Tom Laughlin | |
|---|---|
 Laughlin in 1978 | |
| Born | Thomas Robert Laughlin Jr.[1] (1931-08-10)August 10, 1931 |
| Died | December 12, 2013(2013-12-12) (aged 82) |
| Other names | Tommy Laughlin, T.C. Frank, Don Henderson, Mary Rose Solti, Frank Laughlin, Frank Christina, Lloyd E. James |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, educator |
| Years active | 1955–2010 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Thomas Robert Laughlin Jr. (August 10, 1931 – December 12, 2013) was an American actor, director, screenwriter, author, educator, and activist.
Laughlin was best known for co-producing and starring in the fourBilly Jack films, His unique promotion ofThe Trial of Billy Jack (TV trailers during national news and an "opening day" nationwide release) was a major influence on the way films are marketed.[2]
He was married to actressDelores Taylor from 1954 until his death.
In the early 1960s, Laughlin put his film career on hiatus to start aMontessori preschool inSanta Monica, California; it became the largest school of its kind in the United States. In his later years, he sought the office of President of the United States in1992,2004, and2008. He was involved in psychology anddomestic violence counseling, writing several books onJungian psychology and developing theories on the causes of cancer.[3]
Laughlin was born inMilwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Margaret and Thomas Laughlin.[1] He attendedWashington High School,[4][5] where he was involved in an athletics controversy that made headlines throughout the city, caused by Laughlin being forced to attend another school for a brief period, making him ineligible to play football at his former school on his return.[6][failed verification]
Laughlin attended theUniversity of Wisconsin, before transferring toMarquette University; he played football at both.[7] He playedsafety andhalfback at Marquette.[8]
Laughlin decided to become an actor after seeing a production ofA Streetcar Named Desire.[9] According to a 1956 newspaper interview, he became involved in the drama program at Marquette after being encouraged by a university professor, Father John J. Walsh.[10]
While a student, he formed a stock group and directed and starred in a production ofArthur Miller'sAll My Sons.[11] He finally transferred to theUniversity of South Dakota, where he majored in radio acting, directing, and producing.[10] He met his future wife Delores Taylor in South Dakota.
Laughlin wrote the original screenplay for the filmBilly Jack in 1954, after witnessing the treatment of Native Americans in his wife's hometown,Winner, South Dakota.[12][13] The two wed on October 15, 1954.[10]
He began his screen-acting career in the 1955 television seriesClimax!.[10] From there, he went on to appear in several feature films, including:These Wilder Years, (1956),Tea and Sympathy (1956),[10]Lafayette Escadrille (1958), andSouth Pacific (1958).[14]
He appeared in several episodes of various television series throughout the late 1950s. In 1958, Mr. Laughlin appeared in a small but memorable role inSouth Pacific, the movie version of theJames Michener book andRodgers and Hammerstein musical as a Navy pilot, Lt. Buzz Adams. In 1959, he was cast as young Tom Fowler in the episode "The Fight Back" of theNBCWestern series,Riverboat. In the story line, Fowler has made himself the boss of Hampton, a corrupt river town nearVicksburg, Mississippi. He blocks farmers from shipping their crops to market. In a dispute over a wedding held on the river vessel, theEnterprise, a lynch mob led by Fowler comes after Captain Grey Holden (series starDarren McGavin). Also appearing in this episode areJohn Ireland as Chris Slade andKarl Swenson as Ansel Torgin.[15] That same year, Laughlin starred in thewestern seriesTales of Wells Fargo, the episode titled "The Quiet Village". Laughlin also appeared in the 1959 movieBattle of the Coral Sea withCliff Robertson andL. Q. Jones.
