Bill Thurman
Biography: 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 60s and 70s. 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. - IMDb Mini Biography By: woodyanders
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: November 04, 1920
Deathday: April 13, 1995
Popularity:
Known For
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1977-12-14
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Overview: After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.
Genres: Science Fiction Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1977-12-14
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A Bullet for Pretty Boy
1970-07-15
A Bullet for Pretty Boy
Overview: A biography of Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, a gangster who started his career at a young age after seeking revenge for his father's murder.
Genres: Action Drama Crime Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1970-07-15
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The Sugarland Express
1974-03-31
The Sugarland Express
Overview: Married small-time crooks Lou-Jean and Clovis Poplin lose their baby to the state of Texas and resolve to do whatever it takes to get him back. Lou-Jean gets Clovis out of jail, and the two steal their son from his foster home, in addition to taking a highway patrolman hostage. As a massive dragnet starts to pursue them across Texas, the couple become unlikely folk heroes and even start to bond with the captive policeman.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1974-03-31
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Silverado
1985-07-10
Silverado
Overview: Four unwitting heroes cross paths on their journey to the sleepy town of Silverado. Little do they know the town where their family and friends reside has been taken over by a corrupt sheriff and a murderous posse. It's up to the sharp-shooting foursome to save the day, but first they have to break each other out of jail, and learn who their real friends are.
Genres: Western Action
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1985-07-10
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Mars Needs Women
1968-08-24
Mars Needs Women
Overview: Tommy Kirk leads his fellow Martians to Earth on an interplanetary quest for females. Kirk proves that Martians have impeccable taste when one of his first conquests turns out to be sexy scientist Yvonne Craig.
Genres: Science Fiction TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1968-08-24
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The Last Picture Show
1971-10-03
The Last Picture Show
Overview: High school seniors and best friends, Sonny and Duane, live in a dying Texas town. The handsome Duane is dating a local beauty, while Sonny is having an affair with the coach's wife. As graduation nears and both boys contemplate their futures, Duane eyes the army and Sonny takes over a local business. Each struggles to figure out if he can escape this dead-end town and build a better life somewhere else.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1971-10-03
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Mountaintop Motel Massacre
1983-07-15
Mountaintop Motel Massacre
Overview: After several years in an insane asylum, Evelyn, the keeper of the Mountaintop Motel, is released and resumes doing business. She kills her young charge out of anger, but convinces the police it was an accident - and pushed into insanity, she then proceeds to target her guests, first by releasing vermin into their rooms, but then by using her trusty sickle.
Genres: Horror Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1983-07-15
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Zontar: The Thing from Venus
1967-12-01
Zontar: The Thing from Venus
Overview: A misguided scientist enables an alien from Venus named Zontar to come to earth in order to "help solve man's problems". However, as soon as Zontar arrives on Earth, it quickly becomes obvious that the three-eyed, bat-winged, skeletal black creature has a hidden agenda.
Genres: Horror Science Fiction TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1967-12-01
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Creature from Black Lake
1976-03-01
Creature from Black Lake
Overview: Two men exploring the Louisiana swamps run into a Bigfoot-type creature.
Genres: Mystery Horror Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1976-03-01
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The Eye Creatures
1967-10-20
The Eye Creatures
Overview: A teenager and his girlfriend must save the world from "eye" aliens after their attempts to convince authorities of an invasion fall on deaf ears.
Genres: Horror Science Fiction TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1967-10-20
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The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald
1964-04-22
The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald
Overview: The Dallas trial of Lee Harvey Oswald, President John F. Kennedy's alleged assassin, is enacted as it might have occurred. After the defense enters pleas of "not guilty" and "not guilty by reason of insanity," 23 witnesses for the prosecution testify. No verdict is returned.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1964-04-22
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In the Year 2889
1969-01-19
In the Year 2889
Overview: The last seven survivors of a nuclear war barricade themselves against an attack by a mutant cannibal.
Genres: Horror Science Fiction TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1969-01-19
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Curse of the Swamp Creature
1968-02-01
Curse of the Swamp Creature
Overview: While searching for oil in the deadly swamplands of the Florida Everglades, members of a geological expedition meet an insane doctor who is working on an experiment to create a creature that is part man and part alligator.
Genres: Horror Science Fiction TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1968-02-01
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The Other Side of Bonnie and Clyde
1968-08-22
The Other Side of Bonnie and Clyde
Overview: Quasi-documentay on Bonnie and Clyde... Larry Buchanan style!
Genres: Documentary Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1968-08-22
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It's Alive
1969-10-30
It's Alive
Overview: A farmer traps three people in a cave with his pet prehistoric monster.
Genres: Horror Science Fiction TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1969-10-30
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'Gator Bait
1974-10-12
'Gator Bait
Overview: Desirée lives deep in the swamp and supports herself and her siblings by poaching. After an accident involving Deputy Billy and a friend, the Sheriff, Deputy and a family of locals go after Desirée. Soon the hunters become the hunted as she exacts her revenge for their violence against her family.
