SHOCK’s Kalyn Corrigan remembers the actors the horror world lost this past year.
Every year, the Academy Awards reserve a moment during their ceremony to show a segment called “In Memoriam”, which honors filmmakers who have passed away since the last reception. As touching as the gesture is, it seems that more often than not, many horror icons are left out of this little celebration of life. Therefore, I’ve decided to compile of list of important cinematic figures who are known for their contributions to the horror genre, who have passed on recently, so that we genre fans can pay tribute to our fallen comrades just as all other fans of film pay tribute to theirs.
In Memoriam
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Irwin Keyes (1952-2015)
Towering over most of his co-stars throughout his career, Irwin Keyes held a large stance and heavy frame, making him a perfect fit for the Firefly family in Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses. Although he became known for horror thanks to his starring role in Zombie's terrifying 2003 wicked little Alice In Wonderland-esque slasher, he actually initially gained notoriety for his cop character in The Warriors, before officially gaining fame in the '80s for his role as Hugo Mojelewski on The Jeffersons, even coining the catch phrase "Hi, remember me?"
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Ben Woolf (1980-2015)
Ben Woolf was only thirty-four years young when he died in a freak accident in February of 2015, but he accomplished more during his short time on earth than many people do who live twice as long. Woolf appeared in seven different feature length films, including James Wan's Insidious as the dancing boy, and Tales of Halloween, the recent horror anthology from a group of filmmakers who call themselves the "October Society", in Ryan Schifrin's short, "The Ransom of Rusty Rex". Woolf appeared in many various fan films throughout his career, but he truly became a star when he landed a role as the weird little lovable on Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story: Freak Show. Although he experienced much success as an actor, and clearly enjoyed performing, Woolf actually thought of acting as his second job, and his real, preferred profession as a preschool teacher.
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Rose Siggins (1972-2015)
American Horror Story: Freak Show lost not one, but two of its stars last year. Rose Marie Homan, better known by her stage name, Rose Siggins, played legless Suzi on Ryan Murphy's critically acclaimed show; a program that regularly rung in millions of viewers per episode. Siggins was born with sacral agenesis, a spinal disorder which resulting her a loss of motor skills beneath her pelvis, thus rendering him legs completely useless and deformed, until she had them completely amputated when she was two. Despite her unique set of challenges, Siggins lived a full life, both as a star on television's biggest shows, but as a mother of two, and a wife, as well.
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David Bowie (1947-2016)
Musician, maniac, misfit - there will never be another like David Bowie. When other artists shied away from standing out and merely mimicked the musicians they looked up to, Bowie wore dresses to press interviews, and invented an alter ego called "Ziggy Stardust", whose name he took on, as he pretended he had just landed from Mars. It didn't matter that long-haired classic rock types were taking over when Bowie really came on the scene, Bowie covered himself in glitter and sang of moonage daydreams, refusing to let himself be caged into society's idea of "what's cool". By giving himself a loudly unique and triumphant voice, Bowie spoke for us all, giving all the kids who had been called "freaks" a feeling of pride, as he helped them realize that being a bit unusual is a gift, not a curse, because with it comes creativity. Despite having a foot dipped into the world of acting since his early theater days at the age twenty, Bowie gained a whole new crowd of followers with his portrayal of John the vampire in Tony Scott's 1983 film The Hunger. His performance as an atrophied lover cast aside in favor of a newer, younger soul is simply heartbreaking, as the film portrays an innovative parallel between vampires aging, and love withering and dying. This grim look at love and relationships has become not only a Tony Scott cult classic, but also serves as an extremely influential vampire story, which went on to inspire gems like Only Lovers Left Alive. It's hard to sum up in one brief segment all of the reasons why Bowie's legacy will live on long past his mortal life, or to point out all of the countless forms of media, and fans whose lives he's touched, so I'll just say this -- rest in peace, Goblin King. We'll miss you.
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Wes Craven (1939-2015)
Losing Craven was one of the biggest blows to the horror community last year. The man who gave us The Last House on the Left, The People Under the Stairs, Scream, The Serpent and the Rainbow, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Hills Have Eyes, Deadly Blessing, and the horribly underrated Red Eye, was more than just a writer and director - he was, and still is, one of the ultimate masters of horror. Craven completely redefined the horror genre - twice - with A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream - and gave us two of our most iconic villains - Freddy Krueger and Ghostface. Meta horror may have existed before, in smaller, less pronounced forms of media, but Craven brought it to the forefront with the Scream series, which is as frightening and funny as it is poignant, with its commentary on the slasher subgenre. In person, the man who had sent so many fans to bed with night terrors was known to be very kind, articulate, personable, and intelligent. Honestly, it's not that surprising that a person capable of dreaming up such vastly different projects would be bursting with intellectual revelations, but it's still somewhat comforting to know that someone so inspiring could still be so humble, and able to express himself in such a universal manner. Daring, hard-working, and endlessly creative - a world without Craven is simply devastating, but his movies will always provide a kind of solace in his absence.
