Herbert ‘Cowboy’ Coward: Actor known for his role as Toothless Man in 1972 film 'Deliverance' dies at 85
HAYWOOD, NORTH CAROLINA: Herbert 'Cowboy' Coward, best known for his role as Toothless Man in the 1972 film 'Deliverance', was killed in a car accident on Wednesday, January 24, in Haywood County, North Carolina. He was 85.
His girlfriend, Bertha Brooks, 78, and their two pets, a Chihuahua and a squirrel, also died in the crash.
Herbert 'Cowboy' Coward was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of crash
According to North Carolina State Highway Patrol officials, the accident occurred around 3.30 pm on US 19/23 between Clyde and Canton.
Coward, 85, had just left a doctor’s office when his car was hit by a pickup truck driven by a 16-year-old. Neither Coward nor Brooks were wearing seat belts, WLOS reported.
The teen driver was not speeding and no charges have been filed, according to the outlet.
Herbert 'Cowboy' Coward’s memorable performance in 'Deliverance'
Coward was one of the local actors who starred in the 1972 classic 'Deliverance' which was filmed mostly in Rabun County in northeastern Georgia.
He delivered one of the movie’s most infamous lines: “He got a real pretty mouth, ain’t he?” The Hollywood Reporter noted.
Coward was recommended for the part by his co-star Burt Reynolds who had met him years earlier at the Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, where Coward worked as a stuntman and an outlaw character named Pa Clanton.
Reynolds recalled in 2018 that he told the director John Boorman, “I know a guy. He can’t read and he can’t write or anything, but I’m telling you, if we can get him we got something special.”
Coward impressed Boorman with his ad-libbing skills and got the role on the spot. Reynolds said he told Coward during filming, “Just whatever you wanna say, say it. They’ll cut it out if they don’t like it.” They kept every word he said because it was gold."
Herbert 'Cowboy' Coward’s life and legacy
Coward was born on August 21, 1938, in Haywood County, North Carolina, the youngest of nine children.
His mother, Moody, died when he was young and he dropped out of school barely able to write his name. He was hired by businessman Hubert Presley who was developing a Wild West-themed amusement park on Buck Mountain.
He earned his 'Cowboy' nickname for operating bulldozers that built Ghost Town which opened in June 1961.
He once said, “I was working on pretty heavy equipment for $18 and $20, that’s big money for back then. I’d run them and [his boss would] say, ‘Ride ’em, cowboy!'”
He lost two front teeth when he was hit by a pistol during a staged gunfight at the park. He also did many other stunts, such as falling off roofs.
He said, “In the old days when you fell off the roof, you had to know how many times to roll to hit the ground. There weren’t [any] airbags. Just solid ground down there. So, you had a rough time a-doin’ it.”
He married Dorothy in 1960 and they had four children together. She died in September 2011.
In recent years, Coward lived a quiet life in his mountain home, seen around Haywood County with a pet squirrel on his shoulder.
