Sonny Landham
Encyclopedia
William M. "Sonny" Landham (born February 11, 1941) is an American
movie actor
and political candidate.
, 48 Hrs.
, Lock Up
and Action Jackson
.
. He is a descendant of the Cherokee
and Seminole
nations.
In 2003, Landham ran in the Republican Party
primary election for the post of Governor
of Kentucky
, hoping to repeat the success of his Predator castmates Minnesota
Governor Jesse Ventura
and California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
. He based his candidacy on opposition to an amendment which endorsed the Kentucky Family Court, saying his bad experiences at the hands of the family court had convinced him that it was run for the benefit of lawyers rather than families or children. He was unsuccessful in gaining the party's nomination. He ran briefly as an independent candidate, but withdrew on June 18, and endorsed the Republican slate.
In January 2004, Landham announced his candidacy for the 27th State Senate District of Kentucky.
In 2005, Landham spoke at a Council of Conservative Citizens
convention. Landham has also appeared on the CofCC-affiliated radio show, The Political Cesspool
.
In the Spring of 2006, Landham also accepted a bid as an honorary member of Alpha Sigma Phi
, Beta Chi Chapter at American University
.
On September 19, 2006, Landham was injured in a four-car accident in Ashland, Kentucky
.
On June 25, 2008, Landham announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Mitch McConnell
on the Libertarian
line. The same day Landham called for genocide
against Arab
s and referred to them as "ragheads". His comments were made on the political radio show The Weekly Filibuster
. Three days later, on June 28, the Kentucky Libertarians voted unanimously to withdraw Landham's nomination, citing his comments were not in keeping with the party's platform and values.
Landham is currently pursuing a degree at Eastern Kentucky University
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
movie actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and political candidate.
Acting career
At the beginning of his acting career, Landham was an actor in pornographic films. He then became a mainstream movie actor, and appeared in a number of popular Hollywood films, including PredatorPredator (film)
Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and Kevin Peter Hall. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox....
, 48 Hrs.
48 Hrs.
48 Hrs. is a 1982 American action comedy film directed by Walter Hill, starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy as a cop and convict, respectively, who team up to catch a cop-killer. The title refers to the amount of time they have to solve the crime. This was Eddie Murphy's film debut , and Joel...
, Lock Up
Lock Up (film)
- Plot :Frank Leone , a skilled mechanic and footballer, is a model prisoner nearing the end of his sentence in a low-security prison. One night while sleeping in his cell, guards arrive and forcibly take Leone to maximum security Gateway Prison...
and Action Jackson
Action Jackson
Action Jackson is a 1988 action film directed by Craig R. Baxley and starring Carl Weathers, Vanity, Craig T. Nelson and Sharon Stone. Paula Abdul was the choreographer...
.
Personal and political life
Landham was born in Canton, GeorgiaCanton, Georgia
Canton is a city in and the county seat of Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 22,958.-Geography:Canton is located at ....
. He is a descendant of the Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
and Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
nations.
In 2003, Landham ran in the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
primary election for the post of Governor
Governor of Kentucky
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Fifty-six men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once...
of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, hoping to repeat the success of his Predator castmates Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
Governor Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
. He based his candidacy on opposition to an amendment which endorsed the Kentucky Family Court, saying his bad experiences at the hands of the family court had convinced him that it was run for the benefit of lawyers rather than families or children. He was unsuccessful in gaining the party's nomination. He ran briefly as an independent candidate, but withdrew on June 18, and endorsed the Republican slate.
In January 2004, Landham announced his candidacy for the 27th State Senate District of Kentucky.
In 2005, Landham spoke at a Council of Conservative Citizens
Council of Conservative Citizens
The Council of Conservative Citizens is an American political organization that supports a large variety of conservative and paleoconservative causes in addition to white nationalism, and white separatism...
convention. Landham has also appeared on the CofCC-affiliated radio show, The Political Cesspool
The Political Cesspool
The Political Cesspool is a weekly talk radio show founded by James Edwards, and syndicated by Liberty News Radio Network and Accent Radio Network in the United States...
.
In the Spring of 2006, Landham also accepted a bid as an honorary member of Alpha Sigma Phi
Alpha Sigma Phi
Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity is a social fraternity with 71 active chapters and 9 colonies. Founded at Yale in 1845, it is the 10th oldest fraternity in the United States....
, Beta Chi Chapter at American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
.
On September 19, 2006, Landham was injured in a four-car accident in Ashland, Kentucky
Ashland, Kentucky
Ashland, formerly known as Poage Settlement, is a city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States, nestled along the banks of the Ohio River. The population was 21,981 at the 2000 census. Ashland is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the 2000 census, the...
.
