Luis Contreras(1950-2004)

The son of actor Roberto Contreras, character actor Luis Contreras was born on September 18, 1950. Lean and wiry, often sporting a mass of curly hair and drooping mustache, with his piercing dark eyes and angular face Contreras was frequently cast as bums, bikers, criminals, or gang members. Contreras made his film debut as a Federale in Steven Spielberg's wonderful science fiction classic "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." He also popped up as a zoot suiter in Spielberg's hilarious all-star comedy "1941." Luis went on to work profusely throughout the 1980's and 1990's. Contreras frequently acted in movies for director Walter Hill: "The Long Riders," "48 HRS.,""Extreme Prejudice," "Red Heat," "Geronimo: An American Legend," and "Last Man Standing." Contreras was especially memorable as a grocery store security guard in the cult classic sci-fi black comedy "Repo Man," the vicious ringleader of a gang of cocaine cowboys in "Stand Alone," a hostile eye-patched biker in the delightfully madcap "Pee-wee's Big Adventure," and a deranged homeless man who terrorizes a trio of teenage girls in the "A Night on the Town" episode of the hugely enjoyable horror anthology "After Midnight." Contreras also did guest appearances on the TV shows "CHiPs," "Quincy M.E.," "T.J. Hooker," "Knight Rider," "Riptide," "Hill Street Blues," "Simon & Simon," "Night Court," "Hunter," "Matlock," and "Carnivale." Luis Contreras died of cancer at the tragically young age of 53 on June 20, 2004. He was survived by his daughter Marissa.