Tony Todd, the actor who played the titular killer in the classic horror film Candyman and also appeared in Final Destination, The Rock and Platoon, has died at the age of 69.
Todd died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles after a long illness, his wife Fatima confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter on Friday.
Born in Washington, D.C. in 1954, Todd made his mark on hundreds of television and film roles during his 40-year career. One of his first roles was as the heroin addict Sergeant Warren in Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning war drama Platoon. He also starred opposite Nicolas Cage in 1996's The Rock, played funeral parlor owner William Bloodworth in the Final Destination series, and played the role of funeral parlor owner William Bloodworth in 1994's The Crow. He co-starred with Brandon Lee in the role of Grunge.
On television, Todd has appeared on “24,'' “Homicide: Life on the Street,'' “The X-Files,'' “21 Jump Street,'' “Night Court,'' “MacGyver,'' “Matlock,'' and “ She appeared in many popular series, including “Law & Order'', “Beverly Hills 90210'', and “Xena: Murder Princess''. she wrote. He also played several roles in Star Trek, most notably as Worf's younger brother, Klingon Khan, in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.
He was also a prolific voice actor, having played characters in the Call of Duty and Half-Life games, as well as Venom in Spider-Man 2 and the villain in Transformers: Rise of the Fallen.
In the 1992 film Candyman, Todd played the titular hook-handed killer, who is summoned when someone repeats his name five times in a mirror. This classic horror explored racism and social class. Todd's character, Daniel Robitaille, is later lynched by a white mob at the construction site of a public housing project and ends up haunting the site.
In 2019, Todd told the Guardian that he was paid an extra $1,000 for each bee sting he received in one of the film's most famous scenes. “And I got stung 23 times. Everything worth making has to involve some kind of pain.”
Todd also reprized his role in the 2021 Candyman reboot directed by Jordan Peele.
The actor used his fame to do social work, support gangs, and hold acting seminars for underprivileged children. About Candyman, he said: It affects people of all races. I used this as an introductory tool for gang intervention work. What are you scared of? What scary things have you experienced? ”
“The industry has lost a legend. We have lost a dear friend. Rest in peace, Tony, your final destination is your family,” New Line Cinema, which produced the horror series, posted on Instagram. did.
