Tony Todd, known for playing the hook-wielding ghost in the “Candyman” horror franchise, died Wednesday. He was 69 years old.
Tony Todd has left us. His death, confirmed by his agent, occurred last Wednesday at his home in Marina Del Rey, California, at the age of 69. The cause of his death, however, has not been revealed.
Pour Tony Todd it all started at the University of Connecticut where he studied before joining the prestigious O’Neill National Theatre Institutea theater school where he learned the fundamentals of dramatic art. He then perfected his acting at the Hartman Conservatory in Stamford then at the Trinity Square Repertory Theatre Conservatorylocated in Rhode Island. Todd appears in a dozen plays, sometimes re-enacting classics, sometimes more experimental works: he notably performs Shakespeare, Molière, Tennessee Williams and James Baldwin. His versatility and the richness of his dramatic repertoire allowed him to acquire a reputation in the industry. Todd himself becomes a drama teacher and then creates a social program for young people in great difficulty by offering them theater as a path to integration.
With his 1m96 height and his cavernous voice, Tony Todd doesn't really go unnoticed. He made his first film appearance in 1986 in the fantasy drama Sleepwalk. Spotted by Oliver Stone, he then joined the cast of Platoon (id.), a war film in which he played a heroin addict Marine. Endowed with a very strong presence as an actor, Todd began to play supporting roles in cult films like Colors by Dennis Hopper where he played a Vietnam veteran, and Bird by Clint Eastwood. In 1990, he starred in Tom Savini's Night of the Living Dead, a remake of George A. Romero's cult film.
Columbia Pictures Night of the Living Dead (1990)
A ready-made genre
It is precisely in fantastic cinema that Tony Todd will partly specialize since we notice it in Voodoo Dawn (1991) by Steven Fierberg then in The Crow (1994) by Alex Proyas, two genre films. But it was undoubtedly with Candyman (1992) that the actor found a role suited to his imposing size. In this horror film where he plays Virginia Madsen, Todd plays a demon both frightening and bewitching who haunts those who dare to mention his name in front of a mirror. He also took over the title role in two sequels, Candyman 2 (1995) and Candyman 3: Day of the Dead (1999), which did not enjoy the success of the first part. There is no longer any doubt about the man's charisma. He continued filming horror films, a genre that was successful for him, with Wishmaster (1997) where he met Robert Englund, Shadow Builder (1998) based on a novel by Bram Stoker, and a new adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2006). Tony Todd also plays supporting roles in a few thrillers B series like Sunset Heat (1992) where he finds Dennis Hopper or Rock (1996) with Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage. In 2000, he completely changed register with The Secret, a romantic drama presented at the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, and where he played a seducer who makes a married woman succumb to his charms.
TriStar Pictures Candyman (1992)
The actor made some small appearances in several television series such as New York Police Blues, Star Trek: Voyager, Smallville, Charmed, CSI: Miami or Stargate SG-1. He is also in the credits of 24 Hours, where he plays two different roles: thus, he is quickly seen as a police inspector in an episode of season 3, before playing a military tyrant of a small African country in the TV movie 24: Redemption then in season 7 which is an extension. Later, he would also play in the series Chuck, Hawaii Five-0, Dead of Summer, Riverdale, Scream, and lend his iconic voice to the character of Zoom in numerous episodes of The Flash.
When it comes to sequel horror films, Tony Todd is not to be outdone since after a role in the first two parts of Final Destination, he played Reverend Zombie in Butcher – The Legend of Victor Crowley (2006) and its sequel (2010). The actor lends his deep, gravelly voice to the character of the Fallen in Transformers 2: Revenge in 2009, before reprising his enigmatic character of Mr. Bludworth in Final Destination 5 in 2011.
Warner Bros. Pictures Destination Finale 5 (2011)
A prolific artist who didn't seem ready to stop
With well over 200 credits to his credit, Tony Todd has never stopped working, often lending his talent and reputation to direct-to-video thrillers in recent years. He has made a series of films and series and lent his voice to numerous projects including recently, to the character of Venom in the PlayStation success, Spider-Man 2.
In 2021, he even made his comeback in his cult role with Candyman by Nia DaCosta, a direct sequel to the original 1992 film, co-written by DaCosta, Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld.
His profile on IMDb currently lists more than nine projects in post-production: the least we can say is that the iconic actor had not yet said his last word.
Tony Todd is survived by her two children, Alex and Ariana.
