Bill Cable
 |
Bill Cable | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Laurence Cumpanas May 2, 1946 |
| Died | March 7, 1998 (aged 51) |
| Occupation(s) | Model, actor and film stuntman |
| Years active | 1970–1996 |
Bill Cable, also known by the pseudonyms "Stoner", "Cable", and "Bigg John" (May 2, 1946 – March 7, 1998), was a model, actor, and film stuntman.
Biography
Bill "Billy" Cable[1][2] was the grandchild of Thomas Ante and Katherine Pezo. In 1914 his grandfather left the village of Klenovac in Dalmatia, Croatia, and moved to Gary, Indiana. He became a member of the former Hrvatski Sinovi CFU Lodge 396 and would eventually serve as the lodge's president. After Cable's grandfather died in 1950, his family moved to California.
Cable was a standout football player for North Hollywood High School as an offensive tackle, and became a varsity captain in his senior year. He continued playing football after enrolling at the University of Nevada, but eventually stopped after a serious head injury. His other hobbies included motorcycles and guns.
Bill Cable was a partner of actress Cassandra Peterson,[3] whom he modeled and lived with. He married Shirley Cumpanas in Nevada in 1985[4][5] and she had an affair with Christian Brando, son of actor Marlon Brando, which led to their divorce,[6] according to an interview and essay with Cumpanas to Penthouse magazine.[7][8][9] He and Cable remained friends.[10] In 1990, both were interviewed by Skip E. Lowe on the Skip E. Lowe Globe.[11]
In October 1996, Cable was involved in a motorcycle accident in Laurel Canyon in which he sustained a fractured vertebra in his neck, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. Cable died of these injuries on March 7, 1998, at the age of 51. His funeral was attended by Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman).[12] Cable was cremated.[13] The William Laurence Cumpanas Fund[14] was established after his death, supporting the Croatian Sons CFU Lodge 170 in Merrillville, Indiana.
Model
From 1970, Cable was a model for COLT Studio Group, where he was photographed by Jim French.[15] He was photographed by Bob Mizer for the Athletic Model Guild.[16] Cable later posed for the book More Nudes, photographed by Kenn Duncan, whose collection was donated to The New York Public Library by Kenn Duncan's brother and sister in 2003.[17] He was also photographed by Tommy Marshall, Ray Allen, Robert Scott Hooper, Dave Sands, Jeff Dunas and for Playgirl by David Meyer, Raul Vega and Mr. Blackwell. Pornographic pictures of Cable having sex with women were published in Hollywood Hotline, Star Nudes, and Hollywood Rated X in the 1970s.
Photos of him were also published in Playgirl, Playboy, OUI, Ah Men - Clothing Catalog, That Look! - Clothing Catalog, Frederick's of Hollywood - Clothing Catalog, QQ Magazine, After Dark, California Scene, Honcho, The Best of Gallery, MANPOWER!, DAVID, In Touch, Blue Boy, BARFLY, GROOVY GUY, VECTOR, Celebrity Sleuth, H.E.L.P. Drummer, DRUMMER, BODY, International, Olympus (first edition in January 1972) and Mandate (first edition in April 1975).[citation needed]
Actor
Cable acted in mainstream films, including gay and straight erotic films, as a film stuntman and apparitions for TV productions. His first cinematic movie, Bijou (1972),[18] was directed by Wakefield Poole.[19] Cable starred in the short erotic gay film Cooling It in 1973.
He worked on Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks in 1974, and won a new cult audience when it aired on the horror series Elvira's Movie Macabre in 1984. Cable also appeared in the films Pee-wee's Big Adventure in 1985, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, La posta in gioco, Basic Instinct, The Last Tango in Acapulco,[20] Jungle Blue,[21] What's Love,[22][23] Flesh and Bullets[24][25] and The Deadly Cure.[26]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Bill Cable | Untitled making of, posing nude with a motorcycle for Bob Mizer | |
| 1972 | Bijou | Using the pseudonym Cable | |
| 1973 | Cooling It | Stoner | Using the pseudonym Stoner. Reissued in the collection Sex Rated Home Movies (Colt, 1989) |
| 1973 | The Last Tango in Acapulco | Miguel Torres | Released in Europe in VHS with the titles Quella Viziosa di Susan and Susan et les Hommes |
| 1974 | Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks | The Hunk | |
| 1978 | Jungle Blue | Evor | Using the pseudonym Bigg John |
| 1985 | Pee-wee's Big Adventure | Policeman #1 | |
| 1985 | Flesh and Bullets | Policeman | Released in Europe in VHS with the title The Wife Contract |
| 1987 | What’s Love | ||
| 1988 | La Posta in Gioco | Policeman | With his ex-wife Shirley Cumpanas and Christian Brando in the cast |
| 1988 | Elvira, Mistress of the Dark | Cop | |
| 1992 | Basic Instinct | Johnny Boz | |
| 1996 | The Deadly Cure | Alex | Relaunched on DVD in 2007 |
References
Citations
- ^ "CUMPANAS, WILLIAM L. Actor". croatia.org.
- ^ Eterovich, Adam S. "Croatians in California, 1849-1999". books.google.com.
- ^ "Cassandra Peterson and Bill Cable", Who's Dated Who?
- ^ "My Heritage". .myheritage.com.
- ^ "Ancestry". ancestry.com.
- ^ "Vanity Fair, Volume 53". books.google.com.
- ^ Trott, William C. (November 1, 1990). "Brando Story". United Press International.
- ^ Wayne, Renee Lucas (November 5, 1990). "Opportunity Knocks". Daily News.
- ^ Njos, Shirley Anni. "No Coincidences Only Miracles". amazon.com.
- ^ Kunen, James S.; Micheli, Robin; Knapp, Dan; Bentley, Logan (June 4, 1990). "Brando's Son Faces Murder Charge". Time Magazine.
- ^ "Marlon Brando's son, Christian, on the Skip E. Lowe Globe". Youtube.com. July 11, 2007.
- ^ "Bill Cable's Funeral". imdb.com. December 19, 2012.
- ^ "Bill Cable's Memorial". findagrave.com. April 5, 2006.
- ^ "William Laurence Cumpanas Fund". croatianfraternalunion.org.
- ^ "Bill Cable AKA Stoner". coltstudiogroup.com.
- ^ "Bill Cable for Athletic Model Guild". bobmizerfoundation.org.
- ^ "Kenn Duncan's Collection". nypl.org/.
- ^ "Bijou". imdb.com.
- ^ Poole, Wakefield. "Dirty Poole: A Sensual Memoir". books.google.com.
- ^ "The Last Tango in Acapulco". imdb.com.
- ^ "Jungle blue". imdb.com.
- ^ "What's Love". tcm.com.
- ^ "What's Love". hollywood.com.
- ^ "Flesh and Bullets". dvddrive-in.com/reviews/e-h/fleshandbullets.htm.
- ^ "Flesh and Bullets". mondo-digital.com/fleshbullets.html. August 29, 2015.
- ^ "The Deadly Cure". diedangerdiediekill.blogspot.com. October 1, 2014.
External links
- Bill Cable at IMDb