Michael J. Pollard, ‘House of 1000 Corpses’ Actor, Dead at 80

Michael J. Pollard, who is best known starring in Bonnie and Clyde as well as Rob Zombie‘s horror film House of 1000 Corpses, has died, Zombie said. He was 80 years old. Zombie took to Facebook to share the sad news in a post that garnered an outpouring of love and condolences from fans.

“We have lost another member of our House of 1000 Corpses family,” he began. “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. 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,” he added.

Pollard earned nominations for Best Supporting Actor as well as Most Promising Newcomer at the 1968 Golden Globes for his performance in Bonnie and Clyde, which also landed him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role later that year. He was also nominated for a BAFTA for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles for the film. Although he started out in television in the late ’50s, he quickly broke out as C.W. Moss, the wiry accomplice to Bonnie and Clyde who ultimately turns them into the police in the film.

In addition to Bonnie and Clyde and House of 1000 Corpses (in which he starred as the character Stuckey), Pollard was also known for films like The Smugglers, Hannibal Brooks and Dirty Little Billy, which he is pictured in above. His career spanned into the 1980s with roles in Melvin and Howard, Heated Vengeance, The American Way, Roxanne, American Gothic, Scrooged, Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland and Tango & Cash.

He also starred in Dark Angel, Dick Tracy, Toxic Crusaders and Tales from the Crypt.

The New Jersey-born actor’s final role was 2012’s The Woods, and he has two projects still listed in production.

Larry Karaszewski, the producer of Dolemite Is My Name, wrote on Twitter that Pollard “was one of a kind. Made every film he was in better. You sat up and took notice,” he wrote. “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.”

Photo credit: Michael Ochs Archives / Stringer / Getty