Bill Cable

Bill Cable
Cable in 1973
Born	William Laurence Cumpanas (1946-05-02)May 2, 1946 Gary, Lake County, Indiana, U.S.
Died	March 7, 1998(1998-03-07) (aged 51) North Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California, U.S.
Occupation	Model, actor and film stuntman
Years active	1970–1992

Bill Cable (May 2, 1946 – March 7, 1998) was a model, actor and film stuntman.

Biography

Billy,^[1] as he was affectionately known, was the grandchild of Thomas Ante and Katherine Pezo. In 1914, his grandfather became a member of the former Hrvatski Sinovi CFU Lodge 396 of Gary, Indiana after his arrival from the village of Klenovac, located near Imotski in the region of Dalmacia, Croatia. He served as the Lodge's president. In 1950, after the Cumpanas family lost their grandfather, they moved to California.

Bill was 6'1" tall and weighed 185 lbs, helping him become a standout football player for North Hollywood High School as an offensive tackle in the early 1960s. He was one of the varsity captains in the last year in 1964. With his football career cut short by a serious head injury at the University of Nevada, young William went on to begin a career in Hollywood, first as a stuntman and then as an actor.

Bill Cable was a partner and great friend of Cassandra Peterson,^[2] whom he modeled and lived with. His wife, Shirley Cumpanas had an affair with Christian Brando, son of actor Marlon Brando, which led to their divorce. Shirley has revealed details in interview and essay to Penthouse magazine^[3] and in her autobiographic book.^[4] Nevertheless they remained good friends and stayed together often.^[5] In 1990, both were interviewed by Skip E. Lowe on the Skip E. Lowe Globe.^[6]

Cable's passions included motorcycles, guns, and spending time with his family. Although he never had children, Cable often visited injured children and forged relationships with them.

In October 1996, Cable was involved in a tragic motorcycle accident in Laurel Canyon - Los Angeles (North Hollywood), in which he sustained massive injuries to his body including a fractured vertebrae in his neck, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. His family, especially his mother Violet, provided support through the tough times. Billy succumbed to his injuries on March 7, 1998 at the age of 51.

His funeral was marked by an excellent eulogy by Cassandra Peterson and the presence of Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman).^[7] His body was cremated.^[8] The William Laurence Cumpanas Fund^[9] was established after his death, and it supported the Croatian Sons CFU Lodge 170 in Merrillville, Indiana.

Career

Also known by the pseudonyms Stoner, Cable and Bigg John.

Model

Bill Cable was from 1970 one of the first and most important exclusive models of COLT Studio Group by Jim French photographer.^[10]

Posed for Bob Mizer to Athletic Model Guild (AMG), Physique Pictorial Magazine, currently Bob Mizer Foundation.^[11]

Your first known movie is an untitled video, making of, posing naked for Bob Mizer with a motorcycle.

According to Bob Mizer's AMG coding: "Typical man, Vacilliating personality (Can't make up his mind), Our knowledge of the subject's personal traits is very limited"

Posed for More Nudes book photographed by Kenn Duncan, whose collection was donated for The New York Public Library by Kenn Duncan's brother and sister in 2003.^[12]

Bill Cable was also photographed by Tommy Marshall, Ray Allen, Robert Scott Hooper, Dave Sands, Jeff Dunas and to Playgirl by David Meyer, Raul Vega and Mr. Blackwell.

Pornographic pictures of women having sex with Bil Cable were published in magazines (Hollywood Hotline, Star Nudes and Hollywood Rated X) in the 70s and its origins are still unknown.

His photos (essay or advertising) were also published in: Playgirl, Playboy, OUI, Ah Men - Clothing Catalog, That Look! - Clothing Catalog, Frederick's of Hollywood - Clothing Catalog, QQ Magazine, After Dark, California Scene, Honcho, The Best of Gallery, MANPOWER!, DAVID, In Touch, Blue Boy, BARFLY, GROOVY GUY, VECTOR, Celebrity Sleuth, H.E.L.P. Drummer (gay newspaper), DRUMMER, BODY, Olympus (first edition in January-1972) and Mandate (first edition in April 1975).

Actor

Acted in mainstream films, some gay and straight erotic, as film stuntman and apparitions in productions for TV.

His first movie at the cinema, Bijou (1972),^[13] directed by Wakefield Poole, making a small tip,^[14] then in 1973 starred in the short erotic gay film Cooling It.

Worked in movie Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks - 1974, considered by many as one of the worst movies ever made Frankenstein and won a new cult audience when it aired in the horror series Elvira's Movie Macabre in 1984.

Debuted in mainstream cinema in the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure in 1985. Also acted in Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, La posta in gioco and Basic Instinct.

The 3 straight erotic films in which he acted (The Last Tango in Acapulco,^[15] Jungle blue^[16] and What's Love).^[17][18] The film The Last Tango In Acapulco was released in Europe with the title Quella Viziosa di Susan.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971		Bill Cable	Untitled making of, posing nude with a motorcycle for Bob Mizer
1972	Bijou		Using the pseudonym Cable
1973	Cooling it	Stoner	Using the pseudonym Stoner. Reissued in the collection Sex Rated Home Movies (Colt, 1989)
1973	The Last Tango in Acapulco	Miguel Torres	Released in Europe in VHS with the title Quella Viziosa di Susan
1974	Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks	The Hunk
1978	Jungle Blue	Evor	Using the pseudonym Bigg John
1985	Pee-wee's Big Adventure	Policeman #1
1987	What’s Love
1988	La Posta in Gioco	Policeman	With his ex-wife Shirley Cumpanas and Christian Brando in the cast.
1988	Elvira, Mistress of the Dark	Cop
1992	Basic Instinct	Johnny Boz

References

Citations

External links

• Bill Cable at the Internet Movie Database