Actor Bill Paxton, TV Judge Joseph Wapner die
Actor brought grit, heart and humor to crowd pleasers ‘Aliens,’ ‘Twister,’ ‘Apollo 13’ and ‘Titanic’
Paxton, 61, dead from surgery complications; television courtroom pioneer was 97
Actor Bill Paxton, who brought down-to-earth charisma and everyman appeal to such blockbusters as Twister, Apollo 13 and
Aliens, has died at age 61. In a statement issued by Paxton’s publicist, a family representative said: “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.”
At the time of his death, he was starring as a rogue cop in CBS’ Training Day. Paxton was born in Fort Worth. In 1963, at age 8, he was on hand to see President Kennedy speak in Fort Worth hours before JFK was assassinated. A picture of Paxton, lifted up above the crowd, is displayed at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas.
He moved to Hollywood when he turned 18, getting his first gig as a set dresser for pop-cinema trailblazer Roger Corman and going on to study acting at New York University.
After connecting with James Cameron, Paxton starred for the filmmaker in 1984’s The Termina
tor. As the sarcastic, pessimistic Marine Private Hudson facing the killer creature in Cameron’s 1986 Aliens, he uttered immortal lines such as “We’re on an express elevator to hell, going down!”
Paxton continued to star in Cameron-directed projects including 1994’s True Lies and as treasure hunter Brock Lovett in 1997’s Titanic. Paxton joined Cameron on an underwater expedition to the actual Titanic for 2003’s IMAX documentary Ghosts of the Abyss and served as narrator for the film. His best reviews came with roles as Morgan Earp alongside Kurt Russell in 1993’s Tombstone and as astronaut Fred Haise with Tom Hanks and Kevin Bacon in 1995’s Apollo 13. The Ron Howard-directed film featured the trio as astronauts trying to bring their damaged spacecraft back to Earth and was nominated for the best-picture Oscar. Bacon tweeted Sunday that his favorite Apollo 13 filming memories were “of floating around in a tiny vessel with big-hearted, hilarious, brilliant Bill Paxton.” Paxton’s role as a storm chaser researching tornadoes with Helen Hunt in 1996’s Twister was the second-highest-grossing film of 1996. Hunt paid credit to Paxton for Twister’s success Sunday, tweeting, “He made this movie great, he acted his heart out.” In recent years, Paxton had focused on television, starring most memorably as polygamist Bill Henrickson in HBO’s Big Love. “I love going to work and looking at this mug in the morning,” Jeanne Tripplehorn, one of his three Big Love wives, told USA TODAY in 2007. “When Bill’s there, your whole day lights up.” Paxton earned strong reviews and an Emmy nomination for his performance as Randolph “Randall” McCoy, leader of the McCoy clan, in the History Channel miniseries Hatfields & McCoys (2012). In his cop drama Training Day, which premiered earlier this month, he got to act alongside his son, James Paxton, 22, who appeared in a guest role. Paxton also had a daughter Lydia, 19, with his wife, Louise Newbury, whom he married in 1987. Part of the appeal of Training Day for Paxton was reaching a broader TV audience. “This show will go to people,” he told television writers in January. “It will play on Skid Row. It will play in places we will never know of, but that kind of means something to me. “I’ve always felt like a populist. I want to make something that goes out to everybody.”