It is Cult Faction’s sad duty to report that renowned character actor Don Calfa has passed away at the age of 76 years old.
Born on December 3rd 1939 in Brooklyn, New York, Calfa was originally interested in pursuing a career in the fine arts, but diverted his interest to acting after seeing Rebel Without a Cause. He promptly dropped out of high school to join a theater workshop (later finishing his degree through night school), eventually joining both the Actors’ Equity Association and the Screen Actors Guild.
No More Excuses was Calfa’s first film role in 1968, roles on film and tv followed in Kojak, Peeper, Most Wanted, Baretta, The Streets of San Francisco, Tales of the Unexpected, The Bionic Woman, 1941, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Park Place, Barney Miller, The Star Chamber, Legman, Simon & Simon, and The Return of the Living Dead.
Following 1985’s The Return of the Living Dead came a whole host of roles in cult film and tv including Hell Town, Hill Street Blues, Amazing Stories, Treasure of the Moon Goddess, Alien Private Eye, Weekend at Bernie’s, Chopper Chicks in Zombietown, Mancuso FBI, Twin Peaks, Doogie Howser, M.D., Murder She Wrote, Necronomicon: Book of Dead, Necronomicon: Book of Dead, Boy Meets World, Columbo, Night Creep, and Corpses Are Forever.
When asked about his career he would simply reply:
“I’m not a star, I’m a journeyman actor”
