Editing Will Sampson (section)

== Legacy ==
Will Sampson Road, in [[Okmulgee County]] (east of Highway 75 near [[Preston, Oklahoma]]), is named after him.{{Citation needed |date=March 2023}}

During the filming of ''[[The White Buffalo]]'', Sampson halted production by refusing to act when he discovered that producers had hired white actors to portray Native Americans for the film. In 1983, with assistance from his personal secretary Zoe Escobar, Sampson founded the "American Indian Registry for the Performing Arts" for Native American actors.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/06/06/archives/he-refuses-to-be-an-ughtonto-indian.html |title=He Refuses to Be an 'Ugh‐Tonto' Indian |last=Lichtenstein |first=Grace |date=June 6, 1976 |work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=July 22, 2020 }}</ref><ref name=beyond>{{cite book |last=Escobar |first=Zoe |date=January 1, 2011 |title=Beyond Cuckoo's Nest: The Art and Life of William Sampson, Jr. |url=https://www.abebooks.com/9780615450322/Beyond-Cukoos-Nest-Art-Life-0615450326/plp |publisher=GirlDog Publishing |isbn=9780615450322}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Trammell |first=Robby |date=April 19, 1984 |title=Indian Philosopher's Words Will Come to Life in Play |pages=228 |work=The Daily Oklahoman |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/452413113/ |access-date=April 5, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bender |first=Ron |date=June 8, 1984 |title=Films still stereotype Indians, actor says |pages=27 |work=Rapid City Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/350846142/ |access-date=April 5, 2022}}</ref> He also served on the registry's board of directors.<ref name= "Hicks">{{cite news |last=Robb |first=David |url= https://deadline.com/2014/11/bob-hicks-native-american-filmmaker-paved-way-in-hollywood-dead-at-80-1201285461/ |title=Bob Hicks, Filmmaker Who Paved Way For Native Americans In Hollywood, Dead at 80 |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=November 15, 2014 |access-date=August 19, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 9, 1987 |title=Festival Dedicated to Will (Sonny) Sampson |pages=11 |work=Okmulgee Daily Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/750166316/ |access-date=April 5, 2022}}</ref>

Sampson's son Tim Sampson appeared on the FX show ''[[It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]'' [[It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (season 4)|season four]] episode "Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack". The episode pays homage to Sampson's work as Chief Bromden in ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest''; Tim plays "Tonto" after Frank ([[Danny DeVito]]) is mistaken as mentally incompetent and placed within a facility.{{Citation needed |date=March 2023}} Tim made a similar appearance in an elaborate ''Cuckoo's Nest'' parody set in a restaurant kitchen in the second series of the British sitcom ''[[Spaced]].''