Also in 1959, Laughlin appeared in the filmGidget as Lover Boy. However, he failed to earn a living in the early years, having toldPeople magazine in 1975, "We were living on $5 a week and eatingSpam. I stole Christmas cards from a church so I could write home saying how well we were, but then I couldn't afford the stamps."[16]
Laughlin's first starring film role was inRobert Altman's 1957 filmThe Delinquents, in which he played Scotty White, a teenager who gets mixed up with a gang when he is told he can no longer see his girlfriend.[10] Despite the film's low budget, it became a cult film, withAlfred Hitchcock reportedly among its fans.[17] However, Laughlin and Altman did not get along well,[18] having sharply differing views on acting, Altman later describing Laughlin as "an unbelievable pain in the ass."[18]
Laughlin made his directorial debut later that year withThe Proper Time,[19] though the film wasn't released until 1962. The film was a romantic drama set on the campus ofUCLA. Laughlin shot the film on the campus in six days[20][21] working with a $20,000[a] budget.[23]
Laughlin wrote, directed, and starred inThe Young Sinner. Originally filmed in 1960, and shot in Milwaukee over a period of 14 days,[24] it is the story of a star high-school athlete who falls deeper and deeper into trouble after being caught in bed with his girlfriend. The film was intended to be the first of a trilogy titledWe Are All Christ.[25] It premiered in 1963 under the original titleAmong the Thorns,[26] which was changed toThe Young Sinner upon its 1965 re-release.[27] In 1960, Laughlin planned to make a film,Poison in Our Land, based on the true story of a Texas couple affected by atomic radiation, but the project was never realized.[28]
In 1959, Laughlin and his wife founded aMontessori preschool inSanta Monica, California.[7] By 1961, Laughlin had left the film business to devote all of his time to the school, which by 1964 had become the largest school of its kind in the United States. It was profiled byTime in July of that year.[29] However, by 1965, the school had gone bankrupt.[16] One of his students wasChristian Brando, son of Laughlin's friend,Marlon Brando.[30]
In 1965, Laughlin told theMilwaukee Sentinel that he planned to make a film on the life of a noted Catholic priest, FatherWilliam DuBay.[31] However, the picture did not get past the planning stages. Two years later, in 1967, he wrote, directed (as T. C. Frank), and starred in the motorcycle-gang exploitation filmThe Born Losers.[32] This was the first picture in which the character of Billy Jack appeared. It was a surprise box-office hit.[33][34]
AfterThe Born Losers, Laughlin was set to begin a film project with backing from such figures as Marlon Brando,Jack Lemmon,Candice Bergen, and directorRobert Wise. The movie was to be a documentary on the issues facing African Americans in the 1960s and would have focused greatly on the life ofMartin Luther King Jr., followed by a discussion of race.[35] However, the film was never made.
He followed this up with the sequel toThe Born Losers,Billy Jack, in 1971.American International Pictures initially agreed to distribute the picture, but after viewing it, the studio refused to release the film unless many of the political references – as well as frontal nudity – were cut. This led the Laughlins to withhold the sound reels of the movie, which in effect made it a silent film.[9][36][37] Eventually, Laughlin made a distribution deal withWarner Bros., but he disapproved of the studio's marketing of the film, sued Warner, and re-released the picture himself in 1973.[7] The movie's re-release was successful but controversial.Roger Ebert, in his review of the film, wrote, "Billy Jack seems to be saying that a gun is better than a constitution in the enforcement of justice. Is democracy totally obsolete, then? Is our only hope that the good fascists defeat the bad fascists?"[38]
However, the picture was embraced by much of America's youth,[citation needed] leading Laughlin to claim in 1975, "The youth of this country have only two heroes,Ralph Nader and Billy Jack."[9] When adjusted for inflation, Billy Jack was, as of 2007, the highest-grossingindependent film of all time.[13] The film was among the first to introduce martial arts, especiallyhapkido, to American audiences and contained elements ofJungian psychology, and fictional depictions of American Indian beliefs, depicting a tribe that does not exist, the "Nishnobie".[39] As part of the film's promotion,Bong Soo Han, who was in charge of the martial arts choreography for the film,[40] toured the United States giving hapkido demonstrations.[41]
The Born Losers was reissued in 1974[42] and earned more than twice as much as it had in its original release.[43]
The second sequel,The Trial of Billy Jack, released in late 1974, was a huge box-office hit, while not registering as quite as big a critical success.[44] It is notable for its casting of notable Native Americans, and counterculture figures likeRolling Thunder, as well as its strong criticism of theKent State shootings.[13] However, Laughlin's unique promotion of the film was its real legacy. Unlike most films of the era, which opened in only a few cities before gradually spreading across the country,The Trial of Billy Jack opened in cities nationwide on the same day and commercials were broadcast for it during the national news. This promotion forever changed the way films are marketed and has been called "the firstblockbuster."[2][45]
Laughlin had been in dispute with AIP and reached a settlement in 1974, agreeing to pay them $2 million,[b] including $500,000[c] fromThe Born Losers reissue and $250,000[d] for AIP's percentage share ofThe Trial of Billy Jack.[46]
In 1975, Laughlin releasedThe Master Gunfighter, a Western set in the 1840s, detailing the plight of theChumash people. Laughlin grew a full beard for the film and his character fought with both a 12-shot revolver and asamurai sword.[16] Although it did reasonably well at the box office, critics were not pleased with the film.[47]
Laughlin returned to the Billy Jack franchise in 1977. However, the fourth entry in the series,Billy Jack Goes to Washington, was a failure because of distribution problems,[37] and it proved to be Laughlin's final film. Laughlin blamed individuals within the United States government for the failure of the picture, tellingCNN'sShowbiz Tonight in 2005:
At a private screening, SenatorVance Hartke [Note: Hartke was not re-elected in 1976] got up, because it was about how the Senate was bought out by the nuclear industry. He got up and charged me.Walter Cronkite's daughter was there, [and]Lucille Ball. And he said, 'You'll never get this released. This house you have, everything will be destroyed.' "[48]
At the time of the picture's release, Laughlin's company, Billy Jack Enterprises, had plans for a new Montessori school funded by his own foundation, a record label, an investigative magazine, books, a distribution company, and more message-laden movies, including a special subsidiary to produce films for children.[49] He toldPeople magazine at the time, "Three years from today, we'll be the newUnited Artists. Either that, or we'll be out on our butt on the street."[16] In 1976, Laughlin announced that he was more than $7 million[e] in debt and blamed the financial troubles on unethical behavior by Warner Bros. Pictures, which he said had illegally sold the television rights to his films.
