Tony Bill

Tony Bill

Born 1940-08-23 (age 85) San Diego, California, USA
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Biography

Gerard Anthony "Tony" Bill (born August 23, 1940) is an American actor, producer, and director. He produced the 1973 movie The Sting, for which he shared the Academy Award for Best Picture with Michael Phillips and Julia Phillips.

He majored in English and art at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, from which he graduated in 1962. Bill began his career as an actor in the 60s, first appearing on screen as Frank Sinatra's ingenuous younger brother in Come Blow Your Horn (1963). Bill specialized in likeable but none-too-bright juveniles and young leads. His acting credits include None But the Brave (1965), You're A Big Boy Now (1966), Never a Dull Moment (1968), Ice Station Zebra (1968), Shampoo (1975), The Little Dragons (1980), Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), and Less Than Zero (1987).

Bill continued to act in TV-movies, miniseries, and guest spots though with decreasing frequency as he segued into directing. He appeared in the 1966 episode "Chaff In The Wind" of the long running western The Virginian. He then appeared in 1967 episode "The Predators" of NBC's western series The Road West starring Barry Sullivan.

In 1980, Bill directed his first film, My Bodyguard. From there he went on to direct Six Weeks (1982), Five Corners (1987), Crazy People (1990) A Home of Our Own (1993), and Flyboys (2006) which Bill claims was one of the first features shot entirely with digital cameras. In television Bill directed Truman Capote's One Christmas, Harlan County War, and Pictures of Hollis Woods, among others.

In 2009, Bill published the book Movie Speak: How to Talk Like You Belong on a Film Set. The book traces the etymology of the language of the movie set and is filled out with stories from the Bill's career in film.

From 1984-2000, he co-owned with Dudley Moore the celebrated 72 Market Street, a restaurant in Venice, California.

He is married to his second wife, the former Helen Buck Bartlett, his producer/partner in Barnstorm Films in Venice. The couple have two daughters, Madeline and Daphne.

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Known For

A Home of Our Own
A Home of Our Own

1993

as Narrator

Must Love Dogs
Must Love Dogs

2005

as Walter

Barb Wire
Barb Wire

1996

as Foster

Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Pee-wee's Big Adventure

1985

as Terry Hawthorne

Less Than Zero
Less Than Zero

1987

as Bradford Easton

Salinger
Salinger

2013

as Self - Filmmaker

Shampoo
Shampoo

1975

as Johnny Pope

Castle Keep
Castle Keep

1969

as Lt. Amberjack

Ice Station Zebra
Ice Station Zebra

1968

as Lt. Russell Walker

Casting By
Casting By

2012

as Self

Lanton Mills
Lanton Mills

1969

as Mute

None But the Brave
None But the Brave

1965

as Air Crewman Keller

Soldier in the Rain
Soldier in the Rain

1963

as Jerry Meltzer

How to Steal the World
How to Steal the World

1968

as Steven Garrow

Marriage on the Rocks
Marriage on the Rocks

1965

as Jim Blake

Having Babies II
Having Babies II

1977

as Aaron Canfield

Flap
Flap

1970

as Eleven Snowflake

The Initiation of Sarah
The Initiation of Sarah

1978

as Paul Yates

Never a Dull Moment
Never a Dull Moment

1968

as Florian