Julius Drum (AKA Julius L. Corder) was born in March 1958 on the Winnebago Native American Reservation in Nebraska. At the age of five, he was adopted by John and Dorothy Corder of McCook, Nebraska. After finishing high school, he relocated to California to attend medical school. He helped pay his tuition by acting in television commercials. His most noteworthy role was as Richard Yellowhawk in Thunderheart (1992). He was also a cast member of River Phoenix's final film, Dark Blood, which was finally released in 2012. He died on September 21, 2007, at the Carl T. Curtis Health Center in Macy, Nebraska, due to complications from diabetes. He was survived by his adoptive parents, his brother James Corder, and his sister Diana Gull.