Beloved actor Bill Paxton died Saturday, February 25th, following heart surgery complications after suffering a stroke. He was 61. Paxton was well known for his roles in hit movies like “Twister,” “Aliens,” and “Titanic.” A representative for the family released a statement, which reads in part: “It is with heavy hearts we share the News that Bill Paxton has passed away due to complications from surgery.” The family is also asking for privacy to mourn their loss.
Bill Paxton was one of the good guys
Paxton began acting in the 1970’s, but landed a small part in the 1984 smash hit “The Terminator.” In 1985, he starred alongside Anthony Michael Hall and Kelly LeBrock in “Weird Science.” Described as being notoriously nice, the Texas native rose to fame in the 1990’s thanks to plum roles in blockbusters such as “Tombstone” (1993), “Apollo 13” (1995), “Twister” (1996) and “Titanic” (1997).
His television credits include playing the lead role in HBO’s “Big Love,” earning him three Golden Globe nods and the History Channel’s miniseries “Hatfields and McCoys, for which he was nominated for an Emmy award. Paxton’s last big-screen role is a thriller titled “The Circle,” starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson and is currently in post-production. The film brought Hanks and Paxton together one last time. Hanks worked as an executive producer on “Big Love.”
The stars continue to fall from Hollywood’s galaxy
Bill Paxton’s son was tapped to join his dad on his new CBS drama “Training Day,” which just premiered on February 2nd. The new cop drama picks up 15 years later from the 2001 film of the same name and starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke.
Earlier this month, Paxton told People magazine he was thrilled to have his son guest-star on the eighth episode, playing the child of a father-son robbery team. The actor also mentioned his love for watching “Stranger Things” with his daughter and having binge-watched “Downtown Abbey” following his surgery last spring. Bill Paxton is survived by his wife of 30 years, Louise Newbury, and two children.
