December 2nd, 2011
06:34 PM ET
'Deliverance' actor Bill McKinney diesActor Bill McKinney, perhaps best known for his role in 1972's "Deliverance," died on Thursday, CNN has confirmed. His stepson Richard Booth tells CNN that the actor, who was 80 at the time, had esophageal cancer. Booth called his stepfather a "strong, compassionate, motivated individual." A post on his Facebook page adds that the actor was "an avid smoker for 25 years of his younger life." At 80, he was "still strong enough to have filmed a Doritos commercial two weeks prior to his passing, and he continued to work on his biography with his writing partner. Hopefully 2012 will bring a publisher for the wild ride his life was. He is survived by son Clinton, along with several ex-wives."
McKinney's chilling mountain man in "Deliverance" is one of his most memorable roles, particularly the "squeal like a pig" line he utters in the scene in which he assaults Ned Beatty. Entertainment Weekly calls it "one of the most unsettling scenes ever put on film." McKinney is credited in more than 100 films, including a number of Clint Eastwood projects, such as 1976's "The Outlaw Josey Wales."
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He also played State Police Captain Kern in First Blood (1982), with Sylvester Stallone and Brian Dennehy.
"squeal like a pig" – best. line. ever.
I'm not sure if I should weep or squeal... so I guess I'll do both.
I was not sure if I saw this movie until I read the comment by zexufang. I liked that movie. Rest in peace mr bill.
Saw a poster of two frantic guys in a canoe with the following caption:
"Row FASTER I think I hear banjo music".
Great movie.
RIP Bill McKinney.
The film wasn't that realistic.
Nobody in real life would think Ned Beatty has a pretty mouth.
They should have got Warren Beatty for that role.
It's only a movie........
Such a wonderful man rapist, you will be missed.
I loved it when he wanted to Nail him in the Ass ! !
"Wales...not a hard man to follow...leaves dead men wherever he goes." My favorite movie line of all time.
RIP, Mr. McKinney
I own Deliverance on DVD and I can tell you that there is nothing CREEPIER than hearing Mountain Man say to Ned Beatty "You just get them pants right off." McKinney also had a great role in "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and Eastwood kills him in dramatic fashion at the end of the film. Good actor.
And he sure did "have a pretty mouth". -Art
Gotta give Ned his due. I wouldn't have accepted that role/scene for any amount of money...
It's only make believe!
Good actor.."First Blood" "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" and allot of Clint Eastwood movies, but was good in "Deliverance"..RIP
I saw Deliverance when it came out. Once. Once. He was also in another haunting movie, that I dont believe has been mentioned. He was the train engineer in Back To The Future III !
After all the decades of acting and dozens of film and TV he did, he was known as the guy who raped Ned Beatty; what an epitaph!
I would have hated to meet him in the woods.....a very convincing actor! RIP
way back 50 years ago, criminal assault was the newspaper euphemism for rape. reporters wanted to use the word rape to describe rape. they would concoct paragraphs like
"the victim was thrown down a flight of stairs, beat with a baseball bat, burned with cigarettes and stabbed three times, but she was not criminally assaulted"
He raped Indiana Jones with George Lucas
So this is where Lucas and Spielberg got the idea to rape Indy, eh?
btw, assault is not the proper legal term. Assault means: "to intend to create an imminent fear of harmful or offensive contact in another person." This dude did more than assault poor old Ned. Guess CNN's just to squeamish to call sodomy rape what it is. "Squeal like a pig, CNN. SQUEEEEAAAALLL!!!"
I recognize his face from several movies including "The Gauntlet" with Clint Eastwood. Good actor!
In film school I did a trailor on Deliverance for an editing project. I included the "Squeel like a pig!" scene. My instructor didn't like it. She said, " I remember when that movie came out. I went to see it and walked out on it at that scene. It was the most violent movie at that time." I didn't say it, but my first thought was, "Then what in the hell are you doing here teaching film editing?". From that point on it was downhill in her class.
The Lighting Director for the movie did a great job of lighting that famous rape scene.
That scene was so well acted, I always wondered if it was in fact real? But Ned Beatty isn't telling.
And why should Ned tell anybody about that? Would YOU?
Growing up in KY the film reminded me too much of how close they were to reality, the dude with the banjo sceered the chit out of me, so I NEVER watched the whole thing, not even close to it. However, I have found that ppl who have never even watched a second of movie knows that famous line. I have a a t~shirt, originally bought for my husband, that has Stewie and his dawg on it, rowing a boat and Stewie saying "I hear banjos, paddle faster". I had no idea he was that old, just how old is Burt Reynolds?
