Days of our Lives and ‘Scarface’ Actor Geno Silva Dead at 72

Veteran film and television actor passes away.

Film, stage and television actor Geno Silva died at the age of 72. His family reported he passed away on May 9 peacefully at his Los Angeles home from complications of frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), a form of dementia.

Silva was born on January 20, 1948 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Along with his wife Pamela Phillips Silva, he owned a home in Taos, New Mexico, and a dance studio in Hollywood, California. His career spanned more than four decades and included more than 100 film, television and theatre credits, many uncredited, according to his family. He is probably best known for playing The Skull in the cult classic Scarface. The Skull was Alejandro Sosa’s (Paul Shenar) hitman who never spoke a word while killing Al Pacino’s character Tony Montana in the movie’s climactic ending. The role earned Silva the seventh-place slot on one Top 20 Best Henchmen in Cinema History list. His other film credits include Mulholland Drive, Amistad, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and Zoot Suit, which he also starred in the Broadway production of the same name with Edward James Olmos. Some of his other stage credits include The Merchant of Venice and Sueño.

On television he made appearances on Star Trek Enterprise, Miami Vice, Hill Street Blues, Murder She Wrote, MacGyver, Walker Texas Ranger, and as series regular Hector Allegria on Fox’s Key West. His final credit was on television’s Cane in 2007 which starred Jimmy Smits (NYPD Blue). He also played Domingo Salazar in 2 episodes of Days of our Lives on September 27 and November 25 in 1991.

Soaps.com sends our condolences to Silva’s friends and family. Silva is survived by his wife, Pamela Phillips Silva, his daughter, Lucia Silva, grandchildren Eva and Levon Redman, and his sister, Elizabeth Gallegos. Glance through our gallery of other soap opera stars lost in 2020.