In 1984, he purchased a series of 12 advertisements inVariety condemning various aspects of the film industry and its treatment of independent filmmakers. He created a blueprint for taking control of the home video distribution industry as a way for independent films to be seen.[50] In 1985, he began production of a fifth Billy Jack film,The Return of Billy Jack,[51] which featured the title character fighting child pornographers in New York City. However, he suffered a concussion and neck injury during filming, which led to the production being suspended. During this hiatus, funding for the picture ran out and production was never resumed.[52] Later on, Laughlin had his mansion in Brentwood, California foreclosed. He attempted to sue to get it back a couple of years later.[53]
In 2009, a few scenes from the unfinished film were released on Laughlin's website. A notable incident occurred while he was filming in New York City, when he broke up a street fight on Manhattan's West Side, threatening to rip a man's arm off.[54] He garnered notoriety at this time for making acitizen's arrest of a man after an argument over Laughlin's driving.[55]
Laughlin had sought funding to finish the fifth Billy Jack film since at least 1996, when he spoke about it during a lawsuit against a man who had (Laughlin claimed) illegally changed his name to "Billy Jack",[56] and at one point Laughlin had plans to make a Billy Jack television series.[57] In 2004, he announced that the film would be entitledBilly Jack's Crusade to End the War in Iraq and Restore America to Its Moral Purpose; this was shortened toBilly Jack's Moral Revolution in 2006.[58]
In 2008, the film's title was changed toBilly Jack for President.[7] It was retitledBilly Jack and Jean. Laughlin claimed it would be a "new genre of film" and a great deal of social commentary on politics, religion, and psychology will be discussed,[59] and a debate will take place between Billy Jack and PresidentGeorge W. Bush via computer manipulation of archived speeches.[48]
In 2009, Laughlin released plot details of this film on a video on his website. The video contained several scenes from the film.[60]
In 2010, Frank, Chris, and Teresa Laughlin co-founded Billy Jack Rights, LLC, which manages the rights to all of Tom Laughlin's films, including theBilly Jack franchise.[61]
In his later years, Laughlin turned his attention to politics. He had developed an idea for a film involving a general who returns from war to run for president, but when researching by talking to voters, he thought about running for the office himself. In 1992, as a protest[13] he sought theDemocratic Party nomination for U.S. President.[7] He told theMilwaukee Sentinel, "I am the least qualified person I know to be President, except George Bush."[62]
He appeared on the primary ballots inNew Hampshire[63] andLouisiana. He campaigned on a platform of atax cut for "ordinary Americans",term limits, an overhaul ofpublic education,universal health care, andnuclear disarmament.[64][65] While campaigning for theIowa caucus, he said of a fellow candidate and an Iowan,U.S. SenatorTom Harkin: "I think he's a sleazebag. I despise him."[66]
Excluded from debates by party officials who did not consider him a serious candidate, Laughlin received 1,986 votes in theNew Hampshire primary.[67][68] He blamed the results on lack of cooperation by the Democratic Party, which allowed him and other candidates only five minutes to speak at the state's convention while giving the five front-runners 20 minutes each. He participated in the independent presidential candidates' debate on March 25, 1992, along with former U.S. SenatorEugene J. McCarthy and others who had been excluded from the major debates.[69] However, he was seen by much of the press as a "fringe candidate".[70][71]
Laughlin later protested at being excluded from the primary ballot in his home state of Wisconsin at the same time thatDavid Duke, the formerGrand Wizard of theKu Klux Klan, was included.[72] After dropping out of the race, he worked as an advisor to the campaign ofRoss Perot.[73]
He ran for president again in 2004,[74] this time as aRepublican.[75] Campaigning as an opponent of theIraq War, he received 154 votes in the New Hampshire primary against President George W. Bush, who received 53,962 votes.[76] He again was not allowed to participate in the debates.[77] He ran again for president in 2008[78] as a Democrat, getting 47 votes in the New Hampshire primary.[79]
