Billy Redden

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). Early life Redden was born in Rabun County, Georgia, on October 13, 1956. Career At the age of fifteen, he was discovered by Lynn Stalmaster, who was scouting for the movie Deliverance. Stalmaster recommended Redden to director John Boorman—though Redden was not an albino child, as Boorman had requested—and Redden was cast. He portrayed a banjo-playing "local" in the film's famous "dueling banjos" scene. Boorman felt that Redden's skinny frame, large head, and almond-shaped eyes made him the natural choice to play the part of an "inbred from the back woods." Because Redden could not play the banjo, he wore a special shirt that allowed a real banjo player to hide behind him. The scene was then shot with carefully chosen camera angles to conceal the player, whose arms were slipped around Redden's waist to play the tune. The hidden banjo player was shown playing in the bar-fingered "clawhammer" style, while the banjo heard on the soundtrack was played in three-finger "Earl Scruggs" style, using finger picks.