Tom Laughlin

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tom Laughlin (* 10. August 1931 in Minneapolis , Minnesota as Thomas Robert Laughlin , † 12. December 2013 in Thousand Oaks , California ) was an American film actor and filmmaker , who in the 1960s and 1970s with independent films great success could celebrate.

biography

Tom Laughlin grew up in Milwaukee and attended the University of Minnesota and Indiana University . Since the mid-1950s, he played minor roles in television and cinema films. In 1957 he had a leading role in Robert Altman's The Delinquents . After a few years, he retired from the film business and ran a Montessori school in Santa Monica . Since the mid-1960s he has appeared as an actor, writer, producer, cameraman and director of cheaply made films, using numerous pseudonyms for his activities behind the camera.

In 1967, Laughlin created and played the character of the half-blood "Billy Jack" for the first time in the biker film Engel der Hölle ( The Born Losers ), a silent loner who ensures justice with stoic naivety and Far Eastern martial arts. In the action-packed film, Billy Jack prevails against a gang of motorcycle rockers. The relative success of the film led to a sequel . In Billy Jack (1971) the hero protects a free spirit school from the local establishment. The film cost $ 800,000 and grossed many millions; Laughlin had made one of the most profitable films of all time. Another sequel, The Trial of Billy Jack (1974), grossed $ 22 million at the box office in 30 days. In 1975 Laughlin founded the production company Billy Jack Enterprises , moved into a prestigious office complex in the middle of Hollywood , produced the film The Avenger of California for 3.5 million , directed the film under the pseudonym "Frank Laughlin", played the lead role and promptly went bankrupt. However, the young Barbara Carrera earned a Golden Globe nomination for her role in the film . In 1977, the fourth film about Laughlin's cult figure, Billy Jack Goes to Washington , a “cumbersome remake” ( Leonard Maltin ) of the classic Mr. Smith goes to Washington by Frank Capra , received hardly any attention.

Tom Laughlin then only played a few minor roles in a few films. In 1985, he announced a fifth Billy Jack film, but nothing came of it. In the early 1990s, he made a political appearance and in 1992 applied unsuccessfully for nomination as a democratic presidential candidate. In 2004 he tried again as a Republican candidate and just as unsuccessfully. Most recently, Tom Laughlin expressed interest in running for governor of California .

In 2001 Laughlin reported on his website about tongue cancer. He published guidebooks in which he reported on his healing supported by psycho-training and was committed against the Iraq war .

Tom Laughlin had been married to his colleague Delores Taylor since 1956 and had a daughter with her.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1955: Climax (TV)
  • 1957: The Delinquents
  • 1958: South Pacific
  • 1959: April discovers the men ( Gidget )
  • 1960: The longer, the better ( Tall Story )
  • 1967: Angels of Hell ( The Born Losers )
  • 1971: Billy Jack ( Billy Jack )
  • 1974: The Trial of Billy Jack
  • 1975: The avenger of California ( The Master Gunfighter )
  • 1976: Voyage of the Damned ( Voyage of the Damned )
  • 1977: Billy Jack Goes to Washington
  • 1978: Dead Sleep Better ( The Big Sleep )

Web links

Commons : Tom Laughlin  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary for Tom Laughlin in: Los Angeles Times
personal data
SURNAME Laughlin, Tom
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Laughlin, Thomas Robert (maiden name); Laughlin, Frank (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor and filmmaker
DATE OF BIRTH August 10, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Minneapolis
DATE OF DEATH December 12th 2013
Place of death Thousand Oaks , California