Michael Madsen, actor in “Kill Bill” and “Reservoir Dog”, died at age 67 – National

Michael Madsen, best known for his role in the Reservoir Dog and Kill Bill, passed away Thursday morning. He was 67 years old.

Madsen was found not to respond by deputies who answered a 911 call at his Malibu home and died at 8:25am, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told a Hollywood reporter.

Police added that no foul play was suspected and that Madsen's death is believed to be due to natural causes.

“I understand that Michael has cardiac arrested,” said Liz Rodriguez, president of Madsen at EMR Media Entertainment, to the outlet.

Madsen's managers Smith and Susan Ferris issued a statement after his death.

“For the past two years, Michael Madsen has done incredible films with independent films, including upcoming feature films Resurrection Road, Concessions and Cookbook for Southern Housewives, and I've been really looking forward to the next chapter in his life,” they said.

“Michael was also preparing to release a new book called Tears: Outlaw's Thoughts and Poetry for Father.

The actor's sister, Virginia Madsen, shared a statement to Diversity after his death.

“My brother Michael has left the stage,” Virginia wrote. “He was thunder and velvet. A mischievous prank enveloped in mischief. The poet disguised as an outlaw. Father, son, brother – etched into contradictions and softened by the love that left that mark.”

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“We don't lament public figures,” she continued. “We do not lament myths, we do not lament the flesh, blood and ferocious hearts. We have uttered our lives, brilliant, burned in half.

“We miss our inner jokes, sudden laughs, the sound of him. We miss the boy he was before the legend. I miss my brother. I miss my brother. I miss everyone who reaches out with love and memory.

Madsen's career included over 300 credits, including Donnie Brasco, Thelma & Louise, Free Willy, Sin City and another day of Die Die.

His most memorable screen moment may have been the sadistic torture of a stolen police officer, like Mr. Blonde, a reservoir dog in 1992.

Madsen began his acting career at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, appearing in Mouse and Men. In 1982 he played a police officer in the John Badham film Wargames.

He went on to become a regular at Quentin Tarantino, appearing in Kill Bill Films, the hated eight-year-old, and once again… Hollywood.

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At the November 2020 bill-making ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theater, Madsen looked back on his first visit to Hollywood in the early 1980s.

“I left and walked around, and I saw that there was a way to become a part of me one day, and I didn't know because I didn't know what I was going to do for myself,” he said. “I could have been a brickmaker. I could have been an architect. I could have been a garbage man. I might have been nothing. But I've been lucky. I've been lucky as an actor.”

In addition to the film, Madsen also played audio roles in video games such as Grand Theft Auto III, Crime Boss: Rockay City and The Dishonored series.

The Kill Bill actor was also a published poet with a collection that hopes for burning and rain in paradise.

Madsen married three times, and married General Hospital actor Georganne Lapiere from 1984 to 1988, actor Jeannine Bisignano from 1991 to 1995, and his wife Deanna Madsen, who has been estranged since 1996.

– Use files from Associated Press

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