DALE HAWES

Billy Redden. You know him, he’s the creepy kid playing the banjo with Ronny Cox in the movie, "Deliverance" (1972). In the film Billy's creepy character's name is Lonnie. Billy has about four films to his filmography. Deliverance is the only time he is credited as some thing other than, “Banjo Man”. During the time of the filming of Deliverance Billy did not know how to play the banjo at all. The left hand fingering the strings during the shot of him playing the banjo actually belong to a photo double who knew how to play. Even as an adult, he never learned how to play the banjo. If you remember in the film, Lonnie didn’t have a line. This means Billy was essentially an extra, an extra doing a bit part. And he was paid that day rate. Imagine that, the actor responsible for one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history was paid a standard background day rate. I hope he got OT! Lol! He was just a local Georgia boy that had a specific look. He was plucked out of the community the production was filming at. Billy stated he often gets asked about his film career but says these days he’s more concerned about his current job. Last I heard, Billy works at his local Walmart. Billy was also in a Tim Burton film, “Big Fish” (2003) playing you guessed it.... Banjo Man.

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- D. Hawes