Horror Historian David Del Valle Dies at 77
Del Valle, who produced and hosted the Sinister Image interview series, died in Burbank after a battle with esophageal cancer, his friend Dano Marino confirmed.
David Del Valle, the horror film historian, author and commentary-track contributor, died on Wednesday at age 77. He died at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank after a battle with esophageal cancer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Producer Dano Marino, Del Valle's caretaker and friend, confirmed the death. Marino said he will oversee Del Valle's collection of movie memorabilia, including posters, photos and rare books, and described him in a Facebook post as a champion of cinema's outsiders and a legend.
Del Valle produced and hosted the cable interview series Sinister Image, whose subjects included Vincent Price, Cameron Mitchell, Russ Meyer and Curtis Harrington. His 1987 hourlong interview with Price is considered the most substantial interview the horror legend gave; he had first interviewed Price at 16 for his school newspaper, starting a friendship that lasted until Price's death in 1993.
Born Ronald David Del Valle on Sept. 24, 1949, in El Paso, Texas, he wrote the books Lost Horizons Beneath the Hollywood Sign and Six Reels Under, published in 2010 and 2012. He contributed around 120 movie commentaries for companies including the Criterion Collection, Severin Films, Kino Lorber, Synapse Films, Scream Factory and Arrow Films, and in 2020 introduced a weekly horror screening for Full Moon Features.
Quick answers
How did David Del Valle die?
He died at age 77 at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank after a battle with esophageal cancer, producer Dano Marino confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
What was David Del Valle known for?
He was a horror film historian who produced and hosted the Sinister Image interview series and contributed around 120 movie commentaries for labels including the Criterion Collection and Severin Films.