Who was the hidden banjo player in Deliverance?
Billy Redden (born 1956) is an American actor, best known for his role as a backwoods mountain boy in the 1972 film Deliverance. He played Lonnie, a banjo-playing teenager in north Georgia, who played the noted “Dueling Banjos” with Drew Ballinger (Ronny Cox).
Did Billy Redden really play the banjo in Deliverance?
He did not actually play the banjo – a local musician hid behind the boy and played with his hands instead. The boy’s unfortunate physiognomy was also exaggerated by makeup, and by just sitting there silently, he wrote himself into movie history.
Was Dueling Banjos written for Deliverance?
Warner Bros. “Dueling Banjos” is a bluegrass composition by Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith. The song was made famous by the 1972 film Deliverance, which also led to a successful lawsuit by the song’s composer, as it was used in the film without Smith’s permission. …
How old is the Banjo Boy in Deliverance?
The Deliverance Banjo Boy at 56. Rabun County, Georgia resident Billy Redden was 15 when he was discovered at a casting call in Clayton, Georgia and offered the part of the inbred banjo-playing boy in the 1972 Burt Reynolds sodomy classic Deliverance.
Where is the Banjo Boy Now?
– UPROXX Where Are They Now? The Deliverance Banjo Boy at 56. Rabun County, Georgia resident Billy Redden was 15 when he was discovered at a casting call in Clayton, Georgia and offered the part of the inbred banjo-playing boy in the 1972 Burt Reynolds sodomy classic Deliverance.
Is deliverance’s Billy Redden a real banjo player?
Deliverance’s inbred banjo boy. The actor is Billy Redden from Rabun County, Georgia who was 15-years-old at the time. Redden was “discovered” during a casting call at his school in Clayton, Georgia. Special effect makeup was used to augment Redden’s already-unusual features. He didn’t actually play the banjo.
Was the musical “Dueling Banjos” in Deliverance unplanned and unscripted?
According to its lights, the musical exchange was unplanned and unscripted, the result of an accidental encounter between one of the actors and a mentally disadvantaged local boy, fortuitously caught by a cameraman. Which is hogwash. Musicians Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell arranged and performed “Dueling Banjos” on the Deliverance soundtrack.