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William "Bill" Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor, director, producer, screenwriter, editor, production designer, production manager, set decorator and singer who played Private Hudson in the 1986 film Aliens and Jerry in the 1990 film Predator 2. He later lent his likeness to the Hudson character in the 2013 video game Aliens: Colonial Marines, although he did not provide the character's voice in this appearance. He was the father of Alien: Alone actor James Paxton. Other notable films Paxton appeared in include Near Dark (1987), Tombstone (1993), True Lies (1994), Apollo 13 (1995), Twister (1996), Titanic (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998) and Edge of Tomorrow (2014). Aside from his work in film, Paxton had an extensive career in television.

For his role in Aliens, Paxton won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor. In addition to this, he was nominated for four Golden Globes and an Emmy. He is often said to be one of two actors (the other being Lance Henriksen) who have been killed on-screen by an Alien, a Predator and a Terminator (although some argue that Paxton's character in The Terminator was not definitively killed).

On February 25, 2017, Paxton died of a stroke precipitated by complications following heart surgery.[1][2]

Awards and Nominations[]

Year Film Notes
1986 Aliens Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor

Filmography[]

Year Title Functioned as Notes
Director Actor
1975 Crazy Mama RedCross GreenTick Uncredited
1980 Fish Heads RedCross GreenTick
1981 Stripes RedCross GreenTick
1983 Night Warning RedCross GreenTick
Taking Tiger Mountain RedCross GreenTick
Mortuary RedCross GreenTick
The Lords of Discipline RedCross GreenTick With Michael Biehn, Valerie Colgan, William Hope and Stuart Milligan
1984 Impulse RedCross GreenTick
Streets of Fire RedCross GreenTick
The Terminator RedCross GreenTick With Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen and Arnold Schwarzenegger, directed by James Cameron
1985 An Early Frost RedCross GreenTick
Commando RedCross GreenTick With Bill Duke, Dan Hedaya, Thomas Rosales, Jr. and Arnold Schwarzenegger
Weird Science RedCross GreenTick
1986 Fresno RedCross GreenTick
Aliens RedCross GreenTick
1987 Near Dark RedCross GreenTick With Jenette Goldstein and Lance Henriksen
1988 Pass the Ammo RedCross GreenTick
1989 Slipstream RedCross GreenTick With Simon Crane, Alan Polonsky and Ricco Ross
Next of Kin RedCross GreenTick With Adam Baldwin
Back to Back RedCross GreenTick
1990 Braid Dead RedCross GreenTick
The Last of the Finest RedCross GreenTick With Steve Boyum
Navy SEALs RedCross GreenTick With Michael Biehn
Predator 2 RedCross GreenTick
1991 The Dark Backward RedCross GreenTick
1992 The Vagrant RedCross GreenTick
One False Move RedCross GreenTick
Trespass RedCross GreenTick With Gerard G. Williams
1993 Monolith RedCross GreenTick With John Cann, John Hurt and David St. James
Indian Summer RedCross GreenTick
Boxing Helena RedCross GreenTick
Tombstone RedCross GreenTick With Michael Biehn
1994 Frank and Jesse RedCross GreenTick
True Lies RedCross GreenTick With Steve Boyum and Arnold Schwarzenegger, directed by James Cameron
Future Shock RedCross GreenTick
1995 The Last Supper RedCross GreenTick With Ron Perlman
Apollo 13 RedCross GreenTick With Christopher John Fields
1996 Twister RedCross GreenTick With Jake Busey
The Evening Star RedCross GreenTick
1997 Titanic RedCross GreenTick With Simon Crane, Jenette Goldstein and Michael Papajohn, directed by James Cameron
Traveller RedCross GreenTick
1998 A Bright Shining Lie RedCross GreenTick
A Simple Plan RedCross GreenTick
Mighty Joe Young RedCross GreenTick With Charlize Theron
2000 U-571 RedCross GreenTick With Carsten Voigt
Vertical Limit RedCross GreenTick With Simon Crane
2001 Frailty GreenTick GreenTick
2002 Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams RedCross GreenTick With Danny Trejo, directed by Robert Rodriguez
2003 Ghosts of the Abyss RedCross GreenTick
Eat You Alive RedCross GreenTick Uncredited
Resistance RedCross GreenTick
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over RedCross GreenTick With Danny Trejo, directed by Robert Rodriguez
2004 Club Dread RedCross GreenTick
Haven RedCross GreenTick
Thunderbirds RedCross GreenTick With Clive Curtis and Deobia Oparei
2005 The Greatest Game Ever Played GreenTick GreenTick
2007 The Good Life RedCross GreenTick With Harry Dean Stanton
2011 Haywire RedCross GreenTick With Michael Fassbender
Tattoo GreenTick GreenTick
2012 Shanghai Calling RedCross GreenTick
2013 The Colony RedCross GreenTick With Laurence Fishburne
2 Guns RedCross GreenTick
Red Wing RedCross GreenTick
2014 Edge of Tomorrow RedCross GreenTick With Simon Crane and Shane Steyn
Million Dollar Arm RedCross GreenTick
Nightcrawler RedCross GreenTick With Michael Papajohn

Documentary Appearances[]

Trivia[]

  • Paxton was approached by the Brothers Strause for the role of the chef Ritchie in Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, but ultimately he did not appear.[3] Had he accepted the role, he would have held the remarkable distinction of appearing in the second movie of the Alien series, the second movie of the Predator series and the second movie of the Alien vs. Predator series. He also would have been the only actor to appear in all three series.

External Links[]

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