Detailed Biography

Samuel John "Sam" Bottoms was an American actor and producer.

Personal life

Bottoms was born in Santa Barbara, California, the third son of James "Bud" Bottoms and Betty , both of whom survive him. He was the brother of actors Timothy Bottoms , Joseph Bottoms and Ben Bottoms .

Career

One of Bottoms's first appearances was with Clint Eastwood in The Outlaw Josey Wales. He is perhaps best remembered for his role as surfer Lance Johnson, a Navy Gunner's Mate stationed on a river boat in Francis Ford Coppola's 20th century opus, Apocalypse Now. Other notable roles include his part in Seabiscuit and co-starring with British Chinese-Singaporean movie star Ava Lyn Koh in a lesbian-assassin thriller True Files, aka Shanghai Lily.

When he was 16, he was on the set of The Last Picture Show, in which his older brother Timothy starred, and Peter Bogdanovich decided to give him a screen test. Sam ended up getting the part of Billy in the movie.

Death

He died of glioblastoma multiforme, a type of brain tumor, on December 16, 2008.

Television