Geno Silva obit

Geno Silva, Actor in 'Scarface,' Dies at 72

He was not on the list.

His hitman character disposes of Pacino's Tony Montana in the Brian De Palma classic.

Geno Silva, the character actor perhaps best known for playing The Skull, the hitman who takes out Al Pacino's Tony Montana in the explosive climax of Scarface, has died. He was 72.

Silva died May 9 at his home in Los Angeles of complications from frontotemporal degeneration, a form of dementia, his family announced.

During his four-decade career, Silva also could be seen in Luis Valdez's Zoot Suit (1981) — he was in the 1979 Broadway production opposite Edward James Olmos — Robert Towne's Tequila Sunrise (1988); Steven Spielberg's Amistad and The Lost World: Jurassic Park, both released in 1997; David Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2001); and F. Gary Gray's A Man Apart (2003).

On television, he was a regular on the 1993 Fox drama Key West and appeared on episodes of Hill Street Blues; Miami Vice; Walker, Texas Ranger; Star Trek: Enterprise; and Alias.

In Scarface (1983), his foreboding character never speaks a word while he guns down Montana with a shotgun from behind at the end of the Brian De Palma-directed classic. One poll placed The Skull No. 7 on a list of the best henchmen in movie history.

Born on Jan. 20, 1948, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Silva also was a veteran of the stage. In 1994, he appeared with Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz in The Merchant of Venice, a Peter Sellars production that played Chicago, London, Paris and Hamburg, Germany; in 1999, he and Ortiz worked off-Broadway in Sueño, written by future Oscar nominee Jose Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries).

Survivors include his wife, Pamela; daughter Lucia; grandchildren Eva and Levon; and sister Elizabeth. Donations in his memory may be made to The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration.

Filmography

Film

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1974      Thomasine & Bushrod    Taffy     

1978      Mean Dog Blues                Tonto   

1979      Wanda Nevada Apache Ghost   

1979      1941      Martinez             

1981      Zoot Suit              Galindo               

1983      Scarface               The Skull             

1988      Tequila Sunrise Mexican Cop     

1989      My Mom's a Werewolf Dr. Rod Rodriguez           

1991      Night Eyes 2       Luis       

1996      Walker Texas Ranger      El Coyote            

1997      The Lost World: Jurassic Park      Carlos, Barge Captain     

1997      Amistad                Ruiz       

2001      Mulholland Drive             Hotel Manager / Emcee                

2003      A Man Apart       Memo Lucero   

2005      Tortilla Heaven Don Transito     

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1975      On the Rocks      Joey      

1976      The Quest           Army Scout        

1977      How the West Was Won               Red Hawk            2 episodes

1977      Trouble River     Indian  

1977      McLaren's Riders              Pete Sunfighter                

1977      The Young Pioneers        Fool's Crow        

1978      Ishi: The Last of His Tribe              Elder Uncle        

1979      The Chisholms   Ferocious Storm               2 episodes

1980      Wild Times          Ibran     2 episodes

1982      Bret Maverick    Running Wolf    

1982      Fantasy Island    Claude

1991      Days of Our Lives              Domingo Salazar               2 episodes

1993      Key West             Hector Allegria 13 episodes

1996      The Sentinel       Hector Carasco 2 episodes

2005      Star Trek: Enterprise       Senator Vrax      2 episodes