What a great actor. Just watched two of his movies. To bad no one ever remembers him or gives him as much credit as other Native American actors. May you rest in peace Will Sampson. May your spirit live on forever. Will Sampson (September 27, 1933 – June 3, 1987) was an Native American actor and artist. Sampson, a Native American Muscogee (Creek), was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma and was an imposing 6 5 (1.96 m) tall. Sampsons most notable roles were as Chief Bromden in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and as Taylor the Medicine Man in the horror film Poltergeist II. He had a recurring role on the TV series Vega$, as Harlon Twoleaf and starred in the movies Fish Hawk, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Orca. Sampson appeared in the production of Black Elk Speaks with the American Indian Theater Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where David Carradine and other Native American actors like Wes Studi and Randolph Mantooth starred in stage productions. Sampson competed in rodeos, his speciality riding bucking broncos, for about twenty years. He was on the rodeo circuit when the producers of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Saul Zaentz and Michael Douglas, were looking for a large Native American to play the role of Chief Bromden. A rodeo announcer told them about Sampson, and after lengthy efforts to find him, they hired him on the strength of an interview. He had never acted before. Sampson was also an artist. His large painting depicting the Ribbon Dance of his Muscogee people is in the collection of the Creek Council House Museum in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. His artwork is currently displayed online by The Kvskvnv (“kuskuna”) Association. In 1983 he founded and served on the board of directors of the American Indian Registry for the Performing Arts. Death After undergoing a heart and lung transplant at Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, he died on June 3, 1987, of post-operative kidney failure and pre-operative malnutrition problems. Sampson was 53 years old. He was buried at Graves Creek Cemetery in Hitchita, Oklahoma. https://youtube/watch?v=qy4rfeZYYB4
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 22:37:45 +0000
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