Billy Redden

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Billy Redden (born 1956 in Rabun County, Georgia) is an American actor best known for his role as Lonnie—the "banjo kid"—in the 1972 movie Deliverance.

Redden, then sixteen, earned his role in Deliverance during a casting call at Clayton Elementary School in Clayton, Georgia. To add authenticity and humor to the film, the filmmakers found Redden to fit the look of the inbred and mentally retarded banjo boy called for by the book, although Redden himself is not retarded and can not play banjo. The scene depicts Redden playing the instrumental Dueling Banjos opposite actor Ronny Cox on guitar. At the end of the dueling banjos scene the script called for Redden to harden his expression towards Drew Ballinger, Cox's character; however, Redden was unable to fake dislike for Cox. To solve the problem they got Ned Beatty (whom Redden truly disliked) to step towards Redden at the close of the shot. As Beatty approached, Redden hardened his expression and looked away exactly as intended.^[1]

Unlike Ronny Cox with his guitar, Redden did not know how to play banjo for the famous "Duelling Banjos" scene. To simulate the realistic chord playing on the banjo, another boy, who was a skilled banjo-player, played the chords with his arm reaching around at Redden's side while Redden picked. On the soundtrack, musicians Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandel are actually playing.^[2]

Redden also appeared in Tim Burton's 2003 film Big Fish. Burton was intent on getting Redden, who hadn't appeared in a film since Deliverance, to play the role of a banjo-playing welcomer in the utopian town of Spectre. Burton eventually found him in Clayton, Georgia, where Redden works as a cook, dishwasher and part-owner of the Cookie Jar Café.

In 2004, Redden made a guest appearance on Blue Collar TV playing an inbred car repairman named Ray in a "Redneck Dictionary" skit, for the word "raisin bread" (Ray's-Inbred). When he was shown, he was playing a banjo.