Actor Bill McKinney 1931-2011

[Zoneboy]

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Bill McKinney, one of the stars of terrifying 1972 thriller, Deliverance, has died.

The actor who played one of the violent mountain men and famously ordered one particularly unfortunate camper to 'squeal like a pig,' died yesterday Thursday at the age of 80 from cancer of the esophagus.

McKinney's career included dozens of film credits - including seven with Clint Eastwood - and appearances on television series such as In The Heat of the Night, Baywatch and Walker, Texas Ranger.

But McKinney was always most associated with Deliverance, which is lodged in the public consciousness thanks to its horrifying violent themes and that infamous Duelling Banjos theme.

The 1972 film, starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty, followed a group of men on an ill-fated river trip into the Appalachian wilderness where they are hunted down by a group of sadistic locals.

McKinney, credited only as Mountain Man, appeared in the movie's infamous rape scene.

And he seemed to embrace the cult nature of his role, operating his official website under the domain www.squeallikeapig.com.

His death was confirmed on his Facebook page.

'Our dear Bill McKinney passed away at Valley Presbyterian Hospice, reads the statement.

'An avid smoker for 25 years of his younger life, he died of cancer of the esophagus. He was 80 and still strong enough to have filmed a Doritos commercial 2 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.'