---
name: "Bill Thurman"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/bill-thurman"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "4 November 1920"
died: "13 April 1995"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 87
updated: "2026-09-16T21:19:19.123175+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Bill Thurman

Actor. Born 4 November 1920 in Texas, USA. Died 13 April 1995.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 4 November 1920, Texas, USA
- **Died:** 13 April 1995
- **Active:** 1971–1977

## Biography

Bill Thurman (1920–1995) was an American character actor who appeared in numerous films and television productions from the early 1960s until his death. Born in Texas, he often played law enforcement officers or rural types in low-budget independent films and B-movies.

He worked frequently with director Larry Buchanan on titles including *In the Year 2889* (1967) and *It's Alive!* (1969). Notable credits include Coach Popper in Peter Bogdanovich's *The Last Picture Show* (1971), a hunter in Steven Spielberg's *The Sugarland Express* (1974), an air traffic controller in *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* (1977), and Carter in *Silverado* (1985). He also appeared in the television series *Dallas*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* (1977), Fi1m 85, as Air Traffic — [page](https://film.one/film/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind.md)
- *The Last Picture Show* (1971), Fi1m 89, as Coach Popper — [page](https://film.one/film/the-last-picture-show.md)

## Also known for

- *Silverado* (1985), Carter
- *The Sugarland Express* (1974), Hunter
- *Dallas* (1978), Phil Bradley
- *Tom Horn* (1980), Ora Haley
- *Where the Red Fern Grows* (1974), Sam Bellington
- *Mountaintop Motel Massacre* (1983), Reverend Bill McWiley
- *Raggedy Man* (1981), Sheriff

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/bill-thurman