(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Actor Billy Drago, probably best known for playing Al Capone enforcer Frank Nitti in the 1987 crime film “The Untouchables,” has died at the age of 73, a published report says.
Drago, born in Kansas as William Eugene Burrows, appeared in more than 100 films during a decades-long career, according to Variety. With his sinister looks, he specialized in villainous roles, playing the nemesis of good guys like Clint Eastwood in “Pale Rider” and Chuck Norris in “Delta Force 2.”
But it was his turn as Nitti in “The Untouchables” that provided Drago with his highest-profile showcase. In the hit period film about Chicago under Al Capone, Kevin Costner starred as crusading federal agent Eliot Ness. Drago’s character was thrown off the roof of the Chicago Cultural Center, though Nitti, in real life, met no such end. He committed suicide in 1943.
Drago died Monday in Los Angeles from complications of a stroke, Variety reported.