It was announced today that actor Bill Paxton passed away. Paxton was 61-years-old and died due to complications from surgery.
Statement from the family
People magazine received a statement from the family of Bill Paxton confirming the death. The statement included little information about what happened, other than that he passed away due to complications from surgery. It is unknown at this time what Paxton was undergoing surgery for. The family asked for privacy as they mourn the great loss.
Paxton was married for almost 30 years to Louise Newbury.
The couple married in 1987 and have two children together, one boy and one girl. Their son James is 22-years-old and an actor. Their daughter Lydia is 19-years-old and is a student at Duke University. The family lives in California, about an hour away from Los Angeles.
Endless film and television roles
Paxton has been a Hollywood heavy hitter for many years now. He's appeared in a countless number of movies, including "Titanic," "Twister," "Apollo 13," "Mighty Joe Young," and so many more. It was in 1975 that he appeared in his first movie, "Crazy Mama." The actor recently finished a film titled "The Circle," which will be released in April of this year. In it, Paxton played the role of a terminally ill father to the character of Mae, played by Emma Watson.
Paxton wasn't only a film actor. He had several roles on television shows, his most recent as Detective Frank Roarke on "Training Day." The show airs on CBS and just premiered a few weeks ago on February 2. It is based off of the 2001 movie "Training Day," which starred Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. One of Paxton's biggest and longest running television roles was as the lead character on HBO's "Big Love." Paxton played Bill Henrickson, the head of a polygamous family.
"Big Love" aired from 2006 until 2011 and was one of HBO's most successful series.
As the news comes in about Paxton's untimely death, actors and fans are offering condolences through various social media sites.
