A machete-wielding porn performer went on a rampage at a Van Nuys production facility, killing one of his former co-stars and badly wounding two other men, Los Angeles police investigators said Wednesday.

Police said the assailant, porn actor Stephen Clancy Hill, was last seen driving a blue Toyota RAV4.

The attack was reported around 10:20 p.m. Tuesday at Ultima DVD Inc., a video distribution business where Hill did production work and apparently lived, police said.

Police said they are investigating whether Hill was angry with his colleagues after learning that he was being fired and evicted.

Homicide Det. Joel Price said Hill attacked one man in a back room of the business with a machete-style weapon. Two colleagues heard loud screams and rushed to the man’s aid.

Hill turned on them and swung the weapon repeatedly, cutting and gashing both men, police said. All three victims were rushed to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where one was pronounced dead. The other two were treated.

The man slashed to death was described as a 30-year-old Canoga Park resident. Authorities have not released his name, but the victim appears to have performed in numerous adult films, including at least two with the suspect.

A Glendale-based production firm issued a statement on Twitter saying the victim had starred in its movies. An employee at the office confirmed the Twitter post to The Times.

Late Wednesday, police were searching for Hill, who fled in the Toyota RAV4 with license plate 5YTC423. Hill performed in adult films under the name Steve Driver.

Sources familiar with the investigation but not authorized to speak publicly said Hill had a history of violence that included a 1999 assault-with-a-firearm conviction for threatening to kill one of his college instructors for not giving him an A.

Hill, of Riverdale, Md., allegedly told the University of Maryland instructor that he was “a mobster and would dismember the instructor’s body if he didn’t get the grade,” according to a 1999 story in the Washington Post.

andrew.blankstein@latimes.com