Paul Koslo Dies: Veteran Character Actor Was 74
Deadline Hollywood
By Denise Petski
January 14, 2019
Veteran character actor Paul Koslo, known for his work in films such as The Omega Man and Vanishing Point, has died. Koslo died January 9 of pancreatic cancer surrounded by family at his home in Lake Hughes, California, his family said in a statement. He was 74.
Koslo, born in Germany and raised in Canada, began his career in his early 20s with a role in Little White Crimes, a short, in 1966. In the 1970s, he established a foothold as an actor in cult films such as Nam’s Angels aka The Losers, referenced in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, along with Vanishing Point and The Stone Killer. While he became known for more villainous roles, he appeared in an unusually
sympathetic co-starring role opposite Charlton Heston in sci-fi cult classic The Omega Man.
His more villainous roles included films Joe Kidd in 1972, opposite Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson-starrer Mr. Majestyk in 1975 and The Drowning Pool in 1975, starring Paul Newman. He went on to a solid supporting actor role as a Jewish concentration camp survivor in critically praised Voyage of the Damned in 1976 and played the mayor in 1980’s Heaven’s Gate.
His TV credits included The Rockford Files, Mission: Impossible, The Incredible Hulk, Quincy, M.E., Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, T. J. Hooker, The A-Team, The Fall Guy, Dallas and Hunter. He was also in film Loose Cannons (1990) with Gene Hackman and Dan Aykroyd (see photo above) and appeared as the Russian battle-robot pilot Alexander in the cult science fiction film Robot Jox (1990).
Koslo is survived by his wife, Allaire and daughter Chloe.
KOSLO, Paul (Manfred Koslowski)
Born: 6/27/1944, Germany
Died: 1/9/2019,
Paul Koslo’s westerns – actor:
Scandalous John – 1971 (Pipes)
Bearcats (TV) – 1971 (Billy Ray Joiner)
Joe Kidd – 1972 (Roy)
The Daughters of Joshua Cabe (TV) – 1972
Gunsmoke (TV) – 1974 (Cory)
Rooster Cogburn – 1975 (Luke)
How the West Was Won (TV) – 1979 (Jobe)
The Sacketts (TV) – 1979 (Kid Newton)
Heaven’s Gate – 1980 (Mayor Charlie Lezak)
Bret Maverick (TV) – 1982 (Fletcher Mayberry)
Kenny Rogers as the Gambler: The Adventure Continues (TV) – 1983 (Holt)
Wildside (TV) – 1985 (Sven Johnson)
Conagher (TV) – 1991 (Kiowa Staples)
Walker, Texas Ranger (TV) – 1998 (Matthew Leach)