Vic Ramos, the casting director for Francis Ford Coppola on “The Godfather Part II” and “Apocalypse Now” and for George Lucas on “Star Wars,” has died. He was 77.
Mr. Ramos, who later turned to talent management, died Sunday of pulmonary failure at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City, said Sandy Erickson, his partner in New York-based Ramos Management.
“He had great taste and a great eye, and he had a real love for actors,” Fred Roos, a producer who worked with Mr. Ramos on the Coppola films, said Wednesday. “He was open to the underdog actor who wasn’t represented by the biggie.”
Mr. Ramos is credited with discovering actor Matt Dillon when he cast him in the 1979 film “Over the Edge.” Since founding his agency in 1981, Mr. Ramos had managed Dillon and a small stable of other actors.
“He was a great friend, had a lot of style. He taught me a lot over the years,” Dillon said.
From 1960 to 1981, Mr. Ramos helped cast more than 25 movies and television shows, including “The Black Stallion,” for which Coppola was executive producer; “American Gigolo”; Brian De Palma’s “Dressed to Kill”; and Michael Mann’s “Thief.”
