Veteran actor Clu Gulager who was best known for his iconic role in The Virginian has died aged 93.
Gulager also appeared in the 1985 horror-comedy The Return of the Living Dead.
He starred in films alongside some of Hollywood’s greatest actors including Ronald Reagan, Paul Newman, Lee Marvin and John Wayne.
Gulager’s son, John, shared a photo of his father on his Facebook as a tribute.
Diane Goldner, Gulager’s daughter-in-law, released a family statement which said that he died “surrounded by his loving family.”
It read: “Clu was as caring as he was loyal and devoted to his craft, a proud member of the Cherokee nation, a rule-breaker, sharp and astute and on the side - always - of the oppressed.
“He was good-humoured, an avid reader, tender and kind. Loud and dangerous.”
Gulager’s acting career stretched across seven decades, beginning with small guest performances in 1950s television series.
A mainstay of TV Westerns, Gulager starred as Billy the Kid in NBC’s The Tall Man.
He also had a role in Peter Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show in 1971.
His final credit was Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Gulager played Deputy Sheriff Emmett Ryker in The Virginian and appeared in 104 episodes.
His big screen breakthrough came in the film The Killers.
It turned out to be former US President Ronald Reagan’s final film and Gulager’s character was the last person Reagan ever shot dead before he went into politics.
The film was based on a short story by Ernest Hemingway and went on to be the inspiration for “Pulp Fiction”
Gulager was proudly part Cherokee.
His father, grandfather, and grandmother were enrolled on the “Dawes”, or Final Allotment, Roll of Cherokee citizens, which was completed in 1906.