Genres: Action Thriller Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1974-10-12
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The Evictors
1979-04-17
The Evictors
Overview: A nice young couple move into an eerie house located in a small Louisiana town, unaware of its violent history.
Genres: Crime Horror Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1979-04-17
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Night Fright
1967-11-01
Night Fright
Overview: A government space experiment into the effects of cosmic rays on animal life goes horribly wrong, creating a mutant monster that terrorizes a rural community.
Genres: Science Fiction Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1967-11-01
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Painted Hero
1997-09-16
Painted Hero
Overview: Virgil Kidder hasn't been in Waco for quite a spell, but now that he's back in town clowning in the rodeo, his troubles are catching up with him quicker than a Brahma bull. Country star Dwight Yoakam makes his leading role debut as Kidder, a "painted hero" who's at his best - and safest - when he's taunting the meanest bulls in the business. It's only when the paint comes off that the real danger strikes on a wild Waco weekend filled with thrills, spills and more twists than an eight second bull ride.
Genres: Drama Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-09-16
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Hell Raiders
1969-06-01
Hell Raiders
Overview: In Italy during World War II, an American headquarters is evacuated when German forces break through the front lines. A demolition squad is sent back to the abandoned headquarters to destroy valuable records that were left behind before they fall into German hands.
Genres: Drama TV Movie War
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1969-06-01
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Skyward
1980-11-20
Skyward
Overview: Billie Dupree is a flight instructor at an old Texas airport. When a young girl in a wheelchair finds the airport by watching gliders fly, she decides she wants to learn how to fly. Dupree teaches her to fly with some special controls compensating for her handicap. Koup Trenton runs an aircraft repair service and is trying desperately to get an old airplane back in the air. The three, together, put the young girl and the old plane up in the air.
Genres: Drama Family TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1980-11-20
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High Yellow
1965-08-04
High Yellow
Overview: Cynthia Wood, a 17-year-old, light-skinned black girl, tries to pass off as white after getting hired of a wealthy movie magnate Mr. Langley who has family problems with his spoiled wife and his promiscuous teenage daughter and son.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1965-08-04
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In Broad Daylight
1991-02-03
In Broad Daylight
Overview: The fanatically uncompromising Len Rowan and his family insult and terrorize the citizens of a small town for years. One day the comment of a saleswoman about Len's son not being able to pay his sweets triggers off his persecution complex. As revenge for the believed insult, the whole family starts stalking the shop owner and her husband... until this escalates and the old man gets badly injured. Len is arrested, but gets off, free on bail. His clever attorney delays the court session for more than a year - while Rowan keeps threatening the witnesses. But then, the people feel they've had enough of this and decide to take the law in their own hands...
Genres: Drama Thriller TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-02-03
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Stormin' Home
1985-04-05
Stormin' Home
Overview: An aging motor-cross racer, already having lost his wife and daughter to his footlooseness and now about to have his semi-tractor cab repossessed, vows to make one last go of it on his bike in the race of his career.
Genres: Action Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1985-04-05
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Hot-Blooded Woman
1965-10-01
Hot-Blooded Woman
Overview: Backwoods bombshell Myrtle marries George, only to find out that George neither can nor wants to satisfy her desires. Lots of heavy breathing, roughing-up and weirdo moralism ensues.
Genres: Thriller Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1965-10-01
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Slumber Party '57
1976-08-31
Slumber Party '57
Overview: In 1957, a group of high school girls spending the night in a mansion tell each other about their first sexual experiences.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1976-08-31
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Where the Red Fern Grows
1974-06-21
Where the Red Fern Grows
Overview: Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
Genres: Drama Family
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1974-06-21
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Charge of the Model T's
1977-11-04
Charge of the Model T's
Overview: During WWI, the Germans try to encourages and hires a band of certain Mexican guerrillas and bandits to make trouble on the Texas border and attack the Stonewall Farm. He plans this so the Americans will have no choice but to send more troops to Texas instead of Europe. Masterminding the plot is a German spy who has, at his disposal, the RX4, a specially equipped weapon-bearing automobile of awesome speed, but a U.S. Army lieutenant carries the day with his own fleet of Model T racers.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1977-11-04
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Ride in a Pink Car
1974-06-21
Ride in a Pink Car
Overview: A man, thought to be dead, returns to his hometown in Florida. He finds his wife re-married and the town now ruled by corrupt forces.
Genres: Thriller Action
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1974-06-21
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Raggedy Man
1981-09-18
Raggedy Man
Overview: Nita, a divorced mother of two boys, is stuck working as a telephone operator in a small Texas town in World War II. Her friendship with a sailor on leave causes tongues to wag in town.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1981-09-18
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The Florida Connection
1975-11-21
The Florida Connection
Overview: Dan Gordon arrives in town on the edge of the Florida Everglades, planning to take part in a drug smuggling operation. He's aided by his friend, Mule Tucker, but runs into opposition from corrupt local cops.
