At 19, Bill McKinney joined the US Navy and served during the Korean War. For a time, he was stationed at Port Hueneme in California and would spend his liberties in near by Los Angeles which inspired him to become an actor after his tour of duty was over.
Discharged in 1954, he stayed in southern California supporting himself as a tree surgeon while attending acting school at the Pasadena Playhouse where Dustin Hoffman was one of his classmates. McKinney later attended Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio.
In 1967, he made his screen debut in the horror/thriller
She Freak. The inauspicious start had little effect on his career as a character actor. He went on to make eight movies with Clint Eastwood including
The Outlaw Josey Wales,
The Gauntlet and
Bronco Billy. His other movie credits include
The Shootist with John Wayne,
Back to the Future Part III with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd and
The Green Mile with Tom Hanks. His best known role was as the villainous mountain man who attacks another character in John Boorman's
Deliverance.
McKinney's television career began in 1967 with an appearance on
The Monkees. He went on to roles in
The Fall Guy,
The Magnificent Seven,
Columbo and
Murder, She Wrote.
He has also done voice work for projects like
Looney Tunes: Back in Action and
Batman: The Animated Series.
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At 19, Bill McKinney joined the US Navy and served during the Korean War. For a time, he was stationed at Port Hueneme in California and would spend his liberties in near by Los Angeles which inspired him to become an actor after his tour of duty was over.
Discharged in 1954, he stayed in southern California supporting himself as a tree surgeon while attending acting school at the Pasadena Playhouse where Dustin Hoffman was one of his classmates. McKinney later attended Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio.
In 1967, he made his screen debut in the horror/thriller
She Freak. The inauspicious start had little effect on his career as a character actor. He went on to make eight movies with Clint Eastwood including
The Outlaw Josey Wales,
The Gauntlet and
Bronco Billy. His other movie credits include
The Shootist with John Wayne,
Back to the Future Part III with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd and
The Green Mile with Tom Hanks. His best known role was as the villainous mountain
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