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Bill Hickman

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Nationality
  
Name
  
Bill Hickman

Role
  
Stunt actor


Bill Hickman Bill Hickman Actor and Stunt CoordinatorDriving Legend

Full Name
  
William "Bill" Hickman

Born
  
January 25, 1921 (
1921-01-25
)

Occupation
  
Stunt driver, actor, and stunt coordinator

Died
  
February 24, 1986, Indio, California, United States

Movies
  
The French Connection, Bullitt, Patton, The Love Bug

Similar People
  
Tony Lo Bianco, Simon Oakland, Don Gordon, Pat Renella, Paul Genge

Cu robert culp on bill hickman and the real car from the french connection


Bill Hickman (January 25, 1921 – February 24, 1986), born William Hickman, was an American professional stunt driver, stunt coordinator and actor in the U.S. Film industry. He is considered to be one of the film industry's most accomplished stunt drivers. In a film career spanning from the 1950s through to the late 1970s, his body of work included films such as Bullitt, The French Connection and The Seven-Ups.

Contents

69 mopars with stunt driver bill hickman


Early career and James Dean

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Bill Hickman was already an established stuntman by the time The Wild One was being filmed and his expertise on motorcycles landed him work on the Stanley Kramer production. At some point during the project Hickman was injured and was unable to continue. It is never clear whether he was hurt while filming a stunt for the movie, although one account (by the late Clyde Earl) had him taking a spill in a motorcycle race not connected with the film. However, Hickman is clearly shown in several of the publicity stills from The Wild One.

Bill Hickman Bill Hickman Actor and Stunt CoordinatorDriving Legend

Hickman spent some of these earlier days as driver and friend to James Dean, driving Dean's Ford station wagon towing Dean's famed 550 Spyder nicknamed “Little Bastard”, and often helping and advising him with his driving technique. He was driving the Ford station wagon and trailer following Dean on the day of his fatal accident and was the first person on the scene.

Bill Hickman Bill Hickman Hollywood39s Wheelman Pinoria

Hickman was an extra in Dean's 1951 feature movie debut, Fixed Bayonets!. A rare personal quote from Bill on his friendship with Dean: "In those final days, racing was what he cared about most. I had been teaching him things like how to put a car in a four-wheel drift, but he had plenty of skill of his own. If he had lived he might have become a champion driver. We had a running joke, I'd call him Little Bastard and he'd call me Big Bastard. I never stop thinking of those memories."

In another interview with James Dean expert Warren Beath, Hickman is quoted as saying, "We were about two or three minutes behind him. I pulled him out of the car, and he was in my arms when he died, his head fell over. I heard the air coming out of his lungs the last time. Didn’t sleep for five or six nights after that, just the sound of the air coming out of his lungs."

Stuntman work in Bullitt

While Hickman had many small acting (mainly driving) parts throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he mostly paid his bills with his stuntman work. He sustained a couple of significant injuries during this time, including breaking several ribs in a bad trick-fall in the film How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965). However, it was the landmark car chase alongside Steve McQueen in the now classic 1968 film Bullitt for which he is usually remembered. Hickman was to do all his own driving; portraying one of two hit men, he drove an all black 1968 Dodge Charger 440 Magnum R/T through the streets of San Francisco, using the hills as jumps.

In a nice professional driver's touch (before compulsory restraints were introduced in California), Hickman's character buckles his seat belt before flooring it at the beginning of the pursuit by the Highland Green Ford Mustang 390 G.T., driven by Steve McQueen, thereby indicating to the audience that we are about to go on a truly wild ride.

In those pre-digital days, the dangers were real: in one shot Hickman accidentally loses control and clips the camera fixed to a parked car. The chase climaxes with his Charger careening off into a gas station at which the fuel pumps erupt into a massive fireball.

Prior to the filming of the chase sequence, Hickman and McQueen did endless days of high-speed, close-quarter driving in practice for the actual chase. Comments and film of Bill talking about his work are few and far between, although in the featurette shot at the time, Bullitt: Steve McQueen’s Commitment To Reality, Bill can be seen discussing the chase with McQueen on location.

The French Connection

Another of the memorable moments in Hickman's career was when he was asked to perform a high-risk car-chase scene by William Friedkin for his 1971 film The French Connection. As with Bullitt, The French Connection (also produced by Bullitt's producer, Philip D'Antoni) is famed for its car-chase sequence. What differs from the usual car chase is that Gene Hackman’s character is chasing an elevated train from the street below (the scene was filmed in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, with most of the action taking place on 86th Street). This chase was performed in real traffic, as Hickman drove the brown 1971 Pontiac LeMans at speeds up to 90 mph with Friedkin manning the camera right behind him, and at one point Hickman hits a car driven by a fellow stunt driver who missed his point; this scene was kept in the film by Friedkin as it added reality to the whole sequence, however, the scene where the woman steps out into the street with a baby carriage was staged. Hickman also had a supporting role in the film as federal agent Mulderig, who played an antagonist of sorts to Gene Hackman's character.

