William M. "Sonny" Landham III (February 11, 1941 – August 17, 2017) was an American actor and

stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

. He portrayed Billy Bear in ''

48 Hrs. ''48 Hrs.'' (pronounced 'forty-eight hours') is a 1982 American buddy cop action-comedy film directed by Walter Hill, who co-wrote the film with Larry Gross, Steven E. de Souza and Roger Spottiswoode. It stars Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy, the ...

'' and tracker Billy Sole in ''

Predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

''.

Early life and education

Landham was born February 11, 1941, in

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

, Georgia, and raised in

Rome, Georgia Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia metropolitan area, Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statisti ...

. He identified as being of half

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

and one-eighth Seminole descent, and partly of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and Irish descent. He also stated he had

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

heritage. Landham had at least one sibling, a sister, Dawn. He attended Saint Mary's Catholic School and

Darlington School Darlington School is a private, coeducational, college-preparatory day and boarding school in Rome, Georgia founded in 1905. It serves students from pre-kindergarten to grade 12, and is divided into a Pre-K to 8 division and an Upper School divi ...

before playing football for a year at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. Subsequently, he graduated from Oglethorpe University. After college, he did a stint in the army, worked in an oil field, as an ordained Baptist minister, and a model.

Career

Acting career

Landham studied acting for two years at Pasadena Playhouse before moving to New York in 1968 to pursue a career in acting. At the beginning of his acting career, Landham was an actor in pornographic films. He also posed for nude layout for '' Playgirl''. He then became a mainstream movie actor and appeared in a number of Hollywood films, including '' The Warriors'' (1979) as a subway policeman whose leg gets broken by a baseball bat-wielding

Michael Beck John Michael Beck Taylor (born February 4, 1949), commonly known as Michael Beck, is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Swan in '' The Warriors'' (1979) and Sonny Malone in '' Xanadu'' (1980). Early life Beck was born in Memphis, T ...

, ''

'' (1982), ''

'' (1987), '' Action Jackson'' (1988), and '' Lock Up'' (1989).

Politics

In 2003, Landham ran in the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

primary election for the post of

Governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-el ...

, hoping to repeat the success of his ''Predator'' castmates

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Jesse Ventura and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

. He based his candidacy on opposition to an amendment which endorsed the Kentucky Family Court, saying his bad experiences at the hands of the family court had convinced him it was for the benefit of lawyers rather than families or children. He was unsuccessful in gaining the party's nomination. He ran briefly as an independent candidate, but withdrew on June 18, 2003, and endorsed the Republican slate. In January 2004, Landham announced his candidacy for the 27th State Senate District of Kentucky. That year he was the keynote speaker at the official launch part of the radio show, ''

The Political Cesspool ''The Political Cesspool'' is a weekly far-right talk radio show founded by Tennessean political activist James Edwards and syndicated by the organizations Liberty News Radio Network and Accent Radio Network in the United States. First broa ...

''. In 2005, Landham spoke at the

Council of Conservative Citizens The Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC or CCC) is an American white supremacist organization. Founded in 1985, it advocates white nationalism, and supports some paleoconservative causes. In the organization's statement of principles, it st ...

(CofCC) convention. On June 25, 2008, Landham announced his candidacy for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

seat held by

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McConne ...

, as a

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

. On July 23, 2008, Landham appeared on the political radio show '' The Weekly Filibuster'', where he was asked, in relation to past comments of his quoted in the '' Louisville Courier-Journal'', if was calling for the genocide of

Arab people The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

. He replied, "I call for outright bombing them back into the sand until they surrender and if they don’t surrender, then you continue the war. Because if you don’t, you will never have peace in the United States. Now do you want peace in the United States or do you want to live to some utopian ideals that are impossible in a world?" He further called for Arabs to be banned from entering the United States, and referred that ethnic group as "camel dung-shovelers", and when questioned on this, suggested using the epithets " rag-heads" and "

camel jockey Camel racing is a popular sport in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Pakistan, Mongolia and Australia. Professional camel racing, like horse racing, is an event for betting and tourist attraction. Camels can run at speeds up to ...

s". On July 28, the Kentucky Libertarian Party asked Landham to withdraw his nomination, citing those comments and explaining that his politics did not agree with their platform and values.

Personal life

Landham was married five times. He had four children, including a son named William, and a daughter named Priscilla. After being convicted on federal charges of making threatening and obscene phone calls to his wife, Landham spent three years in prison. However the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the conviction in May 2001. On September 19, 2006, Landham was injured in a four-car accident in Ashland, Kentucky.

Death

Landham died on August 17, 2017, aged 76, from

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* *
Sonny Landham memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landham, Sonny 1941 births 2017 deaths American actor-politicians American male pornographic film actors American male television actors Kentucky Republicans Kentucky Independents Kentucky Libertarians People from Canton, Georgia Male actors from Georgia (U.S. state) Council of Conservative Citizens American stunt performers Darlington School alumni American people of Cherokee descent American people of English descent American people of German descent American people of Irish descent American people of Seminole descent