Joseph Pilato
{{Short description|American actor (1949–2019)}}
{{Infobox person
| image = joepilato.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Pilato in 2008
| birth_name = {{nowrap|Josef Francis Anthony Pilato Jr.}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1949|3|16}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|03|24|1949|03|16}}
| birth_place = Fitchburg, Massachusetts, U.S.
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| other_names = {{flatlist|
- Joe Palato
- Josef Piato
- Joe Pilato
- Josef Pilato
- Joseph F. Pilato
- Joe Pilot
- Joseph Rhodes
- Joey Pal
}}
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1978–2019
}}
Joseph Pilato (March 16, 1949 – March 24, 2019) was an American film and voice actor. He was perhaps best known for his performance as Captain Henry Rhodes in the 1985 film Day of the Dead.
Early life
He was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts in 1949 to an Italian-American family. His father was a professional trombonist with the Les Brown Orchestra. Joseph was enrolled into Catholic school and became an altar boy, where his talent for acting was developed.{{cite web |title=Joseph Pilato Biography |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0683334/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm |website=Imdb |access-date=10 December 2023}}
Career
=''Day of the Dead'' and success=
In 1984, six years after the release of Dawn of the Dead, director George A. Romero was planning a new zombie film called Day of the Dead. Pilato had appeared as a cameo in Dawn of the Dead as a police officer, which had been his first feature film role. Pilato was selected to play United States Army Captain Rhodes. He was best known for this performance, and the film, along with its predecessors, have become classics.{{cite web |last1=Collis |first1=Clark |title=Day of the Dead actor Joseph Pilato dies at 70 |url=https://ew.com/movies/2019/03/26/joe-pilato-dies/ |website=Entertainment |access-date=10 December 2023}}
=Later career and other projects=
Pilato later voiced Vexor in Big Bad Beetleborgs under the alias of "Joey Pal"{{cite web |title=Joseph Pilato Biography |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0683334/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm |website=Imdb |access-date=10 December 2023}} and worked in the English dub of Digimon Adventure and Digimon Adventure 02 voicing MetalGreymon.{{cite web |title=Joseph Pilato Biography |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0683334/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm |website=Imdb |access-date=10 December 2023}} He would later land minor roles in such films as Wishmaster, Pulp Fiction, Digimon: The Movie, and Night of the Living Dead: Origins 3D.{{cite web|url=https://zombiemoviesfacebook.wordpress.com/2015/05/21/a-friendly-fucking-chat-with-horror-icon-joseph-pilato/|title=A Friendly Fucking Chat With Horror Icon Joseph Pilato|date=21 May 2015 |accessdate=9 March 2018}}
Personal life
Joe Pilato had one daughter, Gianna Pilato, who was born in 1994.
Death
Joe Pilato died in his sleep on March 24, 2019, eight days after his 70th birthday.[https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3552534/r-p-day-dead-scene-stealer-joseph-pilato-died-70/ R.I.P. ‘Day of the Dead’ Scene-Stealer Joseph Pilato Has Died at 70] Bloody Disgusting, March 25, 2019
Filmography
=Television and film=
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |
| rowspan=1 | 1978
| Officer At Police Dock | |
| rowspan=1 | 1980
| Effects | Dominic | |
| rowspan=1 | 1981
| Disgruntled Fair Worker | |
| rowspan=1 | 1985
| Captain Henry Rhodes | |
| rowspan=1 | 1986
| Gung Ho | Union Member | |
| rowspan=1 | 1989
| Shooters | Sergeant Plato | |
| rowspan=2 | 1990
| Tech #2 | |
| Empire of the Dark
| Guy Zupan | |
| rowspan=1 | 1993
| The Evil Inside Me | Fulvio | |
| rowspan=3 | 1994
| Dean Martin Impersonator |Credited as "Josef Pilato" |
| Married People, Single Sex
| Artie | |
| Witch Hunt
| | Uncredited role |
| rowspan=1 | 1995
| "Boxer" | Credited as "Josef Pilato" |
| rowspan=3 | 1996
| Visions | NSA Agent | |
| Neon Signs
| Boto | |
| Big Bad Beetleborgs
| Vexor (voice) | Credited as "Joey Pal" |
| rowspan=1 | 1997
| Mickey Torreli | |
| rowspan=1 | 1998
| Carlo | |
| rowspan=2 | 1999
| Marvin Dishman | |
| Digimon Adventure
| MetalGreymon (voice: English dub) | Recurring role |
| rowspan=2 | 2000
| MetalGreymon (voice: English dub) | |
| Digimon Adventure 02
| MetalGreymon (voice: English dub) | Recurring role |
| rowspan=1 | 2003
| | Uncredited role |
| rowspan=1 | 2009
| Someone's Knocking at the Door | Dr. Ottie | |
| rowspan=1 | 2010
| Underground Entertainment: The Movie | Himself | |
| 2014
| 9am | Bernie | Short |
| 2014
| Shhhh | "Red" Harling | |
| 2015
| Night of the Living Dead: Origins 3D | Harry Cooper (voice) | |
| 2016
| Ilhailed | | |
| 2016
| Parasites | Wilde | |
| 2016
| The Chair | Security Guard | |
| 2018
| Attack in LA | Wilde | Final film role |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
! Year ! Title ! Role |
| 1995
| WarHawk: The Red Mercury Missions | Kreel |
| 1996
| Angel Devoid: Face of the Enemy | Dr. Garnett / Mayor Waterford |
| 1997
| Star Trek: Starfleet Academy | Emdervoss / Klingon Spokesman |
| 2002
| Additional voices |
| 2003
| Additional voices |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=0683334}}
- {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026190040/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/8458/joe.html |date=October 26, 2009 |title=Joe Pilato Preservation Page }}
- [https://www.scribd.com/doc/45216360/Hound-Dawg-Magazine-Issue-12] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105201744/http://www.scribd.com/doc/45216360/Hound-Dawg-Magazine-Issue-12 |date=2012-11-05 }}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilato, Joseph}}
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male voice actors
Category:American people of Italian descent
Category:Male actors from Boston
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors
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