Michael J. Pollard
American actor (1939–2019)

Michael John Pollard (born Michael John Pollack Jr.; May 30, 1939 – November 20, 2019) was an American character actor. With his distinctive bulbous nose, dimpled chin and smirk, he gained a cult following, usually portraying quirky, off-beat, simplistic but likeable supporting characters. He was best known for his role as C. W. Moss, in the film Bonnie and Clyde (1967), which earned him critical acclaim along with nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Other notable appearances include The Wild Angels (1966), Hannibal Brooks (1969), Little Fauss and Big Halsy (1970), Dirty Little Billy (1972), Roxanne (1987), American Gothic (1988), and Tango & Cash (1989).
Early life
Pollard was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and brought up in the nearby North Jersey communities of Garfield and Clifton. He was the son of Sonia V. (née Dubanowich) and Michael John Pollack, a bar manager. His parents were both of Polish descent. His mother was born in New York, and his father was born in New Jersey. Pollard's father supported his wife and Michael Jr. by working 60 hours a week as a barman at O'Rourke's Tap Room.
“Michael J. Pollard” enters the record as american actor (1939–2019). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Michael, Pollard and American can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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“Michael J. Pollard” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Michael, Pollard and American provides the most credible route into that argument.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q730270. VIAF identifies the subject as 24801035. The Library of Congress control number is n88226404. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1939, 2019, 1967 and 1966.
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This entry incorporates text from “Michael J. Pollard” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.