Family representative: ‘Titanic’ actor Bill Paxton has died

In this photo, taken May 31, 2015, Bill Paxton arrives at the Critics’ Choice Television Awards at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. A family representative said prolific and charismatic actor Paxton, who played an astronaut in “Apollo 13” and a treasure hunter in “Titanic,” died from complications due to surgery. The family representative issued a statement Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017, on the death. (Photo by RICHARD SHOTWELL/Invision/AP)

LOS ANGELES — Bill Paxton, the prolific and charismatic actor whose many memorable roles included an astronaut in “Apollo 13”and a treasure hunter in “Titanic,” has died from complications due to surgery. He was 61.

A family representative issued a statement Sunday on the death but provided no further details.

Paxton, a Fort Worth, Texas, native, appeared in dozens of movies and television shows and seemed to be around when history was made both on and off screen.

As a boy, he was in the crowd that welcomed President John F. Kennedy in Texas on the morning of Nov. 22, 1963, hours before Kennedy was killed in Dallas.

As a young man, he worked in the art department for “B’” movie king Roger Corman, who helped launch the careers of numerous actors and filmmakers.

Paxton’s movie credits included some of the signature works of the past 40 years, from “Titanic” and “Apollo 13” to “The Terminator” and “Aliens.””

“Bill’s passion for the arts was felt by all who knew him,” the family statement reads, “and his warmth and tireless energy were undeniable.” –Lindsey Bahr