For 36 years, Bill Paxton, who died Feb. 25 at age 61, was one of my closest friends. It was a friendship that went far beyond our work together on movies like Terminator, Aliens, Titanic and True Lies. He ultimately acted in over 60 films, as well as many TV movies and series, including his critically acclaimed Big Love. All his characters were aspects of Bill the man: his humor, his decency, his rebellious spirit, his strong moral principles, his sense of the outrageous.
Even now, after his long and celebrated career, one of Bill's most memorable characters remains one of his earliest: Private Hudson in Aliens. His wail "It's game over, man!" is as funny and human today as it was 31 years ago. The night before the heart…