The Seven-Ups

Hickman performed yet another memorable chase sequence for the 1973 film The Seven-Ups (in which Hickman again worked with Philip D'Antoni, who had also produced Bullitt and The French Connection). In The Seven-Ups, Hickman drove the car being chased by the star of the film, Roy Scheider, who is heavily doubled by Hickman's good friend and fellow stuntman, Jerry Summers. The chase itself leans heavily on the Bullitt chase, with the two cars bouncing down the gradients of uptown New York (à la San Francisco's steep hills) with Hickman's 1973 Pontiac Grand Ville pursued at wheel-breaking speed by Scheider's Pontiac Ventura.

Even the engines of Scheider's Pontiac and McQueen's Mustang sound alike, and during the car chases in both films there is an almost complete lack of dialogue, although the reason why these chases work so well (and why Hickman himself was so highly regarded) is their gritty realism and the danger of each tire-busting slide, accompanied by close camera angles and camera-cars moving at high speed and parallel to the action car so you actually get to see the nervous faces of the actors behind the wheel.

In the accompanying behind-the-scenes featurette of the 2006 DVD, Hickman can be seen co-ordinating the chase from the street, where we also see another example of how memorable (and dangerous) these sequences were: on cue, a stuntman in a parked car opens his door, only to have Hickman's vehicle take it completely off its hinges, where (from the behind-the-scenes footage) we see the door fly off at such a force it could easily have killed the close-quarter camera team set-up only yards away (it missed them only by chance). The end of the chase was Bill's own idea, an 'homage' to the death of Jayne Mansfield, where one of the cars smashes into the back of an eighteen-wheel truck, peeling off its roof like a tin of sardines.

Later work

Hickman moved on to more stunt coordination work in films as the 1970s wound down, notably The Hindenburg and Capricorn One. He staged the motorcycle chase in Electra Glide In Blue, starring Robert Blake, and also appeared as a driver in the 1969 Disney film The Love Bug and as the military driver for George C. Scott in the Academy Award-winning movie Patton. He had many bit parts in classic television series of the 1950s and 1960s, such as The Man from UNCLE.

Death

Bill Hickman died of cancer in 1986 at the age of 65 in Indio, California.

Credited acting roles

  • Bullitt (1968) - Phil
  • The Love Bug (1968) - Driver
  • Patton (1970) - Patton's Driver
  • The French Connection (1971) - Mulderig
  • Hickey & Boggs (1972) - Monte
  • The Seven-Ups (1973) - Bo (final film role)
  • Filmography

