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1-8 of 8
- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
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 1960s and 1970s. 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.- Actor
- Director
A little-remembered tough-guy actor on film and tough-guy brute off camera during the 40s and 50s, good-looking "C"-level player Allan Nixon was born on August 17, 1915 in Boston, Massachusetts. Geared toward sports in his early years he studied journalism at the University of Richmond on a football scholarship but left before graduating after being signed professionally by the Washington Redskins. When the football career did not work out, he found another athletic outlet as a pro wrestler.
While in New York, Nixon found work with the John Robert Powers modeling agency. Through that connection MGM took him on as a client and he relocated West. It was disappointing as the studio only relegated him to playing uncredited bit parts in such secondary war-era films as Rookies on Parade (1941), The Bugle Sounds (1942), Thunder Birds: Soldiers of the Air (1942) and Margin for Error (1943). In 1942 he married sexy, beautiful Marie Wilson, known for her "dumb blonde" roles ("My Friend Irma") in comedy films.
Following WWII service with the Signal Corps., Nixon found the interruption hurt what was already a fledgling career. Having difficulty winning parts as a freelance agent, he found plenty of time to develop a fondness for alcohol and getting arrested for drunk and disorderly behavior. A few post-war roles came his way with obscure parts in the films Dragnet (1947) and Linda, Be Good (1947), the latter film starring wife Marie.
Nixon's dark, brawny handsomeness led to his being one of a thousand contenders interviewed in replacing Johnny Weissmuller as the film's Tarzan, but in the end producer Sol Lesser chose Lex Barker. Nixon instead looked for some work on stage, finding a touring show with zaftig Mae West in her vehicle "Come On Up," as well as appearing with Ann Dvorak in "Anna Lucasta," Gladys George in "Rain" and wife Marie in both "The School for Scandal" and "Three Out of Four".
Despite Nixon having a slightly more visible role in Siren of Atlantis (1949), a Maria Montez vehicle, and finally nabbing a lead as a caveman in the now cult film Prehistoric Women (1950), he continued to sabotage his career with more tabloid news of his frequent drinking and fisticuffs arrests. And then Czech producer/director Hugo Haas gave Nixon a break co-starring with Haas' wife Beverly Michaels in his sordid exploitation film Pickup (1951), a Columbia release. Columbia signed him but lost interest fast with his rebellious nature and off-camera problems.
Wife Marie, who was the breadwinner in the house and who had continued to find him work here and there, finally had enough. After a couple of separations, she finally divorced the actor in 1952. Without Marie's support, work was meager, finding some work on TV westerns ("Death Valley Days," "Wild Bill Hickok," "Judge Roy Bean," "Tales of the Texas Rangers") and in the lowgrade films Outlaw Women (1952), Mesa of Lost Women (1953) (lead), Untamed Mistress (1956) (lead) and Apache Warrior (1957).
A second marriage was annulled quickly in 1954 and a third one in 1957 actually led to violence. Desperate for money, he resorted to getting income providing information for tabloid magazines. Although Warner Bros. producer William T. Orr offered him help by signing him up and finding bit parts on TV, Nixon gave it up in 1962. A fourth marriage settled him down and a new sideline as a novelist in the lurid vein ("Blessed Are the Damned," "The Sex Symbol," "The Bitch Goddess") gave him some financial security. He died of emphysema on April 13, 1995 at age 79.- Writer
- Actor
Allan Scott was born on 23 May 1906 in Arlington, New Jersey, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for So Proudly We Hail! (1943), Top Hat (1935) and Swing Time (1936). He was married to Laura Ramsey Straub. He died on 13 April 1995 in Santa Monica, California, USA.- Eberhard Müller-Elmau was born on 9 October 1905 in Mainberg, Schweinfurt, Bavaria, Germany. He was an actor, known for The Great British Train Robbery (1966), Königliche Hoheit (1953) and Reifende Jugend (1955). He was married to Gerda Kuntzsch. He died on 13 April 1995 in Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany.
- Actress
Lyda Lobo was born on 2 November 1909 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. She was an actress, known for Mascara (1987), Centraal station (1974) and De verloedering van de Swieps (1967). She died on 13 April 1995 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.- Scott H. Hall was born on 19 March 1924. He was an actor, known for Blood Feast (1963) and Color Me Blood Red (1965). He died on 13 April 1995 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- Hal Peck was born on 20 April 1917 in Big Bend, Wisconsin, USA. He was an actor, known for 1948 World Series (1948). He died on 13 April 1995 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
- Flip van der Schalie was born on 16 April 1923 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. He was a producer, known for Prikkebeen (1972) and The Eurovision Song Contest (1983). He died on 13 April 1995 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.