Bill

"...Portraying Bill as a once heroic army veteran, who though older and wiser, can still excel at physical combat."

- Ariel Diaz, Valve.

"Eyes and ears, people. Eyes and ears."

- Bill

William "Bill" Overbeck is one of the four playable Survivors in Left 4 Dead. He is a Vietnam veteran who served in the US Army 1st Special Forces Group, and is also noticeably the oldest of the group. In official media, he is usually seen wielding the Assault Rifle, probably to complement his back story. He often has a lit cigarette in his mouth that only extinguishes when he dies.

Bill is killed sometime prior to the events of Left 4 Dead 2's The Passing when he sacrificed himself to raise the bridge for the other three Survivors. Louis's sound files hint that Bill was possibly killed by a Tank. The upcoming DLC The Sacrifice and the 190-page comic that is released along with it will fully explain how Bill died.

Bill's facial features are portrayed by Bernard Fouquet and he is voiced by Jim French.

Relationships with other Survivors
Out of the other three Survivors, Bill stands out most prominently as the leader of the group.

In The Passing, Francis is sometimes not happy that they have to lower the bridge, since it was probably due to Bill's efforts that it was raised in the first place. Also, Francis may be heard saying that they lost a good man getting the bridge up, showing he may secretly respect Bill. In The Passing, Louis is sad that Bill is gone, but is resolved more than ever to stay with Francis and Zoey. When killing a Tank, Louis may proclaim the kill in Bill's name for revenge. In The Passing, if Louis and Francis joke about Bill, Zoey may look away or appear very sad, hinting that she is the one who misses him the most.
 * Francis: Bill appears to have some sort of rivalry with Francis, though the reason for this is unknown. It's possible that Bill and Francis knew each other prior to the outbreak. Another cause could be Francis's supposed hatred of the military (since Bill was once a soldier), or simply Francis's gruff personality rubs Bill the wrong way. Alternatively, what is said could simply be friendly teasing between the two.
 * Louis: As far as the Survivors' relationships go, Louis and Bill do not have much evidence hinting towards each other's dispositions. Bill will, however, seem genuinely upset to see Louis die. ("Louis didn't make it... Agh, Christ!") Oddly enough, this is in contrast to how unsympathetic Bill can be when Louis is incapacitated outside of the safe room. ("How well do you really know Louis?") However, he'll usually follow this by saying he was joking.
 * Zoey: The relationship between Bill and Zoey is fairly strong. Bill is openly sorrowful when Zoey is killed. ("Aghh...not [tearing up] Zoey.") When Zoey is incapacitated on the other side of the safe room, Bill verbally refuses to leave her behind. ("Zoey can't stay out there! We have to help her." and "I can't leave Zoey out there!"). Perhaps Bill sees her as daughter or granddaughter, given her youth.

Unfortunately, Bill did not live long enough to meet the Survivors of Left 4 Dead 2, although Francis and Louis joke that Bill probably would have shot Nick within a very short time frame due to his personality. Rochelle shows understanding and sympathy to Bill's death in certain lines to the original Survivors. Both Coach and Nick have multiple lines regarding the loss of Bill if his death is mentioned.

Quotes and Captions
"See: Bill/Quotes and Captions"