Genres: Drama Action
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1975-11-21
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Fair Play
1972-01-01
Fair Play
Overview: A young man arrives at the town of Fair Play to see his uncle. What he finds upon arriving is a town hiding a secret from any outsiders. The young man must uncover the truth the townspeople wish to keep hidden in order to save his uncle.
Genres: Comedy Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1972-01-01
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The Black Cat
1966-05-01
The Black Cat
Overview: A mentally unbalanced man is obsessed with the idea that a black cat is possessed. He tortures and kills it. Later, he comes to believe that the cat has returned from the dead to kill him.
Genres: Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1966-05-01
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Tom Horn
1980-03-28
Tom Horn
Overview: A renowned former army scout is hired by ranchers to hunt down rustlers but finds himself on trial for the murder of a boy when he carries out his job too well. Tom Horn finds that the simple skills he knows are of no help in dealing with the ambitions of ranchers and corrupt officials as progress marches over him and the old west.
Genres: Western Action Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1980-03-28
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Innocent Prey
1984-12-12
Innocent Prey
Overview: A woman living in Dallas discovers that her husband, from New Zealand, is actually a crazed serial killer who murders prostitutes.
Genres: Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1984-12-12
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The Beasts Are on the Streets
1978-05-18
The Beasts Are on the Streets
Overview: Panic grips a small community after a tanker truck crashes through a fence at a wild animal park, freeing dozens of dangerous beasts.
Genres: Thriller TV Movie Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1978-05-18
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Keep My Grave Open
1977-12-17
Keep My Grave Open
Overview: A crazy woman who lives in an old mansion thinks she's with her brother/lover, who lures victims to her.
Genres: Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1977-12-17
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Spiked Heels and Black Nylons
1967-01-01
Spiked Heels and Black Nylons
Overview: A policeman's wife becomes a drug addict and goes to work at the dreaded "Club Lesbo;" an affiliation run by gangsters. A haunted devil mask also figures into the, er, um, plot.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1967-01-01
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Hip Hot and 21
1967-03-01
Hip Hot and 21
Overview: The story of the country virgin who became queen of the innersprings...
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1967-03-01
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The Long Summer of George Adams
1982-01-18
The Long Summer of George Adams
Overview: A middle-age man, in small-town Middle America, lives a momentous year in the mid-20th century.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1982-01-18
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Sam
1967-01-01
Sam
Overview: Western set story of cowpoke Sam who spends the hottest Fourth of July in the history of Brewster County dealing with the problems and people of the area.
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1967-01-01
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Hawken's Breed
1987-01-01
Hawken's Breed
Overview: Hawken is a rugged drifter and loner who meets and comes to rescue a young Shawnee woman, named Spirit in 1840s Tennessee, whom he leaves after saving her from a rouge group of Shawnee Indians. After taking up residence with an old fur trapper and old friend named Jeb Kline, Hawken later meets Spirit again whom runs away from a local fur trader named Tackett, whom she is sold to. Soon, Hawken is up against Tackett and a posse of hired killers, as well as a greedy and racist land owner, named Hickman, who's long abused son Noel whom narrates the entire story, comes to his and Spirit's aid to help them survive.
Genres: Adventure Western Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1987-01-01
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Encounter with the Unknown
1972-11-15
Encounter with the Unknown
Overview: Three eerie tales based on actual events are enacted in this film. First, three college students play a prank on a geeky classmate, who is accidentally shot and killed. His vengeful mother forecasts the deaths of the three young men she holds responsible, on 7, 14, and 21 days hence. And, one by one, her grim predictions come true. Next, a ghoulish sound emanates from a mist-shrouded hole in the Earth near where a Missouri boy has lost his dog. The boy's father is lowered into the hole and lets out an agonizing scream! Finally, a senator returning home from a party finds a lost girl on a bridge and learns from her father that she died years earlier
Genres: Horror Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1972-11-15
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Alamo Bay
1985-04-03
Alamo Bay
Overview: A despondent Vietnam veteran in danger of losing his livelihood is pushed to the edge when he sees Vietnamese immigrants moving into the fishing industry in a Texas bay town.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1985-04-03
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The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald
1977-09-30
The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald
Overview: The bizarre story behind the man accused of assassinating John F. Kennedy and what might have happened had he been brought to trial.
Genres: TV Movie Drama Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1977-09-30
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The Sky Trap
1979-05-13
The Sky Trap
Overview: A young man in Arizona, in trying to save his mother’s business, takes off in a sailplane and finds a secret landing strip. He finds that it is being used by drug smugglers, and he works to catch them.
Genres: Crime Adventure Family Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1979-05-13
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