Free Republic

Tom Laughlin, the maverick actor and filmmaker best known for the "Billy Jack" films, has died. He was 82.

Most of you are familiar with the movie Billy Jack and its sequel The Trial Of Billy Jack which was listed as one of the Fifty WORST Movies of All Time. A few of the more astute among you even know that the Billy Jack character first appeared in a "prequel" called Born Losers. However, how many of you know that there was a movie called Billy Jack Goes To Washington? If you never heard of it, no wonder. It was set for release in late 1976 but after the first preview showing, it was put in the can...

MOORPARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 15, 2005--"Enough is enough!" said Delores Taylor, alongside her husband, Tom Laughlin (Billy Jack). The quintessential activist heroine and hero of the 1970's are back with a vengeance. They are determined to end the war in Iraq, by restoring America to her moral purpose, before subway terrorists possess nuclear weapons in suitcases. To reveal this new exciting exit plan, Laughlin will be holding a press conference at Peace House located at 9142 5th Street, Crawford, Texas, on Thursday, August 18, 2005 at 1 p.m. (CT). "This plan is a win/win situation for the Iraqi people, and especially...

Billy Jack Is Ready to Fight the Good Fight Again By SHARON WAXMAN Published: June 20, 2005 SANTA ROSA VALLEY, Calif. - It has been more than 30 years, but Billy Jack is still plenty ticked off. Back then, it was bigotry against Native Americans, trouble with the nuclear power industry and big bad government that made this screen hero explode in karate-fueled rage. At the time, the unlikely combination of rugged-loner heroics - all in defense of society's downtrodden and forgotten - and rough-edged filmmaking sparked a pop culture and box-office phenomenon. Tom Laughlin, "Billy Jack" in 1971, fought...

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) - Tom Laughlin, best known for helping bring martial arts into American pop culture with his 1970s "Billy Jack" films, is now throwing his punches in the political arena. The 72-year-old actor, who lives in Camarillo, is one of 13 candidates running against President Bush (website - news - bio) in the Republican primary. Laughlin, who first ran for president as a Democrat in 1992, said he's campaigning to draw attention to a two-party system he deemed "so corrupt it can't function anymore." He described himself as a "messenger" candidate and said he wasn't disappointed by the...