Fanboys Anonymous

Fanboys Anonymous regrets to inform its readers that New York actor Roger Hill died last Thursday, February 20, 2014, at age 65.


Hill, who co-starred in director Walter Hill's late-'70s street gang thriller The Warriors, portrayed the revolutionary leader of the Gramercy Riffs: the man whose assassination leads to a city-wide manhunt to catch the wrongly accused Cony Island gang.

The actor, who had few credits in film, still worked as an actor for some twenty years, mostly in theater. He had been a participant of the Frank Silvera Writers' Workshop and had worked Off-Broadway and in touring productions of famous plays such as Hamlet. If you watch his scene in The Warriors below, you'll see where his captivating performance and bellowing voice come from.


The Warriors was a very unique little late-night action movie that has acquired massive cult classic status over the decades. Much of its strength—although full of action and being as gritty as it was campy—came from the caliber of its young actors. Amongst the actors from the film recognized for their achievements and contributions to film and theater today are David Patrick Kelly (Luther), James Remar (Ajax), and Deborah Van Valkenburg (Mercy). Marcelino Sanchez, a.k.a. Rembrandt, had also been very popular in television throughout the '80s (The Bloodhound Gang) but sadly died in 1986 of AIDS-related illness. Other Warriors appearances included Sonny Landham (Billy from Predator) as one of the subway cops and the late martial artist/actor Steve James (Delta Force, American Ninja) as a Baseball Fury. I think we could all agree, though, that much of the movie's magnetism came from Hill as Cyrus because he really set the tone.

A real heavy set!

Later in life, Hill stepped aside from his acting career and took up a position as a librarian while he wrote poetry. He leaves behind an only son, filmmaker and TV show editor Chris W. Hill.

Thanks for reading and if you have anything to add on the life and career of the immortalized Cyrus and the man that portrayed him, please feel free to comment below!