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Donna Douglas (1932-2015)
To most, she was Elly May Clamped, the cute, ditsy blonde on The Beverly Hillbillies, who held a strong love for her critties; a character trait inspired by the actress herself, who grew up on a farm in Louisiana and developed a soft spot for the little creatures at her doorstep. However, to genre fans, Donna Douglas is best known for her appearance in The Twilight Zone episode "Eye of the Beholder", a popular segment and important message about the dangers of conformity, and society's standards of beauty. Douglas played Janet, a woman deemed horribly unattractive in an alternate dimension where people with warped faces are considered the norm. Janet is forced to change her looks to fit in, an idea made all the more prominent by the notions of beauty being flipped on its head.
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David Margulies (1937-2016)
In the 1984 horror comedy Ghostbusters, the four men who track down and trap spirits released into the city are locked away when a darker force of evil arises named Walter Peck, and has the Ghostbusters wrongly incarcerated as the cause for all of the recent paranormal activity. Margulies plays a hilarious yet stern depiction as the straight-and-direct mayor of New York City, who only releases the Ghostbusters after Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) convinces him that letting he and his men do their jobs will win him the re-election he was hoping for -- he'd be the reason the city was saved. The Mayor agrees, the Ghostbusters stamp out the threat of Gozer, and laughs and warm feelings ensue. Aside from the Ghostbusters franchise, Margulies is known for his work in Angels in America, The Iceman Cometh, Conversations with my Father, and Hamlet, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
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Gunnar Hansen (1947-2015)
Horror movie lovers are fanatical, and there's nothing they love more than a villain. Horror fans were shirts with their favorite villains on them, buy look-a-like toys, art based on their favorite baddies, and even quote their sinister one-liners from the movies. There is a plethora of horror villains who have had the honor of gracing a fans' home, but there are only a few key legends who are kept on short-hand reference list status: Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Leatherface. Tobe Hooper's dirty, realistic direction set the scene for the unrelenting tension in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but it isn't until Leatherface emerges from behind that stainless steel sliding door, bearing a bloody apron and a mask made of human flesh, and snatches up poor Pam like were a you, that true terror was made known. Gunnar Hansen depicted a complex kind of evil entity, whose current state of mind feels like the result of years of inbreeding and physical abuse. Leatherface seems as scared of his victims as they are of him, hiding away in his house until strangers would creep inside, as he merely reacted to their intrusion. To achieve this multilayered effect, Hansen studied a class of mentally challenged children, and implemented their physical traits into his performance, creating one of the most unique, frightening, and slightly misunderstood villains of all time. His genius will be missed.
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Christopher Lee (1922-2015)
Images of Bela Lugosi may spring to mind when the character of Count Dracula is mentioned, but the traits one associates with the immortal being can actually mostly be attributed to the great Christopher Lee. Blood-red eyes, a speechless monster, Hammer-style horror - Christopher Lee portrayed the vampire a whopping ten times in comparison with Bela's one-time entry. As compelling as his quiet but bold performance of Dracula was, Lee became all the more mesmerizing when he opened his mouth and unleashed a distinct booming bellow from within his lungs. That voice came to characterize several iconic figures in the cinematic world, including Saruman, Count Dooku, Sherlock Holmes, Scaramanga, and perhaps most notably for horror fans, Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man. During his ninety-three years on earth, Lee acted in over two hundred films, hunted Nazis during World War II, and sang in a metal band well into his last few years; even receiving a Spirit of Medal award for his album 'Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross' at the 2010 Metal Hammer Golden Gods ceremony at the ripe age of eighty-eight. He lived enough for four lifetimes, but somehow, it still feels like he was taken too soon. Rest in peace Sir Christopher Lee - you were not just one of horror's greatest gifts, but one of the coolest people to ever live.
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Richard Johnson (1927-2015)
Richard Johnson appeared in one hundred and thirty different projects during his lifetime, with many standout titles, such as the 1963 The Haunting, the Frank Sinatra-starring Never So Few, Danger Route, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Island of the Fishmen, Beyond the Door, and the Lucio Fulci-led, flesh mangling, undead tropical madness cult classic Zombie, a.k.a. Zombi 2. The unofficial sequel to George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead, Zombie tells the tale of Dr. David Menard (Johnson), as he researches the process of reanimation on the remote island of Matul. Following a recent murder charge that happened aboard Menard's boat, his daughter Anne, and her newfound reporter friend Peter West track Dr. Menard down, but all they find on that island is death, decay, and cannibalism.
