Will Sampson
Birth : 1933-09-27, Okmulgee, Oklahoma, USA
Death : 1987-06-03
History
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Will Sampson (September 27, 1933 – June 3, 1987) was an 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. Sampson's most notable roles were as "Chief Bromden" in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's 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 Cuckoo's 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.
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Himself
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of Nicolas Roeg's 1985 film INSIGNIFICANCE featuring interviews with the cast.
Tall Eagle
A pair of adventurers try to track down an ancient Aztec/Mayan/Egyptian/Apache horde of gold.
Wingina
The story chronicles the first recorded meeting in the late 16th Century between British explorers-settlers and Native Americans in what is now North Carolina, and the conflicts that ensued between the two diverse cultures before this early settlement mysteriously vanished.
Taylor
The Freeling family move in with Diane's mother in an effort to escape the trauma and aftermath of Carol Anne's abduction by the Beast. But the Beast is not to be put off so easily and appears in a ghostly apparition as the Reverend Kane, a religeous zealot responsible for the deaths of his many followers. His goal is simple - he wants the angelic Carol Anne.
Elevator Attendant
Four 1950s cultural icons who conceivably could have met but probably didn't, fictionally do so in this modern fable of post-WWII America. Visually intriguing, the film has a fluid progression of flashbacks and flashforwards centering on the fictional Einstein's current observations, childhood memories, and apprehensions for the future.
Wambli
Saga about a proud band of Sioux Indians, and the efforts of one brave to save his people from destruction through the use of mysterious powers handed down by ancestors.
Narrator
The story of Native Americans seeking to reconnect with their spiritual roots while incarcerated.
Clarence's Father
Filmed on location at Alcatraz Island, this two-part "whole story" actually concentrates on a handful of the denizens behind the cold grey walls of "The Rock". Michael Beck plays the real-life Clarence Carnes, an Oklahoma Choctaw Indian said to be the youngest man ever incarcerated in the notorious maximum security prison. Serving a 99-year sentence for a gas station holdup and murder, Carnes makes periodic attempts to escape, the final attempt being the most violent. Many of the subordinate characters are fictional (as are most of the details concerning Carnes' escape efforts); the one exception is Robert Stroud, the "Birdman of Alcatraz", here portrayed by Art Carney as a gentle, kindly philosopher. Telly Savalas, a costar of the Burt Lancaster vehicle Birdman of Alcatraz, also guest starred in the 1980 film. Originally titled Alcatraz and Clarence Carnes, this made-for-TV movie wavers between gritty realism and "I'm bustin' outta here!" artifice.
Fish Hawk
A hardened and embittered man turns his life around with the help of a farm boy in this uplifting family tale. Down on his luck and dependent on booze, Native American Fish Hawk (Will Sampson) changes his fate when he accepts a job hunting down a bear that's been killing local livestock. His temporary residence with the Boggs family brings young Corby (Charles Fields) into his life, and the boy's friendship gives Fish Hawk a new reason to live.
Lonny Moon
Set in Montana in the year 1934, a half-breed rancher and his wife are harassed by a ruthless land robber, who forces them to stand tall and defend their land, life and dignity.
Uncle George
An undercover policewoman finds herself framed for murder. Forced to flee for her life, she determines to clear her name and bring the real killers to justice.
Sam Watchman
An Arizona state trooper, who is also an Indian, pursues a gang of paramilitary-type robbers into the mountains. The gang has killed the trooper's uncle and taken a woman hostage, and the trooper must use his tracking and hunting skills to find the gang and rescue the hostage.
Umilak
After witnessing the killing of his mate and offspring at the hands of a reckless Irish captain, a vengeful killer whale rampages through the fisherman's Newfoundland harbor. Under pressure from the villagers, the captain, a female marine biologist and an Indigenous tribalist venture after the great beast, who will meet them on its own turf.
Crazy Horse / Worm
In this strange western version of Moby Dick, Wild Bill Hickok hunts a white buffalo he has seen in a dream. Hickok moves through a variety of uniquely authentic western locations - dim, filthy, makeshift taverns; freezing, slaughterhouse-like frontier towns and beautifully desolate high country - before improbably teaming up with a young Crazy Horse to pursue the creature.
Ten Bears
After avenging his family's brutal murder, Wales is pursued by a pack of soldiers. He prefers to travel alone, but ragtag outcasts are drawn to him - and Wales can't bring himself to leave them unprotected.
The Interpreter (William Halsey)
Buffalo Bill plans to put on his own Wild West sideshow, and Chief Sitting Bull has agreed to appear in it. However, Sitting Bull has his own hidden agenda, involving the President and General Custer.
Chief Bromden
A petty criminal fakes insanity to serve his sentence in a mental ward rather than prison. He soon finds himself as a leader to the other patients—and an enemy to the cruel, domineering nurse who runs the ward.
Indian at Trading Post
Melba Stokes, her mother Sheba and daughter Cheryl embark on a crime spree after their California beauty parlor is repossessed. Their destination is Arkansas, where the three generations of women want to reclaim the family farm.
