Variety reports tragic news this evening that Billy Drago, who often played harming but chilling gangster roles and appeared in Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables and Clint Eastwood’s Pale Rider, died Monday in Los Angeles of complications from a stroke. He was 73.
Appearing in more than 100 films, he had roles in three Chuck Norris films including Invasion U.S.A., Hero and the Terror and Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection as drug lord Ramon Cota. He also appeared in genre films Vamp, Dark Moon Rising, Zombie Hunters, The Ritual, Children of the Corn: Genesis, The Hills Have Eyes (2006), Tremors 4: The Legend Begins, and even Takashi Miike’s “Masters of Horror” episode Imprint.
In other television, he appeared in episodes of “The X-Files”, “Monsters”, as well as “Friday the 13th: The Series”.
Drago’s son Darren E. Burrows, who survives him, has appeared on TV shows including “Northern Exposure.”
We send our thoughts to his friends and family. He’s a legend who us horror fans will never forget.
