Richard Trebor Dies: ‘Hercules: The Legendary Journeys’ Actor Who Also Played Son Of Sam Was 71

Robert Trebor, a character actor who recurred as Salmoneus on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess and played “Son of Sam” killer David Berkowitz during his long screen career, has died. He was 71.

His obit at Legacy.com did not list a cause, date or place of death.

Born on June 7, 1953, in Philadelphia, Trebor had a few bit roles before his career got going in the 1980s with small roles in such movies as Gorp, Turk 182 and Woody Allen’s The Purple Rose of Cairo. His breakout role was as notorious “Son of Sam” serial killer Berkowitz in the 1985 CBS telepic Out of the Darkness, which starred Martin Sheen as the NYC detective who track him down.

The following year, Trebor had a key role opposite Roy Scheider and Ann-Margret in John Frankenheimer’s noir thriller 52 Pickup. During the next decade, h e went on to big-screen roles in Susan Seidelman’s Making Mr. Right (1987), Oliver Stone’s Talk Radio (1988), Roland Emmerich’s Universal Soldier (1992) and others.

Along the way, Trebor did guest shots on such popular TV series as Miami Vice, Murphy Brown, Baywatch, Night Court, Tales from the Crypt and more. Then came his signature role.

Trebor was cast as the friendly but sometimes-unscrupulous salesman Salmoneus in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, the 1995-99 syndicated action series starring Kevin Sorbo as the demigod son of Zeus. Trebor appeared in nearly two dozen episodes spanning all five seasons and played a different character, studio chief B.S. Hollingsfoffer, for one episode late in the show’s run.

He reprised the Salmoneus character for several episodes of Hercules companion series Xena: Warrior Princess, starring Lucy Lawless.

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Trebor had mostly film roles after the turn of the century, appearing in Dying on the Edge, Jiminy Glick in Lalawood, Meet Market, The Devil’s Reject and, in his final screen appearance, as a producer in the Coen brothers’ 2016 pic Hail Caesar! starring Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson and others.

He also was a veteran of the stage, playing in local Pittsburgh and Philadelphia productions and was named one of the first Artists-in-Residence at The Braid in Los Angeles. Trebor also authored a pair of books: Dear Salmoneus: The World’s First Guide to Love and Money and The Haircut Who Would Be King, the latter a satire about Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Trebor is survived by his wife of 43 years, Deirdre Hennings,. Donations may be made to The Braid, where a scholarship is being established in his name, or The Leukemia Research Foundation.