Michael Parks, a prolific character actor and a favorite of directors Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith, has died. He was 77.
Parks died Tuesday in Los Angeles, according to his agent, Jane Schulman. No cause of death was announced.
In a career that spanned five decades, Parks acted in more than 100 films and TV shows, including “Twin Peaks.”
Many of his early starring roles were countercultural 1960s films, including “Wild Seed” and “Bus Riley’s Back in Town,” alongside Ann-Margret. He starred as a disillusioned, motorcycle-riding newsman in the 1969 series “Then Came Bronson,” for which he also sang the theme song “Long Lonesome Highway,” which became a hit record.
Parks’ career enjoyed a rebirth thanks to the interest of Tarantino, Smith and Robert Rodriguez. He had memorable parts in Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” films, Rodriguez’s “From Dusk till Dawn” and Smith’s “Tusk.”
Actor Michael Parks arrives at the premiere of A24’s “Tusk” on Sept. 16, 2014, at the Vista Theatre in Los Angeles. | Getty Images
