Tony Todd, the American actor best known for starring as the eponymous hook-wielding ghost in the Candyman horror film series, died Wednesday at his home in Marina del Rey, California. He passed away at the age of 69.
Todd’s death was confirmed by the actor’s representative. The cause of death has not been disclosed.
A reliable presence in genre work for 40 years, Todd’s body of work includes Alex Proyas’ groundbreaking comic book adaptation The Crow, Michael Bay’s Alcatraz action film The Rock; Includes iconic titles such as the elaborate murder series “Final Destination.” ” One of his earliest film roles, at the age of 32, was in the Oscar-winning war epic “Platoon,” directed by Oliver Stone. In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Todd wore make-up to play Khan, the commander of the Klingon Defense Force and the younger brother of Worf, played by series regular Michael Dorn.
However, Todd secured fame in the genre with his performance in Bernard Rose’s Candyman. The film was an American adaptation of Clive Barker’s early ’90s film, offering an iconoclastic, supernatural approach to themes of gentrification and racism. Todd, who stands 6 feet 5 inches tall, played Daniel Robitaille, aka Candyman, an African-American artist and the ghost of a slave’s son who was murdered for his relationship with a white woman. In the film, Virginia Madsen played a Chicago graduate student who researches inner-city Chicago to prepare her dissertation on the legend of the Candyman.
“Candyman” established itself as an artistic genre play at the time and premiered in the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto International Film Festival. The film’s treatment of serious themes was not without question at the time, with some people criticizing it for its racist stereotypes, but the film is a great example of how America’s history of racism and modern cities’ It has survived in critical and genre circles for its unblinking approach to serious themes, allied to suffering. life.
As a sympathetic slasher, Todd reprized his role as Candyman when the horror series was born. He returned in the 1995 sequel “Candyman: Farewell to Flesh” (the feature debut of Oscar nominee Bill Condon) and in 1999’s “Candyman: Day of the Dead” directed by Thuri Meyer. The property was revived at Universal in 2021 by director Nia DaCosta with the simple title Candyman. A 1992 original co-written by DaCosta, Jordan Peele, and Win Rosenfeld. Todd reprized his role in the new film starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as an artist drawn into the Candyman legend.
Born on December 4, 1954 in Washington, DC, Todd studied at the University of Connecticut for two years before moving to the Eugene Honel National Theater Institute. Trained for the stage, Todd practiced playwriting himself and taught it to Hartford high school students. He originated the title role in King Hedley II, directed by August Wilson, in productions in Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Boston. His performance was “one of the best in memory.” variety I wrote about it in my review at the time.
Todd’s film and television credits total well over 100, with the actor having a recurring role on “Boston Public,” “Law & Order,” “Murder on the Street,” “X -File” also made a guest appearance. “Youngville,” “Psycho,” and “24.” He is a frequent voice actor, appearing as The Fallen in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Zoom on the CW’s The Flash, and most recently Insomniac’s PlayStation hit. He plays Venom in Spider-Man 2. He starred in the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead and was one of the few actors to recur in the Final Destination series, which included All the new characters were often killed off by the end of the game.
Todd has never stopped working and has often lent his panache and genre cachet to made-to-video thrillers in recent years. His profile on IMDb lists over nine titles currently in post-production.
Todd is survived by two children, Alex and Arianna;
