Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

"I didn't think it was a whale's dick honey."

-Chet, Weird Science-

 

"That's it man. Game over man. Game over! What the fuck are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do?"

-Private Hudson, Aliens-

It seemed Bill Paxton was given endless dialogue to chew or at least some of film's most memorable lines. Paxton never wasted an opportunity to get our attention. Carpe Diem. He seized the day as an actor and was rewarded for it with wonderful contributions to film an television before his untimely passing.

It's never too late to pay tribute and say goodbye to a talent that had such an influence on my young life in pop culture or in my more discerning moments as an adult.



Bill Paxton (1955-2017) was a superbly talented man and, like so many, we will miss his presence in film and television.

Since this is such a distinctly personal place to write this writer would like to make mention of some major Bill Paxton highlights.



The list of his films and television appearances are many and vast. There are even science fiction films like the forgettable Predator 2 (1990), Thunderbirds (2004)  and The Colony (2013) in which he starred that disappointed, but never as a result of his own contributions. He made every part special and his own. And there are still numerous other works that are solid with some being exceptional.



These are the film that rank very high or essential on the list of must see Bill Paxton films here at Musings Of A Sci-Fi Fanatic. James Cameron's The Terminator (1984), John Hughes' Weird Science (1985), James Cameron's Aliens (1986), Carl Franklin's One False Move (1992), Walter Hill's Trespass (1992), Tombstone (1993), James Cameron's True Lies (1994), Sam Raimi's A Simple Plan (1998), Bill Paxton's own self-directed Frailty (2001) and Doug Liman's Edge Of Tomorrow (2014).

In television he played the crucial role of Bill Henrickson for five seasons of the exceptional HBO's Big Love (2006-2011).



Heck, the man was so beloved people penned blogs with his very name in the title of those blogs as tribute and inspiration. Think The Paxton Configuration just for starters.

Bill Paxton, so sorry to see you go. I know I'm going to miss you.

He was just 61 years of age.

 

These are just a few highlights from Weird Science (recorded over the weekend), a film that essentially helped navigate us through high school. Bill Paxton and John Hughes what would we have done without you?