    Actor
    1973
    The Seven-Ups as
    Bo
    1973
    Shaft (TV Series) as
    Court Member
    - The Enforcers (1973) - Court Member (uncredited)
    1973
    Madigan (TV Series) as
    Taxi Driver
    - The Park Avenue Beat (1973) - Taxi Driver (uncredited)
    1972
    Hickey & Boggs as
    Monte
    1972
    The War Between Men and Women as
    Large Gentleman (as William Hickman)
    1971
    They Call It Murder (TV Movie) as
    Martin Rome (uncredited)
    1971
    The French Connection as
    Agent Bill Mulderig
    1971
    Columbo (TV Series) as
    Traffic Cop
    - Death Lends a Hand (1971) - Traffic Cop (uncredited)
    1971
    The Bold Ones: The Senator (TV Series) as
    Process Server
    - Some Day, They'll Elect a President (1971) - Process Server
    1970
    Zabriskie Point as
    Gun store owner / clerk (uncredited)
    1966
    The F.B.I. (TV Series) as
    Jake / Peter Griffith / State Trooper
    - Summer Terror (1970) - Jake
    - Conspiracy of Corruption (1970) - Peter Griffith
    - The Baby Sitter (1966) - State Trooper
    1970
    Patton as
    General Patton's Driver
    1969
    Daughter of the Mind (TV Movie) as
    Enemy Agent
    1968
    The Love Bug as
    Driver
    1968
    Bullitt as
    Phil - Hitman's Driver
    1967
    Gunsmoke (TV Series) as
    Townsman
    - Death Train (1967) - Townsman (uncredited)
    1967
    Batman (TV Series) as
    Henchman
    - Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin (1967) - Henchman (uncredited)
    1967
    Judd for the Defense (TV Series) as
    Ned Palmeroy
    - Tempest in a Texas Town (1967) - Ned Palmeroy (uncredited)
    1967
    Point Blank as
    Reese's Guard on Balcony (uncredited)
    1967
    The Felony Squad (TV Series) as
    Max
    - Debt of Fear (1967) - Max
    1963
    Bonanza (TV Series) as
    Ketch / Barfly / 2nd Cowboy Thrown out of Saloon / ...
    - The Prince (1967) - Ketch
    - The Genius (1966) - Barfly (uncredited)
    - Lothario Larkin (1965) - 2nd Cowboy Thrown out of Saloon (uncredited)
    - The Search (1965) - Big Cowboy (uncredited)
    - The Prime of Life (1963) - Logger (uncredited)
    - Rich Man, Poor Man (1963) - Harvey
    1967
    The Invaders (TV Series) as
    Patrolman
    - Genesis (1967) - Patrolman (uncredited)
    1964
    The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (TV Series) as
    Erik / Falco
    - The Deadly Smorgasbord Affair (1967) - Erik
    - The Finny Foot Affair (1964) - Falco
    1966
    Get Smart (TV Series) as
    KAOS Agent
    - Kiss of Death (1966) - KAOS Agent (uncredited)
    1966
    Jericho (TV Series) as
    Motorcycle Officer / Motorcycle Soldier
    - Long Journey Across a Short Street (1966) - Motorcycle Officer (uncredited)
    - Eric the Redhead (1966) - Motorcycle Soldier (uncredited)
    1966
    The Rounders (TV Series) as
    1st Sheriff
    - A Horse on Jim Ed Love (1966) - 1st Sheriff
    1966
    The Fugitive (TV Series) as
    Truck Driver
    - A Taste of Tomorrow (1966) - Truck Driver (uncredited)
    1966
    Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV Series) as
    Missile Room Man
    - Graveyard of Fear (1966) - Missile Room Man (uncredited)
    1965
    Branded (TV Series) as
    Donegan / Ensor - Henchman / Secret Service Agent
    - This Stage of Fools (1966) - Donegan (as William Hickman)
    - Very Few Heroes (1965) - Ensor - Henchman
    - The Mission: Part 1 (1965) - Secret Service Agent (uncredited)
    1965
    Honey West (TV Series) as
    Thug
    - A Nice Little Till to Tap (1965) - Thug (uncredited)
    - A Million Bucks in Anybody's Language (1965) - Thug (uncredited)
    1964
    The Outer Limits (TV Series) as
    Guard
    - The Mice (1964) - Guard (uncredited)
    1963
    The Twilight Zone (TV Series) as
    Pilot
    - Ring-A-Ding Girl (1963) - Pilot (uncredited)
    1963
    Temple Houston (TV Series)
    - The Dark Madonna (1963)
    1963
    Take Her, She's Mine as
    Wolf-Whistler Who Drives Into Mailbox (uncredited)
    1963
    Johnny Cool as
    Minor Role (uncredited)
    1963
    Toys in the Attic as
    Hood (uncredited)
    1963
    The Eleventh Hour (TV Series) as
    Corrigan / Guard
    - The Man Who Came Home Late (1963) - Corrigan
    - A Tumble from a High White House (1963) - Guard
    1963
    It Happened at the World's Fair as
    World's Fair security guard (uncredited)
    1963
    California as
    Soldier (uncredited)
    1962
    Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation as
    Driver in Bird Walk Scene (uncredited)
    1962
    Outlaws (TV Series) as
    Stranger / Hurch
    - Farewell Performance (1962) - Stranger
