Candyman actor Tony Todd died on Wednesday at age 69. Todd died in his Los Angeles home, but the cause of death hasn’t been revealed, Deadline reported.
The award-winning actor, who was born in Washington D.C. on December 4, 1954, earned more than 240 film and TV credits during his career.
His acting career started when he attended the Eugene O’Neill National Actors Theatre Institute and Trinity Rep Conservatory. Todd later earned one of his first roles when he played as Sergeant Warren in Platoon, a Vietnam War classic.
He then starred on numerous hit classics throughout the 80s and 90s. Some of his early appearances included 21 Jump Street, Matlock, Jake and the Fatman, Law & Order, The X-Files, NYPD Blue, Beverly Hills 90210, Xena: Warrior Princess, Murder, She Wrote and Star Trek: The Next Generation. More recently, Todd starred on The Young and the Restless in 2023.
Todd’s big screen appearances in the 1980s included Lean on Me, Colors and the Charlie Parker biopic, Bird. In 1990, he played as Ben in the Night of the Living Dead remake. Todd also starred in Candyman in 1992 and appeared in the film’s sequel in 2021.
The D.C. native is particularly remembered for his role in horror films. That includes his performance in the Final Destination franchise, where he played as funeral home owner William Bludworth. Speaking with Deadline in 2022, Todd said he has a particular goal for every role he plays.
“You gotta have audience sympathy for the character in some way or another,” he told Deadline. “There’s gotta be something attractive about the character that makes people want to root for them but at the same time feel repulsed by the idea. And for me personally, for every film that I do, I create a backstory for all my tortured people and my heroes alike.”
In 2024, Todd starred in Scream, another horror movie which tells the story of a family vacation gone wrong, per Fuzz on the Lens.
Virginia Madsen reacts to Tony Todd’s death
Virginia Madsen, Todd’s co-star in Candyman, expressed her condolences on Instagram after the actor’s death, per WQLN.
“My beloved. May you rest in power sweet to the sweet in heaven,” Madsen wrote. “The great actor Tony Todd has left us and now is an angel. As he was in life.”
The post Tony Todd, Actor Known For ‘Candyman’ And More, Dies At 69 appeared first on Blavity.
