Los Angeles - Bill Paxton, the prolific and charismatic actor whose many memorable roles included an astronaut in "Apollo 13" and a treasure hunter in "Titanic," has died from complications due to surgery. He was 61.
A family representative issued a statement Sunday on the death but provided no further details.
Paxton, a Fort Worth, Texas, native, appeared in dozens of movies and television shows and seemed to be around when history was made both on and off screen.
Bill Paxton, a cast member in the HBO series "Big Love," poses at the show's third season premiere in Los Angeles in 20019. File photo: Chris Pizzello/AP
As a boy, he was in the crowd that welcomed President John F. Kennedy in Texas on the morning of Nov. 22, 1963, hours before Kennedy was killed in Dallas.
As a young man, he worked in the art department for "B'' movie king Roger Corman, who helped launch the careers of numerous actors and filmmakers.
Paxton's movie credits included some of the signature works of the past 40 years, from "Titanic" and "Apollo 13" to "The Terminator and "Aliens."
"Bill's passion for the arts was felt by all who knew him," the family statement reads, "and his warmth and tireless energy were undeniable."