Joseph Pilato (March 16, 1949 – March 24, 2019) was an American film and voice actor. He is perhaps best known for his performance as Captain Rhodes in the 1985 film Day of the Dead.

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Early life

He was born in Boston, 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.

Personal life

He was originally planning on being a lawyer before he discovered he had a talent for acting. He was left-handed and enjoyed playing golf in his spare time. Pilato played the guitar, accordion, and taught himself the trombone. He did not own a computer. He was close friends with Dawn of the Dead stars David Emge and Ken Foree. He often attended horror conventions and loved to meet his fans, often posing for pictures and signing autographs.

Joe Pilato died in his sleep on March 24, 2019, eight days after his 70th birthday.

Career

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 is perhaps best known for his performance, and the film, along with its predecessors, has become a classic.

He would later land minor roles in such films as Wishmaster, Pulp Fiction, Digimon: The Movie, and Night of the Living Dead: Origins 3D.