Belton O'Neal Compton Jr. (February 5, 1951 – February 18, 2019) was an American actor and director.

Early life

He was born in

Sumter, South Carolina Sumter ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. The city makes up the Sumter, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Sumter County, along with Clarendon and Lee counties, form the core of Sumter–Lee ...

, the son of

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

s Belton O. Compton Sr. and Dorothy Brunson Compton. Compton was best known as a character actor in films and television, such as ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'', ''

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...

'', '' Nell'', ''

Primary Colors Primary colors are colorants or colored lights that can be mixed in varying amounts to produce a gamut of colors. This is the essential method used to create the perception of a broad range of colors in, e.g., electronic displays, color printin ...

'', '' Deep Impact'', ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'' and '' Big Eden''. He was also an award-winning writer, producer, photographer and commercial director. Compton's photography was featured in exhibitions at the Michael Hoppen Gallery (London), Castle Haggenberg (Vienna) and in private galleries in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, New Orleans and South Carolina. His photographs hang in the collections of many celebrities including Morgan Freeman, Johnny Depp, Billy Bob Thornton, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sharon Stone, Elizabeth Taylor, John Travolta, Emma Thompson and Oliver Stone. Compton was commissioned by

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version ...

to create a series of his "slow speed" natural light portraits of the cast and crew in the last year of his show. Compton attended

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

, for a year. Then, after a four-year stint in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, he enrolled at

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still ope ...

and "fell in love with campus life again". He coached football under Buddy Sasser and Ladson Cubbage. Compton's major field of study was biology, which he read every week, even 40 years later, but his passion was the theatre. In 1977, Compton discovered the Wofford Theatre Workshop, under the direction of James Gross. Compton made his living as a film and television actor, screenwriter and photographer, and also as a commercial producer and director. His work took him to many places in the Americas and Europe. He lived in New York, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and

Florianópolis Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the South Region, Brazil, South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as we ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Compton moved into a new home in western

Sumter County, Florida Sumter County is a County (United States), county located in the Central Florida, central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 129,752, and was estimated to be 154,693 in 202 ...

, a cypress house on , with a saltwater pool and a private pond. He wrote screenplays and worked with his publisher and editor to complete a book about his life and travels.

Death

On February 18, 2019, he died at the Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

. He was 68 years old. The cause of death was yet to be determined.

Filmography

*'' Kill Me Later'' (2001) - Agent McGinley *'' Picking Up the Pieces'' (2000) - Texas John *'' Big Eden'' (2000) - Jim Soams *''

'' (1999/I) - Superintendent Abernathy *''

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American teen and family drama television series created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000, with a total of six seasons consisting of 142 epis ...

'' (1998) (TV series) - Les (''1 episode'') *'' Deep Impact'' (1998) - Morten Entrekin *''

LateLine ''Lateline'' was an Australian television news program which ran from 1990 until 2017. The program initially aired weeknights on ABC TV. In later years it was also broadcast internationally throughout Asia and the Pacific on the Australia Plu ...

'' (1998) (TV series) - Harlan (''1 episode'') *''

'' (1998) - Sailorman Shoreson *'' Orleans'' (1997) (TV series) - Lawyer Curtis Manzant (''5 episodes'') *''

'' (1995–1997) (TV series) - Earl Haffler (''2 episodes'') *'' Diabolique'' (1996) - Irv Danziger *'' Shaughnessy'' (1996) (TV) - *''

'' (1995) - Texas Man *'' The Single Guy'' (1995) (TV series) - TY (''1 episode'') *'' Coach'' (1995) (TV series) - Hal (''1 episode'') *'' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (1995) (TV series) - Gene Newtrich (''1 episode'') *'' Nell'' (1994) - Don Fontana, Lovell's Attorney *'' Roadracers'' (1994) (TV) - J.T. *'' Rebel Highway'' (1994) (TV series) - J.T. (''1 episode'') *'' Little Big League'' (1994) - Major League Umpire *'' Murder Between Friends'' (1994) (TV) - Det. Easby *''

Grace Under Fire ''Grace Under Fire'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 29, 1993, to February 17, 1998. Created by Chuck Lorre, the series starred Brett Butler as Grace Kelly, a single mother and recovering alcoholic raising t ...

'' (1993) (TV series) - Doctor (''1 episode'') *'' Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman'' (1993) (TV) - Sheriff Denby *'' Harts of the West'' (1993) (TV series) - (episode "The Right Stuff") *''

The Thing Called Love ''The Thing Called Love'' is a 1993 American comedy-drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starring Samantha Mathis as Miranda Presley, a young musician who tries to make it big in Nashville. River Phoenix, Dermot Mulroney and Sandra Bul ...

'' (1993) - Singing Cop *'' What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993) - George (the Ramada Inn Manager) *'' Made in America'' (1993) - Rocky *'' When Love Kills: The Seduction of John Hearn'' (1993) (TV) - Minister *'' The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom'' (1993) (TV) - Principal James Barker *''

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl X ...

'' (1993) (TV series) - Zeke (''1 episode'') *''

Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...

'' (1993) (TV series) - Phil (''1 episode'') *''

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

'' (1992) (TV series) - Mr. Boone (''1 episode'') *'' A Message from Holly'' (1992) (TV) - Burly Man *'' Parker Lewis Can't Lose'' (1992) (TV series) - Fez Man (''1 episode'') *''

Quantum Leap Quantum leap or ''variation'', may refer to: In general * Quantum leap (physics), also known as quantum jump, a transition between quantum states ** Atomic electron transition, a key example of the physics phenomenon * Paradigm shift, a sudden ch ...

'' (1992) (TV series) - Russ (''1 episode'') *'' Brother Future'' (1991) (TV) - Turner *'' Don't Tell Her It's Me'' (1990) - Gas Station Attendant *''

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

'' (1993) (TV series) - Trooper Williams (''1 episode'')

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Compton, Oneal 1951 births 2019 deaths American male film actors American male television actors People from Sumter, South Carolina Male actors from South Carolina Military personnel from South Carolina Clemson University alumni University of South Carolina alumni Wofford College alumni Writers from South Carolina