As if this week couldn't get any worse, now there's news that iconic Horror legend Tony Todd has made the transition at the age of 69 from Cancer.
While known for his appearances in 1996's The Rock, Night of the Living Dead , it was 1992's Candyman that jumpstarted his career to prominence. Based on a short story " The Forbidden" from Horror author Clive Barker, Candyman is a supernatural slasher with sociopolitical allegories. Todd plays as the titular ghost of a black-American artist who was murdered in the late 19th century for having a intimate relationship with the daughter of a wealthy white man and now has come back to reunite with Helen who happens to be his lovers descendant while slaughtering those who would repeat his name five times.
Todd was also known for his signature baritone voice which was recently used in Sony's Spider-Man 2 where he portrayed the symbiotic Antihero Venom. Prior to that, he did voiceover work in Activision's Black Ops 2 which was rated one of the best titles from the Call of Duty series. He also voiced Darksied in DC's Animated feature Apokolips War.
Prior to Candyman, Todd was the headliner of Tom Savini’s 1990 Night of the Living Dead remake as Ben one of the remaining survivors of a Zombie Apocalypse which was considered one of the best horror remakes.
Todd usually brought out the best in films he appeared in whether its major hits like the Rock or low budgeted action films such as Sabotage where he stars opposite Marc Decoscos.
Among his long list of television and film appearances, Tony Todd once again found his niche in horror as the mysterious Mr. Bludworth courtesy of the final destination series of films back during the early aughts.
"So, kill the crow... and destroy the man."
While Todd had a small role as Top Dollar's Henchman Grange in Alex Proyas The Crow featuring Brandon Lee, his enigmatic persona stood out among the other cast in the 1994 cult classic.
Whether it’s Candyman or Rocket man, Tony Todd's performance always stuck to landing. Gone way too goddamn soon. Rest in Power, Brother T.
As a segue I highly recommend watching documentaries Horror Noire and the upcoming In Search of Darkness 1990-1994for more coverage of Mr. Todd's contributions to Horror Cinema!