    - The Bitter Swede (1962) - Hurch
    1962
    The Andy Griffith Show (TV Series) as
    Motorcycle cop
    - Guest of Honor (1962) - Motorcycle cop
    1962
    Cain's Hundred (TV Series) as
    Hood
    - Take a Number: Jack Garsell (1962) - Hood (uncredited)
    1959
    The Lawless Years (TV Series) as
    Detective
    - The Jonathan Wills Story (1961) - Detective (uncredited)
    - The Joe Angelo Story (1959) - Detective (uncredited)
    - The Billy Boy 'Rockabye' Creel Story (1959) - Detective (uncredited)
    - Lucky Silva (1959) - Detective (uncredited)
    - Framed (1959) - Detective (uncredited)
    - The Muddy Kasoff Story (1959) - Detective (uncredited)
    - The Payoff (1959) - Detective (uncredited)
    - No Fare (1959) - Detective (uncredited)
    - The Dutch Schultz Story (1959) - Detective (uncredited)
    - The Cutie Jaffe Story (1959) - Detective (uncredited)
    - The Immigrant (1959) - Detective (uncredited)
    1961
    The Deputy (TV Series) as
    Deputy
    - The Dream (1961) - Deputy (uncredited)
    1960
    Klondike (TV Series) as
    Prospector / Durain Henchman / Henchman
    - Queen of the Klondike (1961) - Prospector (uncredited)
    - Keys to Trouble (1960) - Durain Henchman (as William Hickman)
    - The Unexpected Candidate (1960) - Henchman
    1960
    Lock Up (TV Series) as
    Burglar
    - Diamond Dupe (1960) - Burglar
    1960
    Bat Masterson (TV Series) as
    Topaz / Fugitive in Light Shirt / Binns / ...
    - The Rage of Princess Anne (1960) - Topaz
    - Blood on the Money (1960) - Fugitive in Light Shirt (uncredited)
    - Welcome to Paradise (1960) - Binns
    - Incident at Fort Bowie (1960) - Ranch Hand (uncredited)
    1959
    Not for Hire (TV Series) as
    Ambrose / House Detective
    - The General's Daughter (1960) - Ambrose
    - The Fall Guy (1959) - House Detective
    - The Hunting License (1959)
    1960
    Tombstone Territory (TV Series) as
    Todd
    - Memory (1960) - Todd
    1960
    Home from the Hill as
    Bartender (uncredited)
    1959
    Peter Gunn (TV Series) as
    Max
    - The Wolfe Case (1959) - Max
    1959
    Mr. Lucky (TV Series) as
    Webb
    - A Business Measure (1959) - Webb
    1959
    The Big Operator as
    Workman (uncredited)
    1959
    Don't Give Up the Ship as
    Guardsman (uncredited)
    1959
    The Beat Generation as
    Man in Lineup (uncredited)
    1959
    Have Gun - Will Travel (TV Series) as
    Bartender / Hotel Guest
    - The Fifth Man (1959) - Bartender (uncredited)
    - Death of a Gunfighter (1959) - Hotel Guest (uncredited)
    1959
    Ask Any Girl as
    Policeman (uncredited)
    1959
    The Mating Game as
    Fleeing Office Worker (uncredited)
    1959
    Perry Mason (TV Series) as
    Slot Machine Player / Blake's Messenger
    - The Case of the Romantic Rogue (1959) - Slot Machine Player (uncredited)
    - The Case of the Fraudulent Foto (1959) - Blake's Messenger (uncredited)
    1958
    Andy Hardy Comes Home as
    Townsman (uncredited)
    1958
    The Perfect Furlough as
    Soldier (uncredited)
    1958
    Houseboat as
    Handsome Man (uncredited)
    1958
    High School Confidential! as
    Police Officer (uncredited)
    1958
    Attack of the Puppet People as
    Policeman at Desk (uncredited)
    1958
    Adventures of Superman (TV Series) as
    Plainclothesman
    - The Perils of Superman (1958) - Plainclothesman (uncredited)
    1958
    The Thin Man (TV Series) as
    Guest at Demonstration
    - Robot Client (1958) - Guest at Demonstration (uncredited)
    1958
    Maverick (TV Series) as
    Millionaire
    - Diamond in the Rough (1958) - Millionaire (uncredited)
    1957
    Kiss Them for Me as
    Party Guest (uncredited)
    1957
    Jailhouse Rock as
    Guard Who Whips Vince (uncredited)
    1957
    Raintree County as
    Townsman (uncredited)
    1957
    The Helen Morgan Story as
    Party Guest (uncredited)
    1957
    Appointment with a Shadow as
    Farrell - Police Detective (uncredited)
    1957
    The Joker Is Wild as
    Hood with Knife (uncredited)
    1957
    An Affair to Remember as
    Ship Passenger (uncredited)
    1957
    Ten Thousand Bedrooms as
    Party Guest (uncredited)
    1957
    Highway Patrol (TV Series) as
    Fruit picker
    - Migrant Workers (1957) - Fruit picker (uncredited)
    1956
    The Best Things in Life Are Free as
    Moviegoer at Premiere (uncredited)
    1956
    He Laughed Last as
    Bartender (uncredited)
    1956
    Four Star Playhouse (TV Series) as
    Crew Member
    - The Stand-In (1956) - Crew Member (uncredited)
    1956
    Outside the Law as
    Clerk (uncredited)
    1956
    The Benny Goodman Story as
