Biography for
Bill Hickman More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

25 January 1921, Los Angeles County, California, USA

Date of Death

24 February 1986, Indio, California, USA (cancer)

Mini Biography

The actor is better known for his prowess as a stunt driver. His work in Bullitt (1968) is legendary where he drove the black Dodge Charger 440 Magnum that was pursued by Steve McQueen in his Ford Mustang 390 G.T. For his reputation earned on Bullitt, Hickman was hired by William Friedkin for The French Connection (1971). He staged a similar chase on the streets of Manhattan but with a greater presence of civilians, an element that had been missing in Bullitt. Doubling for _Gene Hackman_ in the more hazardous stunts, Hickman drove the brown 1970 Pontiac at speeds up to 90mph with Friedkin manning the camera right behind him. Hickman's third spectacle would be captured in The The Seven-Ups (1973) where, yet again, he virtually outdid himself doubling for Roy Scheider in another landmark car chase.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Trivia

Before becoming a famous movie stuntman, he was James Dean's driver in 1955 when the latter was killed after a roadside accident. Hickman, driving the Ford station-wagon and trailer that hauled Dean's Porsche 550 Spyder, was the first on the scene when he came upon the accident.

Personal Quotes

On his friendship with James Dean, "In those final days, racing was what he cared about most. I had been teaching him things like how to put a car in a four-wheel drift, but he had plenty of skill of his own. If he had lived he might have become a champion driver. We had a running joke, I'd call him Little Bastard and he'd call me Big Bastard. I never stop thinking of those memories."

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