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[R.I.P.] ‘Day of the Dead’ Scene-Stealer Joseph Pilato Has Died at 70
One of the single best performances you’ll find in the late George Romero’s oeuvre would have to be Joseph Pilato‘s scenery-chewing portrayal of Captain Rhodes in Day of the Dead, the primary human antagonist of the film and one of Romero’s most memorable characters. Sadly, we’ve learned this afternoon that Pilato has left us at the age of 70.
Prior to landing one of the top roles in Day of the Dead, Joseph Pilato had worked with George Romero on Dawn of the Dead and Knightriders, playing small roles in both films. Throughout the 1980s he also appeared in Effects, Gung Ho, Terminal Force and Shooters.
Going into the ’90s and beyond, Pilato appeared in Alienator, Empire of the Dark, The Evil Inside Me, Pulp Fiction, The Demolitionist, Fatal Passion, Wishmaster and The Ghouls.
Friend Marty Schiff broke the sad news on Facebook today, writing: “It is with great sadness that I inform you that actor and old friend Joseph “Joe” Pilato passed away quietly in his sleep last night. Rest in Peace, Joe.”
Rest in Peace indeed, Captain.
Writer-director Francis Galluppi will soon face off Kandarian demons by helming the next Evil Dead film. This week sees the release of his star-studded feature debut, The Last Stop in Yuma County. An original Western thriller in the vein of early Coen Brothers, the film arrives this Friday, May 10 from Well Go USA in select theaters and VOD.
In anticipation, Bloody Disgusting has an exclusive clip featuring stars Jocelin Donahue and Barbara Crampton. Watch below and find the trailer and poster art underneath.
Here’s the story: “While awaiting the next fuel truck at a middle-of-nowhere Arizona rest stop, a traveling young knife salesman is thrust into a high-stakes hostage situation by the arrival of two similarly stranded bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty—or cold, hard steel—to protect their bloodstained, ill-begotten fortune.”
Joining Donahue and Crampton is a who’s who of horror favorites: Jim Cummings, Richard Brake, Faizon Love, Alex Essoe, Michael Abbott Jr., Sierra McCormick, Nicholas Logan, Sam Huntington, Connor Paolo, Robin Bartlett, Jon Proudstar, Ryan Masson, and Gene Jones.
In her glowing review, our head critic Meagan Navarro says The Last Stop in Yuma County is “bustling with life and boisterous personalities, reflective on screen in every facet.” She adds, “Galluppi makes it so effortlessly easy to get sucked into this slick, singular world and invest in its characters, only for the filmmaker to revel in dispatching them.”
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