Credit: Propaganda Films

‘Candyman’ actor, Tony Todd, has died aged 69

Sat 9 November 2024 9:56, UK

Tony Todd, best known for his role as the titular hook-handed ghost in the Candyman series, passed away on November 6th at his home in Marina Del Ray, California.

A representative for the actor confirmed the news to Deadline but stopped short of revealing a cause of death. He was 69 years old.

Known for his imposing imposing presence and deep voice, Todd made the role of Daniel Robitaille, aka the Candyman, iconic in the horror realm. Debuting in the original 1992 film based on Clive Barker’s short story “The Forbidden”, Todd went on to play the character three more times across two direct sequels and a 2021 reboot.

Virginia Madsen, his co-star in the first film, wrote an emotional tribute to Todd on her Instagram page. She posted, “My beloved. May you rest in power. The great actor Tony Todd has left us and now is an angel. As he was in life. More later, but I can’t right now. I love you.”

Todd was born in Washington, DC, on December 4th, 1954. He attended the University of Connecticut for two years before transferring to the Eugene O’Neill National Theatre Institute. His training in stage acting prepared him for a career in theatre and on screen, but he was also an acclaimed playwright who taught the craft to high schoolers in Hartford.

On stage, he was the first actor to play King Hedley II in August Wilson’s famous play, which he performed in Pittsburgh, Boston, and Seattle. Variety noted his performance “was a memorable tour-de-force.”

Across his extensive career, Todd appeared in several beloved films, including Oliver Stone’s Platoon, Clint Eastwood’s Bird, Michael Bay’s The Rock, and the Final Destination franchise. He was something of a geek God, too, appearing in films like The Crow and TV shows such as Star Trek: The Next Generation, The X-Files, Smallville, and Stargate SG-1.

Todd’s magnetic, booming voice lent gravitas to countless animated and video game projects over the years. He voiced “The Fallen” in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, the villainous Zoom in The Flash, Darkseid in the DC Animated Movie Universe, Scare Glow in Masters of the Universe: Revelation, and Venom in the Spider-Man 2 game. In addition, he provided a motion capture performance for Admiral Tommy Briggs in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

The star will have two posthumous releases in 2025, with the first being his return to the character of William Bludworth in Final Destination: Bloodlines, and the second a voice role in the Indiana Jones and the Great Circle video game.

Todd is survived by his children, Alex and Ariana.