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Death Of Bill Paxton: Stars Tribute ‘Twister,’ ‘Big Love’ Actor On Social Media

By Jonathan Brown
Published on: 06:06 PST, Feb 26, 2017

Tinseltown is already reacting to the sudden and shocking death of Twister and Big Love star Bill Paxton.

The 61-year-old actor, who was stated to have passed from a stroke following heart surgery sometime on Saturday, according to a post from TMZ, is being remembered by fellow celebrities all around the country as being an enigmatic, Emmy-award nominated star of stage and screen that leaves behind two children with his widow, Louise Newberry, and a coveted career as both an entertainer and film director that spanned more than four decades, beginning in 1975.

“Bill could play any role,” his Terminator and True Lies co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed on Twitter following the sad news of Paxton’s death, “but he was best at being Bill – a great human being with a huge heart. My thoughts are with his family.”

Schwarzenegger’s love interest from True Lies, scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis, would go on to recall Bill as being someone she found “funny [and] talented,” but most of all, “loving.”

Actress Emily Osment (Hannah Montana) called to mind the first moment she met Bill while on the set of the second Spy Kids film, 2002’s The Island of Lost Dreams, which was directed by Robert Rodriguez and featured Paxton as theme park owner Dinky Winks. He would go on to reprise the role in a cameo for the third part of the series, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, one year later.

“My first day on Spy Kids 2 was with Bill Paxton,” Osment shared on a Twitter post.

“He came to my trailer [and] said hello, and I told him I loved Titanic — nicest guy in the world.”

Actor Josh Gad, most notable for being the voice of snowman Olaf in Disney’s Frozen, chose to reference one of Paxton’s most iconic films, the action sequel Aliens, to commemorate the late star.

“The loss of Bill Paxton is beyond crushing,” Gad wrote on Twitter.

“Once again, an icon, far too young, gone far too soon. Goodbye Private Hudson.”

A collection of other celebrity statements regarding the death of Bill Paxton can be found below.

As TMZ notes, Paxton rose to prominence as the lead in several big-screen hits including the aforementioned Aliens, The Terminator, True Lies, and Apollo 13, with the latter film garnering him a joint Screen Actors Guild win for Best Cast in 1996.

Bill Paxton with his ‘Big Love’ co-stars (L-R) Ginnifer Goodwin, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Chloe Sevigny in 2011. [Image by Jason Merritt,/Getty Images]

Ten years later, Paxton would retool himself as a major cable network player in Big Love, the popular HBO series that centered on the lives on polygamist William Henricksen, nicknamed Bill, and his trio of wives for a five-season run starting in 2006. Following the news of Paxton’s unforeseen death, network heads released a touching statement of their own via Medium.

“We are extremely saddened to hear of the passing of Bill Paxton,” their tribute reads.

“Big Love was a seminal series for HBO for many years due to Bill’s extraordinary talent and grace. Off screen, he was as warm, smart and fun as one could be. A true friend to so many at HBO. He will be greatly missed.”

At the time of his death, Paxton was a main player on a current network series, the CBS Television adaptation of the 2001 crime-thriller Training Day, where he portrayed Detective Frank Roarke, a character who was based off the Denzel Washington Academy Award-winning fictional figure, Detective Alonzo Harris, from the original movie.

Paxton, seen here with his ‘Training Day’ co-star Justin Cromwell, completed filming all 13 episodes of the initial CBS order before his death on Saturday, Feb. 25. [Image by Frederick M. Brown/Stringer/Getty Images]

Network heads from CBS have also shared their condolences for the loss of Bill, who completed filming of the initial 13-episode order before his death, and relayed to Deadline that the series, which was rumored to be on the chopping block, will most likely not see a second season after Paxton’s untimely passing.

“We are shocked and deeply saddened this morning by the news of Bill Paxton’s passing,” CBS remarked.

“Bill was, of course, a gifted and popular actor with so many memorable roles on film and television. His colleagues at CBS and Warner Bros. Television will also remember a guy who lit up every room with infectious charm, energy and warmth, and as a great storyteller who loved to share entertaining anecdotes and stories about his work. All of us here offer our deepest sympathy to his wife, Louise, and his two children.”

Our condolences continue to go out to Bill Paxton’s loved ones in the wake of his death.

[Featured Image by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]

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