Bill was a great character with a memorable line albeit the second best line from that part of the film. The best being " Thatun there moves....... I'll blow his dad blamed balls off."
I always thought "I'm gonna cut your balls off, you ape!" was the best line.
Yep, other great McKinney lines: "This river don't go to Aintree"..."What I REquire is that you get your ass up in them woods"; but the best may not even be a line - it was the satisfied look gave to the hillbilly after finishing with Ned.
I saw the film as a young man, and while watching the squeal like a pig scene I truly realized that I was gay.
Who HASN'T fantasized about being Ned Beatty in that scene? I was soooo jealous!
Don't you think Ned Beatty led him on? It was like "I hope he notices me," and then "Get away from me!" It always seemed to me that Ned enjoyed that scene; I know I did.
Nice work, my friend. I see what you did there. You win the internets today.
I remember recording the sound track of that scene and playing it with a lot of stoned guys in Mexico. We laughed our asses off, The dialogue was nothing short of hilarious with that corniest of actors Burt Reynolds.
I wasn't aware of all his different roles. He was definitely a talented actor.
This was a Caesar! When comes such another?
Yes – Sir , I remember Ol' Bill from the 1974 Thunderbolt & Lightfoot days with Clint Eastwood & Jeff Bridges and Catherine Bach ( Daisy Duke) and George Kennedy ( Airport ) , Ol' Bill driving that Black Plymouth filled with Rabbits in the back and the Exhaust pipe run thru the inside of the car and the exhaust fumes so thick inside that hopped up plymouth you could puke ,, what a scene , also liked ol' Bill in all the Eastwood Every which way series too ! Well I'm sure ol' Gator McKlusky ( Burt Reynolds) will miss ya too, as well as Clint Eastwood , john Voight , and all the Stars you worked with and film Directors & producers and casting agents – Thanks for all the great Wonderful movies you helped provide us thru out the years – Now gun your motor and Deliver those rabbitts out of the back of your car Mr. Bill ~ !!
I remember him well in "Deliverance", but for the life of me I cannot place him in other roles. I thought I was pretty good
at knowing and remembering actors and their movies but he escapes me. When I finally realize who he was i will say.
"oh my goodness , is that who that was".
That is the genius of a great character actor. You lose him in the character and the scene.
Who would you rather be – the actor remembered for playing a hillbilly who rapes a guy in the woods, or Ned Beatty who's remembered for being raped by a hillbilly?
Pitcher or catcher?
Bill McKinney was one of the finest actors I have ever seen. I work in Hollywood, and he was highly regarded, an actors' actor. People may not have knopwn his name, but he was one of those ensemble actors you could trust to deliver a great performance, regardless of the size of the role. There was a reason Eastwood loved this guy...
Bill did one of those great but small roles in the GREEN MILE. i remember when we went to an art exhibit a few years ago, just after the movie came out. Tom Hanks was there and he gave a huge hug to Bill and said "we will have to do this again soon Bill". He was well loved and respected. I will miss him a lot.
There's some serious jokes that can be made about the Republican candidates and Deliverance. I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader.
Yeah, I know just what ya' mean. I am a Conservative and I think that Blarny Frank should have been the "squeal like a pig " actor. I am sure he would have been a natural......
Awwwww sh!t!..............so much for the sequel.
The "squeal" actor from "Deliverance" died. Not sure what is worse. That he is dead or the fact that he is referred to as the "squeal" actor.
I know, how obnoxious is that? I sure if he knew that was going to be his epitaph here, he never would have taken the part!
This will be the first night Ned Beatty has slept well since they filmed it.
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee.......
Condolences to his family. It's always a wakeup to see these actors from movies in my youth, that didn't seem that long ago...now in their 80's and passing away. He is one of those actor that did a few movies with Clint Eastwood.
Great job, Bill! You scared the hell out of me when I was a teenager, and I promised myself I'd never, ever visit The South. 😉 Rest in Peace.
Now if the rest of you damn yankees will pack up and leave, that would be just fine.
It took him a long time to die after that arrow went through his heart.
Bill was a good friend who told me great stories and many dirty jokes. Spent hours working on story I was writing and he was so gracious and open. Many people dont know that Bill had a great singing voice and performed at wedings, parties, clubs and conceptions well into his seventies. He was also a great father to his boys. God bless you Bill see you for for some wild boar sometime.
Hm. I'd really like to have been there when he sang for one of the conceptions. Got any pics?
The man made a typo, J. Mark. Try not to be a loser for the rest of your life. Very interesting LJK, they could have mentioned that. Like Ned Beatty, so many times it's the supporting actors that are the real stars. They often never get the proper kudos because of "Look how high I jump" Tom Cruises.
Yes, I know. And I made a little joke out of it. Try not to be a humorless dork for the rest of your life?
McKinney also played the executioner in "The Green Mile" - the guy who threw the switch.
Deliverance was every bit as powerful and affecting as any movie I have ever seen, but as far as just a haunting film goes, The Green Mile is the winner to me. I watched it one time, and can't bring myself to watch it again, although I recognize what a superior film it is.
What a horrid thing to be remembered for. I'm sure this man had far better performances – but of course, the media only wants the most sensational ones.
I agree. They could've shown a photo of him outside his character instead of the creepy photo they posted.
Squeeeeellll like a pig!
If you think that's a horrid thing to be remembered for, just wait 'till Ned Beatty dies.
Bill had a sense of humor and knew that his role in Deliverance would be what he was most remembered for-he even named his website squeallikeapig.com. His family and friends will miss him–as will directors looking for reliable, hardworking, memorable character actors.
To appreciate a person's most remembered role, is his honor. No one will ever be able to match that scene and that is truly an honor to have. It's acting and he played the character perfectly.
Even 40 years later bosses checking employees work still do the banjo sequence – nya nya nya nya nya nya nya da da – and warn that it will only hurt worse if the employee tries to resist admitting error.
Don't foget that Bill played 'Dallas', one of the Black Widow Bikers in Clint Eastwood's Any Which Way But Loose, and Any Which Way You Can. Hillarious! RIP Bill, and thanks for the memories.
Deliverance is the most disturbing movie I MUST watch every time it comes on. Compelling. Every actor in the movie was terrific. God's speed, Bill.
Farewell to one of the least "name-brand" but one of the most talented character actors of the last 40+ years. I'll never forget his scene as a lunatic driver who picks-up hitchhiking Clint Eastwood & Jeff Bridges in "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" or his single-minded and ever-so-slightly evil cavalry officer in "The Outlaw Josey Wales". We'll miss you, Bill!
imagine that was nearly 40 years
Mr. McKinney was in a bunch of movies. Josey Wales, The Gauntlet and The Shootist! Will surely be missed. RIP.
That other guy that was with Mr. McKinney's character was just as creepy. Right along with the backwoods inbred hick that was playing the banjo. That movie still gives me the creeps just thinking about it!!
Hey, you're disrespecting most 'people' in Iowa!
Bubba, sometimes a name says it all.
As a Minnesotan who lives in Iowa, I can safely say Iowans cannot be "Backwoods", since Iowa has no woods. Do not confuse "Country", like "Oh hey I argue with people about what tractor to buy, how many bushels per acre I get and I have to travel to a larger community to find a Wal-Mart" with "Backwoods" like "I literally have to hunt for my food, I like to inbreed and put serious consideration into whether or not the South will rise again".
Midwest, represent.
RIP, Bill.
Although the part was well-played and the movie was entertaining, being from the South, I've always highly resented how much people take the backwoods Appalachian stereotype to the extreme. After all, the character was, in fact, fictional.
I went whitewater rafting with friends down that very river, the Chattooga, some years back. It's stunningly beautiful and I wasn't worried about any "backwoods" people ... just the hydraulics of that crazy/wild river!
TF, very true. Not all city folk are Taxi Driver or Son of Sam either...
RIP, gotta watch the movie again now.
In the file "The Parallax View" starring Warren Beatty, he played a menacing, shadowy figure who didn't speak a word. He became a major focal point of the film, though. Not bad for a guy with no lines.
Bro, you have been downloading too many movies... you are starting to call them FILES, rather than FILMS!!! 😉
Great film. Great ,chilling scene. I can't remember seeing a man rape as graphic, plus they were about to be killed.
The ending was perfect-I woke from those type of dreams, but never harmed anyone.
This scene was likely the reason "Deliverance" was such a heavily censored film in its early release. Kudos to the actor who made it so real.
..."which he assaults Ned Beatty. Entertainment Weekly calls it "one of the most unsettling scenes ever put on film."
Assaults?? He raped Ned Beatty's character. That was indeed a chilling scene. RIP
Squeeellll like a pig!!
"Sure got a purty mouth, ain't he?"
That scene scared me so bad that I refused to go camping or out in the woods for years. I'm a female but you get the point...
RIP...
He was also the Kansas ' Redleg' Jayhawker in, "'The Outlaw Josie Wales", starring Clint Eastwood...