December 2nd, 2011
06:34 PM ET
Actor Bill McKinney, perhaps best known for his role in 1972's "Deliverance," died on Thursday, CNN has confirmed.
His stepson Richard Booth tells CNN that the actor, who was 80 at the time, had esophageal cancer. Booth called his stepfather a "strong, compassionate, motivated individual."
A post on
his Facebook page adds that the actor was "an avid smoker for 25 years of his younger life." At 80, he was "still strong enough to have filmed a Doritos commercial two weeks prior to his passing, and he continued to work on his biography with his writing partner. Hopefully 2012 will bring a publisher for the wild ride his life was. He is survived by son Clinton, along with several ex-wives."
McKinney's chilling mountain man in "Deliverance" is one of his most memorable roles, particularly the "squeal like a pig" line he utters in the scene in which he assaults Ned Beatty.
Entertainment Weekly calls it "one of the most unsettling scenes ever put on film."
McKinney is credited in more than 100 films, including a number of Clint Eastwood projects, such as 1976's "The Outlaw Josey Wales."