Bill Erwin with his dear friend John McCabe in 2001.
A year ago today, actor Bill Erwin passed away at the age of 96. This veteran of movies and television was born William Lindsey Erwin on December 2, 1914 in Honey Grove, Texas, USA. His earliest role was as a soldier in the movie 'You're in the Army Now' from 1941, starring Jimmy Durante and Phil Silvers. His more recent roles were in the tv series 'Monk', 'Everwood', 'My Name is Earl' and 'The King of Queens'.
John Candy fans will remember Bill's role as the man on the plane in 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles', which role was, unfortunately, trimmed for the theatrical release in 1987. In a television version the complete role survives which is generally known as 'Airplane food' and was featured as a deleted scene on the 2009 Special Edition of 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles'. Bill is fantastic as the hard-of-hearing elderly man, who is eager to receive yet another piece of food from Del Griffith (John Candy) of which Neal Page (Steve Martin) is too picky to eat.
Bill Erwin with Steve Martin and John Candy.
Kevin Bochynski, friend and fan of Bill Erwin, tells me: "Bill told me how much he enjoyed working with John. He said that John was much more than a comedian; he was a fine actor! And that he was wonderful to work with and was very kind to everyone on the set. Bill knew a good actor when he met one, so when he admired John Candy's acting ability it was a sincere and high compliment. Bill seems to have been a favorite of director John Hughes and appeared in four of Hughes's films". One of Bill's dearest friends was John "Jack" McCabe, the official biographer of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy and one of the founders of 'The Sons of the Desert', whom he visited often on Mackinac Island, Michigan where Mr. McCabe lived with his third wife Karen. Mr. and Mrs. Bochynski accompanied Bill on those trips.
Bill Erwin with John McCabe (left) and Kevin Bochynski (right).
I want to thank Kevin Bochynski for his spontaneous cooperation in providing photos and information about Bill Erwin and I would like to end by quoting Kevin: "I'm pleased that you want to mark the one year anniversary of Bill's passing. His 97th birthday would have been Dec. 2. What a remarkable career he had and what an extraordinary man he was!"
Source: Kevin Bochynski's Bill Erwin website.
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