- He is buried within the Muscogee (Creek) Nation boundaries. Craig T. Nelson, his co-star in Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986), happened to be passing through the area and wanted to pay his respects. He drove around for four or five hours trying to find the cemetery when he finally stopped at a corner store and asked where Sampson was buried. As it turned out, the man standing next to Nelson in the store was Sampson's cousin, and told Nelson he'd show him the spot. It was cicada season, and Nelson remembers the buzzing was overwhelming. He approached Sampson's grave and said something to the effect of "Hey Will, it's Craig". Within three or four seconds, Nelson recalls, the sound of the cicadas tapered off and stopped entirely.
- He was an enrolled member of the Muscogee Creek tribe.
- He had never acted prior to being cast in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975).
- He has appeared in two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976).
- Suffered from scleroderma, a chronic degenerative condition that affected his heart, lungs and skin. During his lengthy illness, his weight fell from 260 lb. (120 kg) to 140 lb. (64 kg), causing complications related to malnutrition.
- He is said to be the third victim of the legendary "Poltergeist Curse". Sampson starred in Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986), and, during filming, he allegedly claimed that the production was haunted. He supposedly used Native American rituals to bless sets and locations to stave off the curse. Regardless, the legend holds that he became another victim of the curse, dying of complications during heart and lung surgery a year after the film's release. Other supposed victims of the curse include Dominique Dunne, who was murdered shortly after the release of Poltergeist (1982); Julian Beck, who died of stomach cancer during filming of Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986); and Heather O'Rourke, who died of complications from an intestinal blockage before Poltergeist III (1988) was released.
- In an episode of The Yellow Rose (1983), he portrayed a character who was 6'7" even though he stood a little bit over 6'5".
- In 1977 he appeared in two movies that set man against beast, both very reminiscent of Jaws (1975): Orca (1977) and The White Buffalo (1977).
- Buried at Graves Creek Cemetery Hitchita, McIntosh County, Oklahoma, USA.
- On the pilot episode of Vegas starring Robert Urich, Will played Urich's co-star and partner while Bart Braverman had a cameo role; when the show was picked-up, Braverman filled the sidekick role, but Sampson did return a few times through the three seasons.
- Will Sampson's son Tim Sampson, played a Chief Bromden spoof character in The TV series episode S4E10 Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack (2008), which included a parody of the 1975 film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975).
- Ex-father-in-law of Nancy Rommelmann.
- This writer was on the set of From Here to Eternity (1979) several times and saw all of the actors at various times. Sampson had his usual long hair, which had to be braided and held to his head with a skull-cap so that he could wear a short-hair wig.
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