| Net Worth: | $65 thousand |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Actor |
| Date of Birth: | October 13, 1956 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 5′ 11″ |
About Billy Redden
Following his work on Deliverance, Redden was offered a role in the 1984 picture Blastfighter directed by Lamberto Bava. Many people remember the picture as a combination of Deliverance and First Blood, and it was recorded in and around Clayton, Georgia. The film was shot in and around Clayton, Georgia.
He was discovered when he was fifteen years old by Lynn Stalmaster, who was searching for potential actors for the film Deliverance. Even though Redden was not an albino youngster as the director John Boorman had wanted, Stalmaster nevertheless suggested him to the director, and Redden was given the part. On October 13, 1956, Redden was welcomed into the world in Rabun County, Georgia.
In the iconic scene from Deliverance known as “local” he played the role of a “dueling banjos” who played the banjo. Boorman believed that because Redden had a thin frame, a huge head, and almond-shaped eyes, he was the obvious option to portray the part of a “inbred from the back woods.”
Because Redden was incapable of playing the banjo, he wore a unique clothing that concealed a person who was actually skilled at playing the instrument behind him. After that, the scene was filmed using carefully selected camera angles to hide the player, whose arms were slipped over Redden’s waist so that they could play the melody.
Next, Redden was seen in Tim Burton‘s picture Big Fish, which came out in 2003. Burton was adamant on recruiting Redden for the part of a banjo-playing “welcomer” in the fictitious utopian town of Spectre, which the director had written for Redden. Burton was able to find Redden in Clayton, where he was working at the Cookie Jar Café as a cook, as well as a dishwasher. Redden was also a part-owner of the business.
In the spoof titled “Redneck Dictionary” which aired in 2004, Redden appeared as a special guest on Blue Collar TV portraying the role of Ray, an auto repairman. He stood for the phrase “raisin bread” (as in “Ray’s inbred”) in the sentence. During the skit, he was seen playing a banjo.
Redden was given the role of a banjo player in Ace Cruz’s film Outrage: Born in Terror, which was released in 2009. Deliverance wasn’t released until 1972, thus it wasn’t until 2012, 40 years later, that Redden was interviewed in connection with a documentary called The Deliverance of Rabun County (2012). In it, the perspectives of residents of Rabun County, Georgia, forty years after the release of the film were investigated.
Summing-Up
Deliverance, the film he appeared in as a young mountain boy in the woods, was the one that brought him the most fame. He gave the performance as Lonnie, a teenager from north Georgia who played the banjo and was known for his “Dueling Banjos” performance with Drew Ballinger (Ronny Cox).