Laughlin was an outspoken critic of the Iraq War[80][81] and President George W. Bush.[82] His website presented several writings calling the Iraq conflict worse than theVietnam War, in addition to pieces on what he called "realistic exit strategies".[83] He devoted several pages of the Billy Jack website to reasons that he felt justified animpeachment of George W. Bush[84] and repeatedly stated the need for a viable, mainstream third political party. In addition, he criticized what he called the "Christian right", which he called "false Evangelicals", "false prophets",[85] and the "Christo-fascist movement".[81] He released several videos and writings during the 2008 election.[86]
Although not a professionally trained psychologist, Laughlin had an interest inpsychology, having studied the subject independently.[81] A 1975 profile of Laughlin inPeople mentioned his deep interest in psychology and mentioned that he had a personal "dream secretary" to whom Laughlin told his recollections of his dreams. They were written down to be analyzed later.[16]
Laughlin lectured on Jungian psychology at universities and colleges throughout the United States since the 1970s,[87] includingYale University andStanford University.[88]
In 1995, because of his background in football and psychology, he was brought in to counselNebraska Cornhuskers football playerLawrence Phillips after Phillips' suspension from the team. He said of Phillips at the time, "He should not be rewarded by being allowed to play unless there is real substantive change. I don't mean surface change. But if he does change, then he's not only going to not batter this girl, he's not going to batter the girl he marries at 30 and 35. If he just pretends to change, of course he should not be allowed to play, but Lawrence has already been sanctioned in ways other batterers on this campus are not".[88] Phillips ended up being reinstated late in the season and left for the pros after 1995.
Laughlin wrote several books on psychology, includingThe Psychology of Cancer;Jungian Psychology vol. 2: Jungian Theory and Therapy, published in 1980;9 Indispendable Ingredients to Writing a Hit (1999), which details the psychology involved in the box office and hit filmmaking, andThe Cancer Personality (1998), in which he posited his theories about cancer.[89]
One of his concerns was the issue ofdomestic abuse. He became involved in this after witnessing a neighbor, a police officer, beating his wife.[13] He blamedthe murder ofNicole Brown Simpson on domestic abuse, saying
O.J. Simpson was my neighbor up the street on Rockingham. He lived at 300 Rockingham Drive, I lived at 100 Rockingham. I've known O.J. forever. This is one of the sickest, sorriest days in our culture, that he was [found] not guilty... I've told him since 1985 he'd end up in jail... Eight times [Nicole] cried out and eight times, because it was O.J. and it was woman-battering, it was dismissed. But now, with the trivialization, people are afraid to call because they don't trust that the system will help them. The fact that he was found not guilty is going to make that 10 times worse.[88]
Laughlin marriedDelores Taylor in 1954. They had three children: Frank, Teresa, and Christina. His daughter Teresa is a fashion designer.[90] He derived at least two of his pseudonyms from his children: Frank Laughlin, his son's name and the name he used to directThe Trial of Billy Jack andThe Master Gunfighter, and T.C. Frank, which stood for Teresa Christina Frank.
In 2001, it was announced that Laughlin was suffering from a cancer of the tongue that was inoperable.[91] His website claimed the cancer was inremission. His bookThe Psychology of Cancer was about faith, attitude, and other factors that might affect cancer.[89]
In January 2007, a tearful Tom Laughlin gave the eulogy for the man who taught him hapkido for the movieBilly Jack, the late hapkido grandmasterHan Bong-soo, whom Laughlin remembered as "a holy man".[92]
On November 20, 2007, he posted a video on YouTube explaining that poor health had caused him to leave his BillyJack.com website in a dormant state. The site was later revived. Laughlin suffered fromceliac disease, an autoimmune disorder, and suffered a series of strokes.[93] In the video, he announced that he had his health issues under control, that he updated the website, and that he was planning a new Billy Jack film. However, that film was never made.[citation needed]
As director
Laughlin died of complications from pneumonia on December 12, 2013, at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center inThousand Oaks, California.[94]
