Will Sampson
Will Sampson (September 27, 1933 – June 3, 1987) was a Native-American businessman, entrepreneur, rodeo performer, actor and painter/artist. He was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma and was an imposing 6' 7" (2.01 m) tall and also wore size 18 4E shoes. Sampson's most notable roles were as "Chief Bromden" in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and as "Taylor the Medicine Man" in the horror film Poltergeist II. He had a recurring role on the TV series Vega$, as Harlon Twoleaf and starred in the movies Fi
Mr. Sampson appeared in the production of Black Elk Speaks with the American Indian Theater Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where David Carradine and other Native-American actors like Wes Studi and Randolph Mantooth starred in stage productions.
Mr. Sampson competed in rodeos, his speciality riding bucking broncos, for about twenty years. He was on the rodeo circuit when the producers of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Saul Zaentz and Michael Douglas, were looking for a large Native American man to play the role of Chief Bromden a 6’8”, 300 lb, Native-American/European-American man. A rodeo announcer told them about Sampson, and after lengthy efforts to find him, they hired him on the strength of an interview. He had never acted before.
Mr. Sampson was also an artist. His large painting depicting the Ribbon Dance of his Muscogee people is in the collection of the Creek Council House Museum in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. His artwork is currently displayed online by The Kvskvnv (“kuskuna”) Association.
Born
Sep 26, 1933
Okmulgee, Oklahoma, USA
Died
Jun 03, 1987
Known For
Acting
Movies
20 acting
0 crew
Popularity
1.6
Known For
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1975
as Chief Bromden
The Outlaw Josey Wales
1976
as Ten Bears
Firewalker
1986
as Tall Eagle
Orca
1977
as Umilak
Poltergeist II: The Other Side
1986
as Taylor
The White Buffalo
1977
as Crazy Horse/Worm
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson
1976
as The Interpreter (William Halsey)
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