The Indiana Jones Original Trilogy Extra Who (Technically) Died In All Three Movies
Few deaths in the "Indiana Jones" films as quite as unforgettable as that of Pat Roach's Nazi mechanic in "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Upon spotting Indy (Harrison Ford) duking it out with one of his fellow Nazi handymen near a plane preparing to take off, Roach's nameless, burly villain smiles to himself as he removes his shirt, clearly itching for a fight. He proceeds to give Indy quite the thrashing and might've well won their match, had he bothered to turn around in time and spot the spinning airplane propellor bearing down on him.
Roach had a knack for playing the heel, starting with his run on the British wrestling circuit. Having earned a black belt in Judo before becoming the National Judo Champion in 1960, Roach spent the next decade wrestling under such personas as "Big" and "Lord" Pat Roach, squaring off against the likes of Dwayne Johnson's grandfather, Peter Mavia, and André the Giant. Eventually, Roach's antics in the ring landed the attention of none other than Stanley Kubrick, who cast him in an uncredited role as a "Milkbar Bouncer" in "A Clockwork Orange." You can spot Roach standing aside Malcolm McDowell's delinquent Alex and his "droogs" in the film's famous long-take opening shot.
When he needed another prominent, brawny actor to engage in some fisticuffs with Ryan O'Neal's titular character in "Barry Lyndon," Kubrick once again turned to Roach, casting him as Corporal Toole. Roach's fist-swinging in the film only brought him more attention, nearly landing him the role of none other than Darth Vader in "Star Wars." Afterward, director George Lucas recommended Roach to his pal, Steven Spielberg, who liked Roach so much he cast him in all three films in the original "Indiana Jones" trilogy ... and killed him each time.
Important life lesson: don't fight Harrison Ford in a film
Ford kills a lot of people in the "Indiana Jones" films, though none more often than Roach. In fact, he killed Roach twice in "Raiders" alone. You see, in addition to the aforementioned Nazi mechanic, Roach also played one of the malevolent Major Arnold Toht's (Ronald Lacey) goons, the "Giant Sherpa," during the literal firefight at the Nepal bar run by Indy's old flame, Marion (Karen Allen). Roach would return from the dead once more in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," this time playing the "Chief Guard" who squabbles with Indy in the Thuggee cultists' mines. As in "Raiders," their dispute ends with Roach getting turned into a bloody splat, this time at the hands of a rock crusher. That's what you getting for doing Brownface, sir.
As before, Spielberg revived Roach for "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," this time casting him as a Gestapo agent. There's a shot where you can see Roach's character and his boss, the sadistic SS colonel Ernst Vogel (Michael Byrne), boarding the zeppelin that Indy and his father (Sean Connery) use to flee Berlin. After Indy chucks Vogel out a window ("No ticket!"), a deleted subplot had Indy knocking out Roach and stuffing him in a closet. Roach's baddie would've later regained consciousness and tried to pursue Indy and his dad when they flee in a biplane mid-flight, only to plummet to his doom when his pilot — the WWI flying ace (Frederick Jaeger) who briefly appears shortly before Indy and his dad board the zeppelin — proves a little too drunk to safely operate their own biplane.
So, yes, Roach technically didn't die in "Last Crusade," although his demise was restored in the official comic book tie-in. That's close enough for me!