Academy Award nominee Michael J. Pollard, known for his roles in “Bonnie and Clyde” and “House of 1000 Corpses,” has died. He was 80.
“House of 1000 Corpses” director Rob Zombie broke the news on Facebook early Friday morning.
“We have lost another member of our ‘House of 1000 Corpses’ family. I woke up to the news that Michael J. Pollard had died. I have always loved his work and his truly unique on screen presence,” Zombie said in his post. “He was one of the first actors I knew I had to work with as soon as I got my first film off the ground. He will be missed.”
Born 1939 in Passaic, N.J., Pollard attended Montclair Academy and Actors Studio in New York City in his early career. He started out in television in the late ’50s, appearing on shows like “Lost in Space” and “Star Trek,” but landed his breakout role as C.W. Moss, the accomplice-turned-snitch to Bonnie and Clyde in the 1967 film starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. Pollard received an Academy Award nomination for supporting actor and BAFTA nomination for most promising newcomer. He went on to star in films like “Dirty Little Billy,” “Melvin and Howard,” “Roxanne” and “Tango & Cash.”
More recently, Pollard starred in Zombie’s 2003 cult film “House of 1000 Corpses.” His last role was “The Woods” in 2012.
“Michael J. Pollard was one of a kind. Made every film he was in better. You sat up and took notice,” Larry Karaszewski (who wrote “Dolemite Is My Name” with Scott Alexander) tweeted. “I met him once on the street in Beverly Hills and tried to pay him a compliment. He growled at me. I mean — literally growled at me. It was a perfect moment.”
Pollard is survived by his child, Holly Howland.