# Joseph Pilato

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Joseph_Pilato
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Joseph_Pilato.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Pilato
> Source revision: 1356215626
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Joseph Pilato** (March 16, 1949 – March 24, 2019) was an American film and voice actor. He was perhaps best known for his performance as Captain Henry Rhodes in the post-apocalyptic zombie horror film *[Day of the Dead](/source/Day_of_the_Dead_(1985_film))* (1985).

## Early life

Josef Francis Anthony Pilato Jr. was born on March 16, 1949, in [Fitchburg, Massachusetts](/source/Fitchburg,_Massachusetts) to an [Italian-American](/source/Italian_Americans) family. His father was a professional trombonist with the Les Brown Orchestra. Joseph was enrolled into Catholic school and became an altar boy, where his talent for acting was developed.[1]

## Career

### *Day of the Dead* and success

In 1984, six years after the release of *[Dawn of the Dead](/source/Dawn_of_the_Dead_(1978_film))* (1978), director [George A. Romero](/source/George_A._Romero) was planning a new zombie film called *[Day of the Dead](/source/Day_of_the_Dead_(1985_film))* (1985). Pilato had appeared as a cameo in *Dawn of the Dead* as a police officer, which had been his first feature film role. Pilato was selected to play [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army) Captain Henry Rhodes. He was best known for this performance, and the film, along with its predecessors, have become classics.[2]

### Later career and other projects

Pilato later voiced Vexor in *[Big Bad Beetleborgs](/source/Big_Bad_Beetleborgs)* under the alias of "Joey Pal"[3] and worked in the English dub of *[Digimon Adventure](/source/Digimon_Adventure_(1999_TV_series))* and *[Digimon Adventure 02](/source/Digimon_Adventure_02)* voicing MetalGreymon.[4] He would later land minor roles in such films as *[Pulp Fiction](/source/Pulp_Fiction)* (1994), *[Wishmaster](/source/Wishmaster_(film))* (1997), *[Digimon: The Movie](/source/Digimon:_The_Movie)* (2000), and *[Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn](/source/Night_of_the_Living_Dead:_Darkest_Dawn)* (2015).[5]

## Personal life

Joseph Pilato had one daughter, Gianna Pilato, who was born in 1994.

## Death

Joseph Pilato died in his sleep on March 24, 2019, eight days after his 70th birthday.[6] *Day of the Dead* co-star [Lori Cardille](/source/Lori_Cardille) cited [alcoholism](/source/Alcoholism) as contributing to his death.[7]

## Filmography

### Television and film

Year Title Role Notes 1978 Dawn of the Dead Officer at Police Dock 1980 Effects Dominic 1981 Knightriders Disgruntled Fair Worker 1985 Day of the Dead Captain Henry Rhodes 1986 Gung Ho Union Member 1989 Shooters Sergeant Plato 1990 Alienator Tech #2 Empire of the Dark Guy Zupan 1993 The Evil Inside Me Fulvio 1994 Pulp Fiction Dean Martin Impersonator Credited as "Josef Pilato" Married People, Single Sex Artie Witch Hunt Uncredited role 1995 The Demolitionist "Boxer" Credited as "Josef Pilato" 1996 Visions NSA Agent Neon Signs Boto Big Bad Beetleborgs Vexor (voice) Credited as "Joey Pal" 1997 Wishmaster Mickey Torreli 1998 Music from Another Room Carlo 1999 The Last Seduction II Marvin Dishman Digimon Adventure MetalGreymon (voice: English dub) Recurring role 2000 Digimon: The Movie MetalGreymon (voice: English dub) Digimon Adventure 02 MetalGreymon (voice: English dub) Recurring role 2003 The Ghouls Uncredited role 2009 Someone's Knocking at the Door Dr. Ottie 2010 Underground Entertainment: The Movie Himself 2014 9am Bernie Short 2014 Shhhh "Red" Harling 2015 Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn Harry Cooper (voice) 2016 Ilhailed 2016 Parasites Wilde 2016 The Chair Security Guard 2018 Attack in LA Wilde Final film role

### Video games

Year Title Role 1995 WarHawk: The Red Mercury Missions Kreel 1996 Angel Devoid: Face of the Enemy Dr. Garnett / Mayor Waterford 1997 Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Emdervoss / Klingon Spokesman 2002 Might and Magic IX Additional voices 2003 Lords of EverQuest Additional voices

## References

1. ["Joseph Pilato Biography"](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0683334/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm). *[IMDb](/source/IMDb)*. Retrieved 10 December 2023.

1. Collis, Clark. ["Day of the Dead actor Joseph Pilato dies at 70"](https://ew.com/movies/2019/03/26/joe-pilato-dies/). *Entertainment*. Retrieved 10 December 2023.

1. ["Joseph Pilato Biography"](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0683334/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm). *IMDb*. Retrieved 10 December 2023.

1. ["Joseph Pilato Biography"](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0683334/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm). *IMDb*. Retrieved 10 December 2023.

1. ["A Friendly Fucking Chat With Horror Icon Joseph Pilato"](https://zombiemoviesfacebook.wordpress.com/2015/05/21/a-friendly-fucking-chat-with-horror-icon-joseph-pilato/). *zombiemoviesfacebook.wordpress.com*. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2018.

1. [R.I.P. ‘Day of the Dead’ Scene-Stealer Joseph Pilato Has Died at 70](https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3552534/r-p-day-dead-scene-stealer-joseph-pilato-died-70/) *[Bloody Disgusting](/source/Bloody_Disgusting)*, March 25, 2019

1. [https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/day-of-the-dead-george-a-romeros-misunderstood-epic/](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/day-of-the-dead-george-a-romeros-misunderstood-epic/)

## External links

- [Joseph Pilato](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0683334/) at IMDb
- [Joe Pilato Preservation Page](https://web.archive.org/web/20091026190040/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/8458/joe.html) October 26, 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- [\[1\]](https://www.scribd.com/doc/45216360/Hound-Dawg-Magazine-Issue-12) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20121105201744/http://www.scribd.com/doc/45216360/Hound-Dawg-Magazine-Issue-12) 2012-11-05 at the Wayback Machine

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Joseph Pilato](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Pilato) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Pilato?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.