawler (2014). In the later years of his career he became a regular on Mormon television series Big Love , Agents of Shield , and the miniseries Hatfields & McCoys .
He married twice, the first time with Kelly Rowan . They were together for a year, from 1979 to 1980, when they finally divorced. In 1987 he married Louise Newbury, whom he had met on a London bus. The couple had two children together, James (born 1994) and Lydia (born 1997).