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Concept
Will Sampson
Summary
William Sampson Jr. (September 27, 1933 – June 3, 1987) was a Muscogee painter, actor, and rodeo performer. He is best known for his performance as the apparently deaf and mute Chief Bromden, the title role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and as Crazy Horse in the 1977 western The White Buffalo, as well as his roles as Taylor in Poltergeist II: The Other Side and Ten Bears in 1976's The Outlaw Josey Wales.
William "Will" Sampson Jr., born in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma to William "Wiley" Sampson Sr. and Mabel Sampson (née Lewis), was a member of the Muscogee, a people from the Southeastern Woodlands. Sampson Jr. had at least five children: Samsoche "Sam" and Lumhe "Micco" Sampson (of the Sampson Brothers Duo), actor Timothy "Tim" James Sampson, and Robert Benjamin Sampson. The Sampson Brothers Duo are known for their traditional fancy and grass dances, and his son Robert was murdered in Tulsa in 2013.
Sampson competed in rodeos for about 20 years. His specialty was bronco busting, and he was on the rodeo circuit when producers Saul Zaentz and Michael Douglas — of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest — were looking for a large Native American to play the role of Chief Bromden. Sampson stood an imposing 6'7" (2.01 m) tall. Rodeo announcer Mel Lambert mentioned Sampson to them, and after lengthy efforts to find him, they hired him on the strength of an interview. He had never acted before.
Sampson's most notable roles were as Chief Bromden in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and as Taylor the Medicine Man in the horror film Poltergeist II. He had a recurring role on the TV series Vega$ as Harlon Twoleaf, and starred in the movies Fish Hawk, and Orca. Sampson appeared in the production of Black Elk Speaks with the American Indian Theater Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where David Carradine and other Native American actors (such as Wes Studi and Randolph Mantooth) have appeared in stage productions. He also played Crazy Horse in The White Buffalo with Charles Bronson and the archetypal Elevator Attendant in Nicolas Roeg's 1985 film, Insignificance.
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