    Concert Spectator (uncredited)
    1955
    The Square Jungle as
    Ringside Reporter (uncredited)
    1955
    Love Me or Leave Me as
    Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
    1955
    The Far Horizons as
    Member of the expedition (uncredited)
    1955
    High Society as
    Piano Recital Guest (uncredited)
    1955
    A Bullet for Joey as
    Macklin's Bodyguard (uncredited)
    1954
    Phffft as
    Studio Technician (uncredited)
    1954
    Woman's World as
    Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
    1954
    Tobor the Great as
    Reporter (uncredited)
    1954
    Living It Up as
    Newspaper Office Worker (uncredited)
    1954
    Public Defender (TV Series) as
    Police Officer
    - A Call in the Night (1954) - Police Officer (uncredited)
    1954
    Lucky Me as
    Passerby on Street / Diner (uncredited)
    1954
    Loophole as
    Bank Customer (uncredited)
    1953
    Kiss Me Kate as
    Audience Member (uncredited)
    1953
    Jennifer as
    Club Patron (uncredited)
    1953
    Half a Hero as
    Office Worker (uncredited)
    1953
    Latin Lovers as
    Dancer on Terrace (uncredited)
    1953
    Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as
    Ship Passenger (uncredited)
    1953
    Code Two as
    Motorcycle Officer (uncredited)
    1952
    My Pal Gus as
    Courtroom Photographer (uncredited)
    1952
    Because You're Mine as
    G.I. (uncredited)
    1952
    Love Is Better Than Ever as
    Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
    1952
    Phone Call from a Stranger as
    Club Patron (uncredited)
    1951
    Fixed Bayonets! (uncredited)
    1951
    The Unknown Man as
    Reporter in Courtroom (uncredited)
    1951
    Angels in the Outfield as
    1st Reporter (uncredited)
    1951
    Iron Man as
    Fight Crowd Spectator (uncredited)
    1951
    Meet Me After the Show as
    Court Bailiff (uncredited)
    1950
    To Please a Lady as
    Mike's Pit Crew
    1949
    Tulsa as
    Bill (uncredited)
    1947
    It Happened in Brooklyn as
    Passerby on Street (uncredited)
    1947
    The Beginning or the End as
    Barometric Observer (uncredited)
    1944
    See Here, Private Hargrove as
    Undetermined Role (unconfirmed, uncredited)
    1943
    Salute to the Marines as
    Marine (uncredited)
    Stunts
    1977
    Capricorn One (stunt coordinator)
    1975
    The Hindenburg (stunts - uncredited)
    1973
    The Seven-Ups (stunt coordinator) / (stunt double: Roy Scheider - uncredited)
    1973
    Electra Glide in Blue (stunts - uncredited)
    1973
    Charley and the Angel (stunt coordinator - uncredited) / (stunt driver - uncredited)
    1973
    The Thief Who Came to Dinner (stunts - uncredited)
    1972
    Rage (stunt coordinator)
    1972
    Hickey & Boggs (stunts - uncredited)
    1972
    What's Up, Doc? (stunts)
    1971
    Diamonds Are Forever (stunts - uncredited)
    1971
    The French Connection (stunt coordinator) / (stunt double: Gene Hackman - uncredited) / (stunt driver - uncredited) / (stunts - uncredited)
    1971
    Vanishing Point (stunts - uncredited)
    1970
    Patton (stunts - uncredited)
    1968
    The Wrecking Crew (stunts - uncredited)
    1968
    The Love Bug (stunt driver - uncredited)
    1968
    Bullitt (stunt driver - uncredited)
    1967
    Point Blank (stunts - uncredited)
    1967
    The Flim-Flam Man (stunts - uncredited)
    1966
    A Fine Madness (stunts - uncredited)
    1965
    How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (stunts - uncredited)
    1965
    The Great Race (stunts - uncredited)
    1963
    Take Her, She's Mine (stunt driver - uncredited)
    1963
    The Fugitive (TV Series) (stunt driver)
    1955
    Rebel Without a Cause (stunts - uncredited)
    1955
    The Far Horizons (stunts - uncredited)
    1954
    Loophole (stunts - uncredited)
    1953
    Code Two (stunts - uncredited)
    1951
    The Red Badge of Courage (stunts - uncredited)
    Assistant Director
    1973
    Electra Glide in Blue (second unit director)
    Self
    1998
    'Bullitt': Steve McQueen's Commitment to Reality (Documentary short) as
    Self
    1973
    The Anatomy of a Chase: Behind the Scenes of the Filming of 'the Seven-Ups' (Documentary short) as
    Self
    Archive Footage
    2014
    I Am Steve McQueen (Documentary) as
    Self
    2005
    Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool (TV Movie documentary) as
    Self
    1979
    The Magical World of Disney (TV Series) as
    Driver
    - The Love Bug (1979) - Driver

    References

    Bill Hickman Wikipedia


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