Canadian soap actor dies at 77

MONTREAL — Canadian actor Daniel Pilon, whose film and television career spanned nearly 50 years, has died following a lengthy illness. He was 77.

The actor known internationally for his role as Renaldo Marchetta in the American TV soap Dallas, died Tuesday in hospital surrounded by family, his talent agency said in a statement.

“Happiness is every moment; it’s living every moment,” Pilon said in a 2009 interview for Elephant, a project to restore and digitize Quebec’s cinematic history.

The Montreal-born actor had many opportunities to put those words into practice during a prolific film and television career in which he found success both in Canada and internationally.

Pilon began his film career in 1968 when he was cast as Capt. Allwood in the British war film, Play Dirty. He would go on to appear in dozens of films and television shows, including the highly popular TV series, Dallas, in which he played a wealthy villain.

Pilon’s soap career included appearances in Ryan’s Hope, Guiding Light, and Days of Our Lives.

In Canada, he often worked with renowned Quebec filmmaker Gilles Carle, most notably in the films, Red, The Death of a Lumberjack, and Le viol d’une jeune fille douce, where he appeared alongside his brother, Donald.

Pilon also worked with a number of Canadian film directors including Jean Beaudin, Yves Simoneau, Jean-Claude Labrecque, Christian Duguay and Claude Fournier.

His more recent appearances were for the TV series, La Galere, and March a l’ombre, as well as the 2011 short film, L’invite.

Pilon’s funeral will be private, his agency said.