Yahoo Movies 'Scarface' actor Geno Silva dies at 72
Geno Silva, who played deadly assassin The Skull in Brian De Palma's Scarface opposite Al Pacino, has died at the age of 72.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Silva died at his home in Los Angeles on 9 May. He had been suffering from frontotemporal dementia.
In his brief, wordless but nonetheless pivotal role in Scarface in 1983, his sunglasses-wearing, shotgun-wielding character deals the decisive blow to Pacino's Tony Montana in the operatically violent final scene.
Read more: Fred Willard dies at 86
Born in 1948, Silva appeared in the movie version of the Broadway play Zoot Suit in 1981 alongside Edward James Olmos, after appearing in the stage version.
He went on to snare roles in Steven Spielberg's hard-hitting slavery drama Amistad, Jurassic Park sequel The Lost World, Mel Gibson thriller Tequila Sunrise and David Lynch's surreal classic Mulholland Drive.
On US TV, he featured on shows including Miami Vice, Macgyver, Hill Street Blues, Fantasy Island and Star Trek: Enterprise.
He was also a prolific stage actor, appearing in a 1994 production of The Merchant of Venice with the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz, which toured the US and Europe.
He is survived by his wife, sister, daughter and two grandchildren.
