Michael Pataki
Born Jan. 16th, 1938 – Died April 16th, 2010

Pataki is one of those actors that you have seen a million times, in countless movies in just about every genre out there. He was everything from Drago’s coach in Rocky 4 to doing voices for cartoons like Mighty Mouse and Rin & Stimpy. He was in so many television shows it would take days to go over them. Working in the business for over 50 years, usually playing the villain, it was something he seemed to excel in.

But for us horror fans, he really was everywhere. He played the title bloodsucker in Grave of the Vampire (1974), or the mean sheriff in The Bat People (1974), or other titles like Dracula’s Dog (1978), Graduation Day (1981), Dead & Buried (1981), and the list goes on and on. He even tried his hand at directing a few times, with Mansion of the Damned (1976) being his directorial debut, starring a young Lance Henriksen.

So the next time you’re watching a low budget horror film from the ’70s, don’t be too surprised if you see Pataki’s name pop up on the credits, or you see his mug in there somewhere. No matter how big or small the movie or the role, he always gave a great and memorable performance.