Billy Drago

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Billy Drago (real name William Eugene Burrows ; born November 30, 1945 in Hugoton , Kansas ; † June 24, 2019 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American actor .

Life

William Eugene Burrows was born in Kansas in 1945 to William and Gladys Burrows. As a stage name he chose the name Drago , the maiden name of his grandmother, in order to avoid confusion with another actor named Burrows . Drago's ethnic roots go back to immigrant Roma and Native American Apaches .

After high school, Drago first worked as a stuntman in Dodge City and then attended the University of Kansas . After college, he worked as a radio host before joining acting groups in Canada and New York City .

Drago was married to actress Silvana Gallardo from 1980 until her death in 2012 . Drago's son Darren E. Burrows (* 1966) is also an actor. Billy Drago died in June 2019 at the age of 73.

Career

Billy Drago began his acting career in 1979 in the miniseries The Long Trek and films such as Cutter's Way and No Other Love . He subsequently appeared in numerous television series as a guest actor. Some examples are Hardcastle & McCormick and Trapper John, MD. He subsequently played roles in, for example, Tremors 4 - How It All Began and Delta Force 2 - The Columbian Connection .

In Brian De Palma's film The Untouchables , he starred as the fictionalized version of Frank Nitti alongside Kevin Costner and Sean Connery .

In Germany , Billy Drago was best known for guest appearances in the series Charmed - Magic Witches , in which he played Barbas , the "demon of fear", for several seasons . He also took on the guest role of Doc Benton in the Supernatural episode "Ewiges Leben" .

In the series The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. Drago played the Wild West gang boss John Bly , the leader of the killers of Brisco County sr. However, the series was discontinued after a season. In addition to Udo Kier , David Carradine and Norman Reedus , he appeared in Paul Sampson's action comedy drama Night of the Templar .

In 2001 he made a guest appearance on Michael Jackson's music video You Rock My World .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bruce Haring: Billy Drago Dies: Hollywood 'Bad Guy' Character Actor Was 73. In: Deadline.com . July 26, 2019, accessed June 27, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b c Owen Williams: Interview: "I've been killed by great people!" - Billy Drago in conversation. In: The Void. November 18, 2011, accessed June 27, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Steve Barton: Three New One-Sheets March Forth for Night of the Templar. In: dreadcentral.com. May 14, 2012, archived from the original on November 22, 2016 ; accessed on June 27, 2019 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Drago, Billy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Burrows, William Eugene (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH November 30, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Hugoton , Kansas
DATE OF DEATH June 24, 2019
Place of death Los Angeles , California