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Alan Rickman (1946-2016)
The beauty of Alan Rickman's performance lies in his subtlety. Whether he's scolding Mr. Potter with a low growl in his voice, pompously calling out John McClane for trying to be just another American cowboy, passively passing on the news from the heavens to the humans that world is coming to the end as he takes another shot of tequila, slyly telling Benjamin Barker how he plans to marry his adopted daughter Joanna, or purring condescending remarks down to Alice as he sits atop a neon-colored mushroom head, Rickman always delivered his lines with a cool ease and a soft but powerful gaze which left no question as to who's in charge. His dark and husky voice became one of the defining characteristics for this extremely talented actor, especially due to his affinity for playing villains, but his delicate and purposeful physicality lent just as much to his prowess as his pipes - a true theater actor standout in a cinematic world. Rickman was, and will continue to be, one of those faces whose appearance means the viewer is in for a treat, even if it's only for the moments that his character is onscreen.
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Rod Taylor (1930-2015)
Rod Taylor actually retired from acting when Quentin Tarantino called on him to play Winston Churchill as a cameo in his 2009 war fantasy drama, Inglourious Basterds. Though Taylor at first declined, saying Albert Finney would be a much better choice, Quentin convinced him and he agreed. Taylor has over ninety acting credits to his name, but is probably most famously known as Mitch Brenner in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.
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Roddy Piper (1954-2015)
"I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I'm all out of bubble gum". This is one of those movie lines that has become so legendary that even people who have never seen or even heard of They Live can still quote it. Written and directed by one of the greatest horror maestros, John Carpenter himself, They Live is a clever little sci-fi thriller about subliminal messaging seductive nature of soulless capitalism. Featuring a real, six and a half minute long fight scene, and a gritty. bleak, futuristic feel, this world does not resemble the polished depictions of reality the we've come to expect from our movies. This landscape looks and feels bright and hard and contains common-looking actors, like Keith David and Roddy Piper, who seem like people you'd actually run into in everyday life, making this warning about superior forces controlling the masses all the more frightening and relatable. Piper's performance is as quotable as it is sympathetic, making him the perfect man to portray John Nada, and ensuring that They Live is as timeless and it is important.
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Angus Scrimm (1926-2016)
Standing tall and skinny at six foot four, it's easy to see why Don Coscarelli would cast Angus Scrimm to be his 'Tall Man' villain in his 1979 cult classic horror movie, Phantasm. In the film, a little boy named Mike Pearson and his older brother Jody attempt to adjust to their new lives after the unexpected death of their parents. The Tall Man who works at the Morningside Cemetery acts as a sort of grim reaper, both literally and figuratively, burying bodies, and if Mike's suspicions are right, knocking off the very same people who come in cold to his morgue. As Mike deals with his loss, he is haunted by images of the Tall Man - but is he really there, or is Mike developing an unhealthy fear of death now that he's starting to truly comprehend the idea of mortality? Is the Tall Man an evil supernatural being, or just one of Mike's ghosts? Phantasm, the movie that went on to span three sequels, speaks to the kid in all of us, especially those who have dealt with death at an early age. Scrim's performance as the Tall Man is so powerful, that it makes the theme of dealing with death and dealing with the fear of death hit home that much harder. Scrimm lived to be eighty-nine years old, but us horror fans know he's not really gone, he's only waiting for us in our nightmares.
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Tom Towles (1950-2015)
House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, Dog Day Afternoon, Night of the Living Dead, The Rock, Grindhouse, The Pit and the Pendulum, and even an episode of Seinfeld - Tom Towles was truly a movie star. Not only is his resume impressive, but it's also very diverse. Perhaps his most notorious role, however, is as Otis in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Based on the true story of infamous serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, Henry makes you feel like you're watching a snuff film, eliciting feelings of guilt and terror all at the same time. Not only does the film paint an emotionless, murdering picture of Henry, played by Michael Rooker, but also of his roommate Otis, played by Tom Towles. The film starts out with Otis accompanying Henry on his random killing sprees, but as time rolls on, it becomes clear that Otis may be just as if not more merciless than his infamous counterpart. The result of this study in madness is a lesson in the utter futility of existence, and the savagery of man. It's a powerful film that still shocks and stuns audiences today, as it points out a universal truth about humanity: people don't change. Towles and Rooker and spellbinding as Otis and Henry, delivering such powerful performances that the viewer can't look away, no matter how much he or she might want to.
