Clu Gulager 1928-2022

Clu Gulager, Actor in ‘The Virginian,’ ‘The Last Picture Show’ and ‘Return of the Living Dead,’ Dies at 93.

Clu Gulager, the real-life cowboy from Oklahoma known for his turns on The Tall Man, The Virginian, The Last Picture Show and horror movies including The Return of the Living Dead, has died. He was 93.

Gulager died Friday of natural causes at the Los Angeles home of his son.

Gulager also portrayed the protégé of hitman Charlie Strom (Lee Marvin) taken out by a mob boss (Ronald Reagan) in Don Siegel’s The Killers (1964), a race-car mechanic opposite Paul Newman in Winning (1969) and a detective working alongside John Wayne’s character in John Sturges’ McQ (1974).

I remember watching him on The Virginian when I was a kid. He had a hard name to forget.

Some trivia: Birth name: William Martin Gulager. Got nickname from his father for the clu-clu birds nesting at the Gulager home at the time Clu was born.

For anyone who has the GRIT channel, they are doing an all-day marathon, Monday, August 22 for Clu and his time on The Virginian.

I thought it was funny that they went through the entire series without ever giving the lead character a name. The only time it ever felt awkward was when a stranger would shake his hand and introduce himself, and the Virginian would merely say "Howdy" without giving his name.