Michael Villella, an actor known for his role in cult classic The Slumber Party Massacre, has died. He was 84.
Villella’s daughter Chloe confirmed her father’s death on social media on Saturday. Villella’s own Facebook page also announced his death the same day, writing, “Michael Pasquale Villella has left this world, may he rest in peace. May God welcome Michael with open arms and bring him into heaven.”
TMZ reported he died of organ failure after around month in the hospital.
Villella played Russ Thorn, the power-drill murderer in 1982’s The Slumber Party Massacre which also starred Michelle Michaels and Robin Stille. Directed by Amy Holden Jones and co-written by Jones and Rita Mae Brown, the film was Villella’s acting debut.
Though originally intended as a slasher parody, the movie ultimately became a straight horror movie, garnered a cult following and inspired several sequels and spin-offs. Villella held a minor role in a 1990 spin-off, Sorority House Massacre II, and appeared in the 2010 documentary, Sleepless Nights: Revisiting the Slumber Party Massacres.
Villella also has held roles in 1983’s Love Letters, 1988’s Gotham, 1989’s Wild Orchid and 1991’s Wild Orchid II: Two Shades of Blue. On television, he appeared in episodes of Amazing Stories and Getting Away with Murder.