Los Angeles, Jun 30 (IANS): Actor Daniel Pilon, who portrayed villainous tycoon Renaldo Naldo Marchetta in TV series "Dallas", is dead. He was 77.

His agent at Noble Caplan Abrams in Toronto confirmed the news of his demise. Pilon died on June 26 after a battle with cancer, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

Pilon, who had a 50-year career as an actor that reached its peak during the 1970s and 1980s, was born on November 13, 1940, in Montreal.

His first movie role was in director Gilles Carle's 1968 drama "Le Viol d'une Jeune Fille Douce" ("The Rape of a Sweet Girl"), where Pilon and his elder brother, Donald Pilon, played two of the heroine's three brothers.

That was followed by an appearance in the 1969 British war film "Play Dirty", where Pilon played the role of Captain Allwood alongside Michael Caine and Nigel Davenport.

His other credits included "Hart to Hart", "Cagney & Lacey", "Brannigan and Murder" and "She Wrote".