It’s officially Christmas season and I’d be remiss if I didn’t try and chronicle the career of one of this holiday’s villains. I’m talking about Robert Brian Wilson, who is most known to horror fans for playing Billy in Silent Night, Deadly Night. This actor was born in March of 1962 in the state of California. Silent Night, Deadly Night was released in 1984; and besides being his first role to date, it would also become his most important. Silent Night, Deadly Night was an off brand slasher of sorts, where poor Billy is psychologically broken down and forced to become a serial killer on his 18th Christmas due to watching his parents get murdered, the crazy abusive Mother Superior who runs the orphanage he stayed at, and his phobia of Christmas. Silent Night, Deadly Night was critically and socially panned and earned itself one of the biggest movie boycotts of all time. Despite the boycott, the film made its budget back 3x and became a chapter in the book of horror history.
Right after Silent Night, Deadly Night, Robert Brian Wilson booked a role in soap opera “Santa Barbara” from 1985-1985. His character, Channing Capwell Jr, was only featured in a handful of episodes before basically being relegated to a featured extra spot. So he jumped ship and joined another soap opera, “Search for Tomorrow,” from 1985-1986 as Chase Kendall. After working on daytime television, Wilson began booking television gigs all over the broadcast map. He landed a bunch of cameo roles in “Thirtysomething” in 1987, “Dynasty” in 1988, “Perfect Strangers” in 1988, and “Knots Landing” in 1989 before he joined another show, “Generations,” as a series regular in 1990. Also in 1990 he earned a small role in the second movie of his career, Gunsmoke: The Last Apache. Robert’s last on screen credit is listed as a guest spot on “Jake and the Fatman” in 1992.
So, where is Robert Brian Wilson now?
He quit acting in 1993. Although he has remained completely out of the limelight ever since, he’s still managed to do very well for himself. He opened up an extremely lucrative trade show business, which has allowed him to purchase homes in New York and California. He also met the love of his life, who he married and fathered three children with. Rumor has it he’s a Born Again Christian now and sees his acting career as a blemish in his past. Sad. I know a lot of women dug him at the time and we all love a good horror come back. Whether in film or just enjoying a normal life, I guess we can all be happy he’s not impaling semi-naked women on deer antlers.
