William Cragle, known to his friends as Billy, passed away January 20th, 2008.  This article is being written not only because Billy was once involved in numerous Lilredhead Studios' movies but his death has impacted many people, including myself.

William Cragle was born October 23, 1985 in Anchorage, AK, the son of James and Blanche (Sarren) Cragle. He was raised and educated in Unalakleet, AK until the 5th grade when in 1996 he moved with his parents to Dickinson. He completed his schooling in Dickinson having graduated from Dickinson High School in 2004. He then attended Dickinson State University until June of 2005 when he joined the National Guard.

Billy moved to Dickinson pretty early on in his life but it wasn't until the sixth grade when I started to talk to and hang around him.  Between 7th and 10th grade we became really close friends.  During this time Billy and I got into an online computer game called Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2.  It was this game that brought us together every night after school.  We would play for hours, sometimes even skipping school just to get our fix (sorry Mom).  I am going to go on record right now and say that Billy was the best Red Alert 2 player on this planet.  He could beat anyone, anywhere, period.  Paintball was always a favorite activity of ours and Billy would hold skirmishes out at his house.  Me, Billy and a bunch of our friends would get together and shoot each other silly.  These events would sometimes go on all night and we enjoyed every second of it.  We didn't need to be doing any of this to have fun, for we had plenty of antics in school as well.  Billy and I used to draw comics and exchange them with each other during class.  Although this got me in trouble with some of my teachers, it was still worth it and we both had fun doing it.  When we weren't playing RA2, paintball or sitting in school, we were usually over at my house playing video games or watching movies.  During this time Billy and I were pretty much inseparable.

Throughout our high school days Billy got involved in several projects I was working on.  Probably the best known series was his voice work in Mr. Binek's Class 3DMM.  Billy played himself in this series and enjoyed voice acting.  He was also a big fan of the series and continually gave input on ideas.  And let's not forget, when everyone turned their backs on the Magical Dancing Wiener (a character from the series), Billy was one of the few who stood up for the little guy.  Billy did voice work in a lesser known series, The Billy and Zach Chronicles.  Again, Billy played himself in the violent cartoon and lent a hand when it came to story ideas.  Billy voice worked in several other 3D Movie Makers movies, including the popular Math Class.  For a short time Billy even helped me review 3DMM movies on an old website of mine.  Let's not forget the role Billy played in some of Lilredhead Studios' earlier live action works.  Probably most notable for their time was the National Bio-Graphic movies.  In these films Billy played a wild animal who pretty much gave Doctor Chad and Professor Zach a bad time.  Fluffy the Friendly Werewolf is another classic where Billy plays the part of a misunderstood werewolf seeking friendship.  And finally, there's my personal favorite, Zakk Tibor's Home Security System.  In this funny short Billy plays the part of the Home Security System and does the honors of blowing me away.  Billy was a very creative person.  He loved being in front of the camera and took his love of acting to the stage of a few theatre productions.  Billy always had ideas and even made a few animated 3DMM movies.  He had may talents but never took advantage of them.  It's just too bad he couldn't see his true potential.

People sometimes just drift apart and that's what happened between me and Billy.  It's something that I, especially now, regret.  However, even though I didn't talk to him as often near the end of his life, I still knew a lot about him.  Billy would always try to make people laugh and keep others happy; the problem with this was he didn't take care of his own feelings.  I personally believe Billy suffered from depression throughout his whole life and to find relief he turned to alcohol.  It's this alcohol abuse that contributed to him making decisions that weren't very wise.  These decisions, coupled with unfortunate happenstances, led Billy to shoot himself on the morning of January 20th.

I wasn't going to talk about how Billy died but the more I thought about it, I realized it was important to talk about.  Suicide is a touchy subject and one not many people like to discuss.  And really, one doesn't think about this stuff until it happens.  This man had his whole life ahead of him.  He had talents many people would love to have and yet he just couldn't see them.  Nothing is worth killing yourself over.  I am not a religious person and this puts me in the minority but many people think that suicide is a one way ticket to Hell.  However I do not believe this for one minute.  Everyone on Earth creates their own realities.  In effect, Billy created his own Hell right here on Earth.  The problem was Billy couldn't find a way out.  He tired many times and just when he was about to make it, he would let himself get pulled back in.  The main thing to understand here is that no one can change another's reality.  No matter how hard one tries, he/she can't help a person if that person doesn't want to be helped.  So, could any of us have stopped Billy from killing himself?  Maybe, but only if there was a part, even a small part, of Billy who wanted to live.

The bottom line here is that no problem can't be solved.  If you are having thoughts of suicide or are just feeling down, please talk to someone.  None of us are superhuman and let's face it, shit happens.  Dealing with problems can sometimes be incredibly difficult.  However, talking to someone can make all the difference in the world.  Just remember, if you are having problems, you and only you can ultimately decide to fix them but guidance and friendship will really help.

My hope is that wherever Billy is now he can finally put his demons to rest.  Rest in peace Billy, your friendship will be missed.

Below are links to works Billy was involved in:

• Mr. Binek's Class 3DMM Series
• National Bio-Graphic
• National Bio-Graphic 2
• Fluffy the Friendly Werewolf
• Zakk Tibor's Home Security System

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