Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Biography
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Billy Drago(1945-2019)

  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Billy Drago in True Blood (1989)
Trailer for Children of the Corn: Genesis
Play trailer1:09
Children of the Corn: Genesis (2011)
13 Videos
30 Photos
Drago was well known for his villainous parts (leading or supporting), and his rugged yet scary looks and evil smile. He was born William Eugene Burrows in Hugoton, Kansas. He became interested in acting and took his mother's maiden name "Drago" as a stage name. At first he worked as a stuntman in Kansas, then attended the University of Kansas. After graduating he worked as a radio host before joining an acting crew that led him to New York. He began his acting career at the end of 1970s.

After appearing in multiple TV series as a guest actor, he appeared in such low-budget films as: Windwalker (1980), Vamp (1986), Hunter's Blood (1986), Freeway (1988), Dark Before Dawn (1988), Gwang tin lung fo wooi (1989), True Blood (1989), Martial Law II: Undercover (1991), Lady Dragon 2 (1993) and Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow (1993). He also appeared in Walker, Texas Ranger (1993). Other well-known appearances were in: Mad Dog Time (1996), Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004) and The Hills Have Eyes (2006) (the remake), as the leader of mutant nomads. He did an extensive work on TV, most notably on Charmed (1998). He also produced an instructional acting video with his wife, Silvana Gallardo.
BornNovember 30, 1945
DiedJune 24, 2019(73)
BornNovember 30, 1945
DiedJune 24, 2019(73)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos30

View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
+ 24
View Poster

Known for

Sean Connery, Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, Andy Garcia, and Charles Martin Smith in The Untouchables (1987)
The Untouchables
7.8
  • Nitti
  • 1987
Chuck Norris in Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection (1990)
Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection
4.9
  • Ramon Cota
  • 1990
Michael Gross in Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004)
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins
5.3
Video
  • Black Hand Kelly
  • 2004
Vinessa Shaw in The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
The Hills Have Eyes
6.4
  • Papa Jupiter
  • 2006

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor



  • The Dance
    • The Stranger
    • 2014
  • John Hawkes and Elle Fanning in Low Down (2014)
    Low Down
    6.1
    • Lew
    • 2014
  • Black Asylum (2013)
    Black Asylum
    6.7
    Short
    • Leonard Gorman
    • 2013
  • Birth of an Outlaw (2012)
    Birth of an Outlaw
    5.8
    Short
    • Boss
    • 2012
  • David Carradine, Udo Kier, and Norman Reedus in Night of the Templar (2012)
    Night of the Templar
    3.7
    • Shauna the Chef
    • 2012
  • Balls to the Wall (2011)
    Balls to the Wall
    3.8
    • Belthagor
    • 2011
  • Children of the Corn: Genesis (2011)
    Children of the Corn: Genesis
    3.6
    • Preacher
    • 2011
  • The Fallen Angel
    5.0
    Short
    • Lucifer
    • 2010
  • World's End (2010)
    World's End
    3.6
    • Edward
    • 2010
  • The Ritual (2009)
    The Ritual
    4.0
    • The Man in Black
    • 2009
  • Ghost Town (2009)
    Ghost Town
    3.4
    TV Movie
    • Reb Halland
    • 2009
  • Dark Moon Rising (2009)
    Dark Moon Rising
    3.8
    • Thibodeaux
    • 2009
  • Rounds (2008)
    Rounds
    7.7
    • Edward
    • 2008
  • Wendy Carter in Copperhead (2008)
    Copperhead
    3.8
    TV Movie
    • Jesse Evans
    • 2008
  • Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki in Supernatural (2005)
    Supernatural
    8.4
    TV Series
    • Doc Benton
    • 2008

Producer



  • Sandy
    • executive producer
    • Completed



  • Dark Moon Rising (2009)
    Dark Moon Rising
    3.8
    • co-producer
    • 2009
  • Blood Relic (2005)
    Blood Relic
    4.1
    Video
    • associate producer
    • 2005
  • Billy Drago in Mirror Mirror 3: The Voyeur (1995)
    Mirror Mirror 3: The Voyeur
    2.6
    • associate producer
    • 1995

Writer



  • Lime Salted Love (2006)
    Lime Salted Love
    3.6
    • Writer
    • 2006

  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos13

Trailer
Trailer 1:28
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:04
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:04
Trailer
Invasion U.S.A.
Trailer 1:36
Invasion U.S.A.
Vamp
Trailer 1:51
Vamp
Children of the Corn: Genesis
Trailer 1:09
Children of the Corn: Genesis
Wolf Moon
Trailer 1:33
Wolf Moon

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 5′ 10½″ (1.79 m)
  • Born
    • November 30, 1945
    • Hugoton, Kansas, USA
  • Died
    • June 24, 2019
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(complications from a stroke)
  • Spouse
    • Silvana GallardoSeptember 21, 1985 - January 2, 2012 (her death)
  • Children
    • Darren E. Burrows
  • Parents
      William Burrows
  • Other works
    Appeared as a thug in Michael Jackson's "You Rock My World" music video (2001).
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Interviews

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    He is perhaps best known as Frank Nitti, the evil, whiny-voiced assassin with a white suit in The Untouchables (1987).
  • Quotes
    [on being cast in bad guy roles] I enjoy villains. I've figured out how to get paid for doing what they tried to throw me in jail for when I was a kid. Besides, I'm never going to be the boy next door. That's not who I want to be. So I try to put a little of the dark side into my good guys and a bit of gentleness into my heavies.
  • Trademarks
      Often played characters who had a superficial charm that temporarily masked their evil nature

FAQ12

Powered by Alexa
  • When did Billy Drago die?
  • How did Billy Drago die?
  • How old was Billy Drago when he died?

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb app
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
Follow IMDb on social
Get the IMDb app
For Android and iOS
Get the IMDb app
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • License IMDb Data
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.