Horror film star Michael Villella has died at the age of 84, according to reports TMZ.
The actor’s daughter, Chloe Villella, told the outlet that he died on Saturday afternoon after suffering from multiple organ failure. He had been in the hospital for the last month.
He also shared a short message about his passing on Facebook. “Rest in peace dad,” Chloe wrote, along with a heart emoji.
Her words captioned an image of a lit candle next to a photo of her father on a white kitchen counter.
Villella is best known for playing Russ Thorn in the 1982 cult film The Slumber Party Massacre, starring alongside Michelle Michaels and Robin Stille.
Produced by Amy Jones and written by Rita Mae Brown, the plot follows a high school senior’s sleepover in Los Angeles that is disrupted by a power-drill-wielding killer played by Villella.
He also starred in Love Letters, Wild Orchid II and Gotham.
Fans mourned Villella’s passing online, with many paying tribute to his role in The Slumber Party Massacre.
Horror movie star Michael Villella has died at age 84, according to TMZ
Pictured: Michael Villella attends Chiller Theater Expo Winter 2017 at Parsippany Hilton on October 27, 2017 in Parsippany, New Jersey.
The actor’s daughter Chloe Villella confirmed his death. He also shared a short message about his passing on Facebook along with the image above.
One X user said that Villella “portrayed a fantastic and underrated villain” in the film.
“His contribution to the horror genre has always been woefully underrated,” another person agreed.
Villella is best known for playing Russ Thorn in the 1982 film The Slumber Party Massacre.
One Reddit user described Villella as “one of my favorite slasher villains.”
“Ok, that’s it, no more horror icons will be allowed to die until 2025,” another person wrote on the platform, after Tony Todd, who played the titular serial killer in the Candyman horror franchise, also died on November 6 at 69 years old.
He died of natural causes at his home in Marina Del Rey, LA, according to his representative Jeffrey Goldberg, who said TMZ He did not have a specific cause of death.
Over four decades in show business, Todd lent his talents to multiple fields, including the Transformers and Final Destination film series.
He also played Commander Kurn of the Starship Enterprise in multiple Star Trek shows, including The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.
Todd also enjoyed a varied theater career, including a run in the Broadway production of the musical Aida featuring songs by Tim Rice and Elton John.