On June 25, 2008, Landham announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Mitch McConnell
Mitch McConnell
Addison Mitchell "Mitch" McConnell, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Kentucky and the Republican Minority Leader.- Early life, education, and military service :...
on the Libertarian
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
line. The same day Landham called for genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
against Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s and referred to them as "ragheads". His comments were made on the political radio show The Weekly Filibuster
The Weekly Filibuster
The Weekly Filibuster is an American talk radio show moderated by politico Ben Goodman of the University of Maine that is broadcast on Sunday evenings...
. Three days later, on June 28, the Kentucky Libertarians voted unanimously to withdraw Landham's nomination, citing his comments were not in keeping with the party's platform and values.
Landham is currently pursuing a degree at Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University, commonly referred to as Eastern or by the acronym EKU by local residents, is an undergraduate and graduate teaching and research institution located in Richmond, Kentucky, U.S.A.. EKU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...
.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Abigail Leslie is Back in Town | Bo |
| 1979 | The Warriors | Cop |
| 1981 | Southern Comfort Southern Comfort (film) Southern Comfort is an American action/thriller film directed by Walter Hill, working from a script by Hill, longtime collaborator David Giler, and Michael Kane. It featured Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Alan Autry, Les Lannom, Peter Coyote, T. K... |
Hunter |
| 1982 | 48 Hrs. 48 Hrs. 48 Hrs. is a 1982 American action comedy film directed by Walter Hill, starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy as a cop and convict, respectively, who team up to catch a cop-killer. The title refers to the amount of time they have to solve the crime. This was Eddie Murphy's film debut , and Joel... |
Billy Bear |
| Poltergeist | Pool Worker #2 | |
| 1984 | Fleshburn | Calvin Daggai |
| 1986 | Firewalker Firewalker (film) Firewalker is a 1986 action/adventure B-movie starring Chuck Norris, Louis Gossett, Jr., Will Sampson and Melody Anderson. It was directed by J. Lee Thompson and written by Norman Aladjem, Robert Gosnell and Jeffrey M. Rosenbaum... |
El Coyote |
| 1987 | Predator Predator (film) Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and Kevin Peter Hall. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox.... |
Billy |
| 1988 | Action Jackson Action Jackson Action Jackson is a 1988 action film directed by Craig R. Baxley and starring Carl Weathers, Vanity, Craig T. Nelson and Sharon Stone. Paula Abdul was the choreographer... |
Mr. Quick |
| 1989 | Lock Up Lock Up (film) - Plot :Frank Leone , a skilled mechanic and footballer, is a model prisoner nearing the end of his sentence in a low-security prison. One night while sleeping in his cell, guards arrive and forcibly take Leone to maximum security Gateway Prison... |
Chink Weber |
| 1992 | Maximum Force Maximum Force Maximum Force is an on-rails light gun first-person arcade game developed by Mesa Logic for Atari Games in 1997. In 1998, Atari Games re-released the game as part of one machine called Area 51/Maximum Force Duo that also included Area 51, and later ported the game to both the PlayStation and Sega... |
Pimp |
| 1993 | Best of the Best 2 Best of the Best 2 Best of the Best 2 is a 1993 martial arts film directed by Robert Radler, and starring Eric Roberts and Phillip Rhee. It is the first sequel to the 1989 film Best of the Best. The plot follows three of the characters from the original film, and was released on DVD on February 6, 2007.-Plot:After... |
James |
| 1994 | Savage Land | Lassiter |
| 1995 | Fatal Choice | Brick |
| Guns & Lipstick | Albino | |
| 1996 | Carnival of Wolves | Bodyguard #4 |
| Billy Lone Bear | Billy Lone Bear | |
| 2090 | Indian | |
| 2007 | Disintegration | Boone Cagle |
| 2009 | Mental Scars | Chief Bear |
Television
| Year | Television | Episode | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | The A-Team The A-Team The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by... |
The Island | Ryker |
| 1985 | The Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission The Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission The Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission is a made-for-TV film and sequel to the original Dirty Dozen. It reunited Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine and Richard Jaeckel 18 years after the original hit war film. Marvin returns to lead an all-new dirty dozen on a mission to assassinate an SS General played by... |
Sam Sixkiller | |
| Hardcastle and McCormick Hardcastle and McCormick Hardcastle and McCormick is a 1980s action/drama television series from Stephen J. Cannell Productions, shown on ABC from 1983–1986, starring Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle and Daniel Hugh Kelly as ex-con and race car driver Mark "Skid" McCormick.The show's premise involves the... |
You Don't Hear the One that Gets You | Sheriff Billy Blackstone | |
| 1986 | The Fall Guy The Fall Guy The Fall Guy is an American action/adventure television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas. Majors and Barr are the only two actors to appear in all 112 episodes of the series... |
War of the Wheel | Jake |
| North Star | Becker | ||
| 1987 | Miami Vice Miami Vice Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989... |
Viking Bikers from Hell | Toad |
| 1991 | 3 Days to Kill | Pepe |