Paul A. Partain

Biography

Paul Alan Partain was born on November 22, 1946 in Austin, Texas. Paul first started acting in his junior high school days; he was a member of the drama club and acted on a regular basis in school plays. Partain served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam war. After finishing his tour of duty, he returned to America and continued his acting career. Paul worked at an electronics manufacturing plant during the day and acted in dinner theatre at night. Partain was laid off from his day job in the fall of 1972. He auditioned for the minor role of ranch hand Willy in Sidney Lumet's Lovin' Molly (1974) and got the part. Paul gave a memorably obnoxious performance as the extremely whiny, hateful, and unsympathetic invalid Franklin Hardesty in the terrifying cult horror classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). He had small parts as a member of Peter Fonda's motorcycle crew in the hugely enjoyable car chase drive-in Satanic horror winner Race with the Devil (1975) and as Tommy Lee Jones's brother-in-law in the excellent revenge action thriller Rolling Thunder (1977). Alas, Partain's acting career stalled in the 1980's. Paul began acting in films again in the 1990's; he made a cameo appearance as a hospital orderly in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994) and portrayed a Militia of Texas minister in Burying Lana (1997). Moreover, Partain worked as a regional sales manager for the Zenith Electronics Corporation. Paul died of cancer at age 58 on January 28, 2005 in Austin, Texas.