Remembering Marjoe Gortner

PUBLISHED 5 OCT 2026

Tributes Paid To The Cobra

American Ninja 3 actor Marjoe Gortner has died aged 82, leaving behind a remarkable career that took him from child preacher to Hollywood actor — and into the world of ninja cinema.

Gortner died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife, Susan Magestro, confirming his death to Variety. A memorial notice said that he had been suffering from congestive heart failure for several years.

“Marjoe lived an extraordinary life, shaped by his imagination and rare gift for bringing people together,” the statement said.

The 1980s

Gortner established himself as a character actor, appearing in a wide variety of television programmes and films. During the 1980s, he made appearances in popular television shows including The A-Team, T.J. Hooker, Airwolf and Street Hawk.

But it was his role in a low-budget martial arts action movie that would introduce him to a new generation of fans.

Enter The Cobra

Released in 1989, American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt continued the popular action franchise starring Michael Dudikoff as American Ninja Joe Armstrong — although this time the story introduced Sean Davidson, played by David Bradley, as its central hero.

Gortner played the film's principal villain, a terrorist known simply as The Cobra.

The Cobra's plan was suitably outrageous for the era of ninja action movies. He has infected Sean Davidson with a deadly virus and intends to use him as a test subject for his biological warfare experiments.

Sean, alongside Curtis Jackson and Dexter, must battle Cobra and his forces before the villain can unleash his plans.

And, naturally, Cobra has an army of genetically engineered ninja clones at his disposal.

It was classic late-1980s action cinema: sinister villains, biological weapons, martial arts, explosions and an army of ninjas.

A loyal following

The American Ninja films became an important part of the home-video action boom of the 1980s and early 1990s. They introduced audiences around the world to a heightened version of the ninja — complete with colourful uniforms, spectacular fights, exotic villains and seemingly endless armies of masked warriors.

For fans of the genre, Gortner's Cobra remains one of those memorable villains from the period.

The film's director, Cedric Sundstrom, paid tribute to the actor following news of his death, writing:

“Loved working with him on American Ninja 3.”

It is a fitting sentiment from the man who helped bring Cobra to the screen.

Rest in peace, Marjoe Gortner.