Tito Goya, 33; Tough Guy in Films and Real Life

AUSTIN, Tex. —  Tito Goya, an actor with an arrest record longer than that of many of the criminals he portrayed in films and on television, has been found dead of natural causes in his apartment near the University of Texas.

At his death, Goya, born Andrew Butler, was facing charges in the 1978 shooting death of a disco patron.

He was 33, and the medical examiner’s office said he died of cirrhosis of the liver. Police found his body late Sunday after they were summoned to his apartment.

An acquaintance said the actor knew he had only a few months to live.

Goya appeared in several movies, including “Fort Apache, the Bronx,” in which he played an undercover police officer posing as a junkie, and “Marathon Man,” in which he portrayed a street youth who helped Dustin Hoffman out of a scrape. He also played tough-guy roles in the “Kojak” and “Baretta” television series and appeared in two episodes of “Miami Vice,” portraying a drug dealer.

Returned From New York

Goya had waived extradition charges in February and returned to Austin from New York. He was awaiting disposition of charges in the 1978 shooting death of Rudy Trevino. Police accused Goya of arguing with Trevino at a north Austin disco, following him to a restaurant and shooting him once in the heart with a rifle.

Goya’s brushes with the law dated to his youth. Police said he had been charged with more than 30 crimes since 1966, including assault, robbery, grand larceny and possession of drugs.

Writer Miguel Pinero, who met Goya while both were in Sing Sing, wrote a play about their shared prison experiences. “Short Eyes” was staged in 1974 at Lincoln Center by “The Family,” a troupe of ex-convict actors. Goya portrayed “Cupcakes,” a cellblock sex object. It was made as a film in 1977, and Goya afterward moved to Texas to live with his brother.