Michael J. Pollard, Oscar-nominated actor for Bonnie and Clyde, dies at 80
Michael J. Pollard, the actor best known for his Oscar-nominated performance in 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde, has died. He was 80.
Director Rob Zombie, who worked with Pollard on the 2003 cult horror movie House of 1,000 Corpses, confirmed the actor’s death on Facebook on Friday. “We have lost another member of our House of 1,000 Corpses family. I woke up to the news that Michael J. Pollard had died,” Zombie wrote. “I have always loved his work and his truly unique on screen presence. 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. I can’t believe all three of my friends in this picture are now gone.”
Pollard’s death comes only one month after fellow House of 1,000 Corpses actor Sid Haig also died at 80.
Along with serving as the inspiration for Michael J. Fox‘s stage name, Pollard starred opposite Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde as C.W. Moss, a character based on W.D. Jones, who served as the accomplice to the infamous outlaws in real life. That role went on to earn him Best Supporting Actor nominations at both the Oscars and the Golden Globes, as well as winning him the BAFTA for most promising newcomer.
And while he actually began his career in television, appearing on shows like Lost in Space and Star Trek in the late ’50s, he then moved on to enjoy a long career of character parts in films. He appeared in Roxanne, Scrooged, Tango & Cash, Dirty Little Billy, Melvin and Howard, and The Woods.
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