Clu Gulager, veteran actor and horror icon thanks to his role in Return of the Living Dead, has died at 93. Gulager was born in Holdenville, Oklahoma in 1928, later changing his legal name, William Martin Gulager, to Clu after receiving the nickname at a young age. He debuted on a 1955 episode of Omnibus and later became a star in TV westerns.
According to Indiewire, most younger viewers likely remember Gulager from his lead role in Return of the Living Dead, Dan O’Bannon’s cult classic side-sequel to Night of the Living Dead that bumped up the gore and laughs. He also had a key role in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge and continued to make appearances in films up until 2019.
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His final roles came in Sean Baker’s Tangerine and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Gulager plays the book shop owner visited by Sharon Tate during the film, while in Tangerine he played The Cherokee. Baker shared some words about the late actor on Saturday.
“RIP Clu Gulager. I had the honor to work with the legend in Tangerine and a fashion shoot for V Magazine in 2016. He was incredibly talented, hilarious, gentle and kind. And he adored cinema. We will miss you Clu,” Baker wrote on Twitter.
Gulager is survived by his sons, director John Gulager and Tom Gulager. John Gulager even got to direct his father in several films, including Feast 1-3, Piranha 3DD, and Children of the Corn: Runaway. He also had some delightful words to share about the magic of going to the movies.
“We need to laugh, we need to be scared, we need to hug our girl in the theater,” Gulagar was quoted, according to Bloody Disgusting. “It lightens the load of this crummy life.”
Gulager also appeared in The Last Picture Show, The Hidden, Uninvited, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, Blue Jay, and The Killers.
