By Travis Johnson
Veteran character Michael Parks has passed away at the age of 77, according to his agent. No cause of death was announced.
Parks first came to the screen in 1958 in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He picked up a number of small roles on TV and film throughout the ’60s, and starred in a few counterculture flicks, such as 1967’s The Happening, before scoring his most high profile role in the TV crime drama, Then Came Bronson, in 1969 (he even sang the theme song).
Although he worked steadily over the years, even appearing in five episodes of Twin Peaks, his profile received a significant boost when he was cast in Robert Rodriguez’s Quentin Tarantino-scripted From Dusk til Dawn as laconic Texas Ranger Earl McGraw. Despite the character’s messy death, he reprised the role in Grindhouse and Kill Bill: Volume 1 (and also played the Mexican pimp Esteban Vihaio in Volume 2). He went on to be the best thing in two Kevin Smith movies, Red State and Tusk. Both directors took to social media to praise the late actor.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BT6pvD2AONY/
A heartfelt farewell to the one and only Michael Parks. A very kind man and a true legend. pic.twitter.com/OsKTfZFiS2
— Robert Rodriguez (@Rodriguez) May 10, 2017
Parks is survived by his son, the actor James Parks.
I got to know Michael back in the sixties when I was a young boy living in Ojai Ca. I thought then as I do now that Michael Parks was the coolest cat on the planet. He was also a phenomenal actor and musician. All of my good thoughts and energy to this creative genius and his son.