Sam Bottoms

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Samuel John Bottoms (born October 17, 1955 in Santa Barbara , † December 16, 2008 in Los Angeles ) was an American actor . His best known role was that of Lance B. Johnson in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now .

Life

Sam Bottoms was born in 1955 in Santa Barbara, the third of four sons to his parents James "Bud" Bottoms, a sculptor who specialized in bronze sculptures of marine mammals, and Betty Bottoms. He started performing at the Santa Barbara Youth Theater at the age of ten . His three brothers Timothy Bottoms , Joseph Bottoms and Ben Bottoms also started an acting career. Sam Bottoms had his first film appearance in 1971 as Billy opposite Timothy in the drama The Last Picture Show directed by Peter Bogdanovich . Sam was specially from Santa Barbara, where he lived at the time, to Archer Citytraveled to Texas to watch the filming his brother was cast on. Director Bogdanovich is said to have seen Sam on the street by chance and asked if he was interested in playing too.

During his life he played in over 50 films and TV series. Including The Texaner (1976, orig. The Outlaw Josey Wales ) directed by Clint Eastwood and in the western comedy Bronco Billy (1980), also by Eastwood. He also took remarkable role in SherryBaby by Laurie Collyer (2006), the comedy Shopgirl (2005) and Seabiscuit - With the desire to succeed the legendary career of the horse of the same name in the 1930s (2003). He made guest appearances in popular television series such as New York Cops - NYPD Blue and 21 Jump Street - Tatort Classroom .

During the chaotic year and a half of filming Apocalypse Now in the Philippines , he contracted a hookworm , a parasite that seriously damaged his liver . The flying debris from the explosions is said to have been so finely distributed that he fished small pieces out of his ears months later. Bottoms, then 20, played the marine Lance B. Johnson, who operates the machine gun on a speedboat and constantly consumes drugs, which eventually leads to a personality change. In fact, Bottoms said in a 1991 documentary about the shooting, he did not take LSD, but stimulants. As a keen surfer, he is encouraged to try out his board in the midst of the fray. The role is considered to be the early highlight of his career. According to his own statement, there were points of contact between this character and himself. In 1976 Bottoms actually surfed intensively, indulging in the lifestyle of Southern California.

Of his work with Coppola, Bottoms told the London Times in 2001, "Francis is a great general, he's a General Patton, a General Sherman, a great leader. I was his loyal soldier. I was determined to obey all his orders. So I did and am surprised that I got out of the whole thing alive. " The director of Apocalypse Now praised Bottoms with the words: "He was a handsome, tall and very sociable young man and therefore the right person for the role. He, Larry Fishburne and Fred Forrest were like a young family to me during the filming, and they went through thick and thin without complaint. We admired them all. " Sam was particularly lovable, calm, helpful and undemanding. In 1987 Bottoms starred alongside James Caan and Anjelica Huston in another Coppola's Vietnam film ( The Stone Garden ).

During the filming of Apocalypse Now he met his future first wife Susan Arnold, who was employed there as a trainee film editor . He moved with her to San Francisco , where post-production was located - a decision that he later regretted because he was of the opinion that he had therefore no longer been given attractive leading roles: "I had high ideals. I would probably have been better in Lived in Los Angeles. I got great offers. But I was unable to take them because my head was emotionally out of place. I was terrified of fame. I was still very young and had no good adviser , another management that recognized my long-term potential. " Longing for the Philippines and in order to cope with his work on Apocalypse Now , he took a role in Roger Corman's horror film The Horror from the Deep (1980), one of the many cheaply produced films in the sequel to the sensationally successful classic Jaws .

He died on December 16, 2008 in his Los Angeles home of complications from glioblastoma , a malignant brain tumor .

Bottoms was married twice. His marriage to Susan Arnold has two daughters, Io and Clara. The second marriage to film producer Laura Bickford lasted from 2002 until his death.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Farewell: Sam Bottoms (1955-2008), actor , Die Welt , December 22, 2008 (accessed December 22, 2008)
  2. ↑ Sam Bottoms , in: The Guardian , April 8, 2009 [1]. Retrieved September 27, 2019
  3. ↑ Gina DiNunno: Apocalypse Now Star dies ( Memento of the original from February 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , TVGuide.com, December 19, 2008 (accessed December 22, 2008) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / movies.tvguide.com
  4. ↑ Dennis McLellan: Sam Bottoms dies at 53; actor appeared in 'Apocalypse Now,' 'Last Picture Show' , in: Los Angeles Times , December 18, 2008 [2]. Retrieved September 27, 2019
  5. ↑ Sam Bottoms in the IMDb (accessed December 22, 2008)
  6. ^ Peter Biskind: Easy Riders, Raging Bulls , New York: Touchstone, imprint of Simon & Schuster, 1998, 1999, p. 352. ISBN 0-684-85708-1
  7. ↑ Sam Bottoms , in: The Guardian , April 8, 2009 [3]. Retrieved September 27, 2019
  8. ↑ Dennis McLellan: Sam Bottoms dies at 53; actor appeared in 'Apocalypse Now,' 'Last Picture Show' , in: Los Angeles Times , December 18, 2008 [4]. Retrieved September 27, 2019
  9. ↑ Sam Bottoms , in: The Guardian , April 8, 2009 [5]. Retrieved September 27, 2019
  10. ↑ "Apocalypse Now" actor Sam Bottoms has died , Der Standard , December 19, 2008 (accessed December 22, 2008)
personal data
SURNAME Bottoms, Sam
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bottoms, Samuel John (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH 17th October 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Santa Barbara
DATE OF DEATH December 16, 2008
Place of death los Angeles