Clu Gulager, the actor known for The Virginian and Return of the Living Dead, died of natural causes on August 5, 2022. His son, John, confirmed his passing. Gulager was 93 years old.
Gulager was known for playing cowboy and rebel roles in projects like The Tall Man, The Virginian, and The Last Picture Show, and the cult classic horror film, Return of the Living Dead.
Born William Martin Gulager on November 16, 1928 in Holdenville, Oklahoma, he was nicknamed “Clu” by his father because of the clu-clu birds nesting near their home at the time of his birth. He served in the US Marine Corps and attended Northeastern State College and Baylor University. Gulager worked in New York on live television programs like Omnibus, The United States Steel Hour, and Goodyear Playhouse.
He did guest spots on Wanted: Dead or Alive, Have Gun – Will Travel, Laramie, and The Untouchables. Gulager portrayed Billy the Kid in The Tall Man from 1960 to ’62, had a recurring role in Wagon Train, and starred in The Virginian from ’63 to ’68.
Gulager played a hitman’s protégé in The Killers, was a race car mechanic in Winning, rough oil field foreman in The Last Picture Show, and was a detective in McQ. He was in Shaft, Cannon, Police Story, Barnaby Jones, Hawaii Five-O, and The Oregon Trail.
In the ‘80s, he was in The Gambler, Knight Rider, he played the head of a medical supply warehouse in Return of the Living Dead, the dad in A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge, starred in the North & South miniseries, and he appeared in Murder, She Wrote.
His career highlights in the ‘90s included My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys, Puppet Master 5, Walker, Texas Ranger, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, and Gunfighter. Gulager’s later roles were in Feast and its sequels, Piranha 3DD, Tangerine, Blue Jay, and his final role was in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood.