Candyman Star Tony Todd Dies at 69 | film

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 home in Los Angeles after a long illness, his wife Fatima confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter on Friday.

Born in Washington DC in 1954, Todd has made hundreds of television and film appearances over a 40-year career. One of his first roles was as heroin addict Sergeant Warren in Oliver Stone’s Oscar-winning war drama Platoon; He also appeared in 1996’s The Rock opposite Nicolas Cage, played funeral home owner William Bludworth in the Final Destination series and Grange in 1994’s The Crow with Brandon Lee.

On television, Todd has appeared in many popular series including 24, Homicide: Life on the Street, The X-Files, 21 Jump Street, Night Court, MacGyver, Matlock, Law & Order, Beverly Hills 90210, Xena: Warrior Princess and Murder , she wrote. He also played several roles in Star Trek, most notably as the Klingon Kurn, brother of Worf, in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.

He was also a prolific voice actor, playing characters in the games Call of Duty and Half Life, as well as Venom in the film 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 front of a mirror. The horror classic dealt with racism and social class; Todd’s character, Daniel Robitaille, was lynched by a white mob at the site of a public housing project that he haunts.

In 2019, Todd told the Guardian that he was paid an extra $1,000 every time he was stung by a bee in one of the film’s most famous scenes. “And I got stung 23 times. Anything worth doing must involve some kind of pain.”

Todd reprized his role in Jordan Peele’s Candyman reboot in 2021.

The actor used his fame for social work, anti-gang public relations and conducting acting seminars for disadvantaged children. Of “Candyman,” he said: “I’ve done 200 films, this one sticks in people’s minds.” It affects people of all races. I used it as an introductory guide to gang intervention work: What scares you? What terrible things have you experienced?”

“The industry has lost a legend. We have lost a valued friend. Rest in peace Tony, your final destined family,” New Line Cinema, which produced the horror franchise, wrote on Instagram.