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Bill Thurman

Bill Thurman

Actor · Died April 13, 1995, aged 74 · Texas, USA

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

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
November 4, 1920
Died
April 13, 1995 (aged 74)
From
Texas, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
21 on MovieCove · 50 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27Down 16% in 30 days

What are Bill Thurman's films like?

Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Society.

Genres

Horror4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 2nd percentile
: browse their Horror movies
Action3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 23rd percentile
: browse their Action movies
Drama3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 68th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Survival
41%
Society
16%
Self
10%
Bonds
10%
Morality
10%
Power
8%
Ideas
5%
Survival5 titles, browse their movies with this themeViolence4 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 11 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 10 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 4 · Charged 5 · Intense 2

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 7 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 9 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 8 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 6 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 2

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 9 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
10
Melancholic
5
Dread
4
Thrilling
3
Bittersweet
2
Other
4

How their films linger

Unsettling7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet7
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Bill Thurman's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 15 of their 21 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (12).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Bill Thurman's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

50 credits, 21 with a MovieCove page.

  • Painted Hero (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    as Old Man Bolen

  • In Broad Daylight (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    as Virgil Teague

  • It Takes Two(1988)

    as Bus Driver

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • Hawken's Breed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    as Jeb Kline

  • The Long Hot Summer(1985)

    Show 2 episodes · as Houstin

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all shows

  • Silverado(1985)

    as Carter

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Stormin' Home (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    as Bailiff

  • Alamo Bay(1985)

    as Sheriff

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Innocent Prey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    as Jim Gardner

  • Mountaintop Motel Massacre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    as Reverend Bill McWiley

  • The Long Summer of George Adams (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    as Floyd

  • Raggedy Man(1981)

    as Sheriff

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Skyward (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    as Pilot #1

  • Tom Horn(1980)

    as Ora Haley

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • The Sky Trap (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    as Sheriff

  • The Evictors(1979)

    as Preacher Higgins

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films

  • The Beasts Are on the Streets (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    as Carl Evans

  • Dallas(1978)

    Show 1 episode · as Phil Bradley

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all shows

  • Keep My Grave Open (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)

    as Hitchhiker

  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind(1977)

    as Air Traffic

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Charge of the Model T's (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)

    as Sgt. Bond

  • Slumber Party '57 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    as Mr. Willis

  • Creature from Black Lake(1976)

    as Sheriff Billy Carter

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • The Florida Connection (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)

    as Deke

  • 'Gator Bait(1973)

    as Sheriff Joe Bob Thomas

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • Ride in a Pink Car (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    as Barlow

  • Where the Red Fern Grows(1974)

    as Sam Bellington

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • The Sugarland Express(1974)

    as Hunter

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • The Pickle Goes in the Middle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)

    as Mr. Stanovich

  • Encounter with the Unknown(1972)

    as Second Man

    Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films

  • Fair Play (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)

    as Jed Bartrum

  • The Last Picture Show(1971)

    as Coach Popper

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • Strawberries Need Rain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Key Grip

  • A Bullet for Pretty Boy(1970)

    as Huddy

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films

  • It's Alive (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    as Greely / Monster

  • Hell Raiders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    as Tex

  • In the Year 2889(1969)

    as Tim Henderson

    Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films

  • Mars Needs Women(1968)

    as Drunk on Pier

    Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films

  • The Other Side of Bonnie and Clyde (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

    as Policeman (uncredited)

  • Curse of the Swamp Creature(1968)

    as Driscoll West / The Swamp Creature

    Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films

  • Zontar: The Thing from Venus(1967)

    as Sheriff Brad Crenshaw

    Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films

  • Night Fright (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    as Deputy Ben Whitfield

  • The Eye Creatures (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    as Sergeant

  • Hip Hot and 21 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    as Lt. Lang

  • Sam (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Actor

  • Spiked Heels and Black Nylons (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    as Abel

  • The Black Cat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

    Key Grip · as Bartender

  • Hot Blooded Woman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    as Railroad Tough

  • High Yellow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    as Major Bates

  • The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald(1964)

    as Witness

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films

Career shape

Star power in the 91st percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 50 titles from 1964 to 1997; peak year 1975.

Biggest box office

Raggedy Man (1981)

$2M worldwide

Highest rated

Where the Red Fern Grows (1974)

Midcredits 74th

Film career

19641997

Peak 1975 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

  • 1967Screen debut· The Eye Creatures

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting49 of 50: 48 only acting, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score30thOther crew2 of 50: 1 only other crew, 1 with another role

By decade

1960s16 · 16 acting · 1 crew1970s20 · 19 acting · 1 crew1980s12 · acting1990s2 · acting

Billing

usually 11th · top billed in 0% of 15 roles
6777

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

How do Bill Thurman's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 25th percentile, the median of all 19; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 26th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

26thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Approval · how many liked their films

18thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Reach · how many have seen their films

46thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Midcredits score across 21 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th5
  • 25th to 49th4
  • Below 25th9

Shape of the crowd

8 of their 21 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Universally Panned3
  • Crowd Pleaser7
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed8

Most divisive · actor

Curse of the Swamp Creature (1968)

65th percentile spread · 79% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

The Last Picture Show (1971)

Midcredits 98th · 86% liked

Reviewers score the acting 46/100 in their films, across 11 reviewed titles; fans 60, detractors 33. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Bill Thurman work with?

People who share at least 2 of Bill Thurman's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Larry Buchanan shares the most, 4.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and cinematographers

Producers