Reggie Bannister Dies: ‘Phantasm’ Actor Was 80 — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Reggie Bannister died Sunday, August 9, at his home in Crestline, California, his wife Gigi Bannister told TMZ; he was 80.
- Bannister was exposed to Agent Orange during U.S. military service in the Vietnam War and had been battling Lewy body dementia and Parkinson's disease.
- Bannister originated the character Reggie in Don Coscarelli's 1979 supernatural horror film Phantasm and reprised the role in four sequels: Phantasm II (1988), Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1993), Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998), and Phantasm: Ravager (2016).
- The original Phantasm also starred A. Michael Baldwin as teenager Mike and Bill Thornbury as his older brother Jody, investigating sinister events at a local funeral home.
- Bannister's other credits span decades of cult and genre cinema, including Bubba Ho-Tep (2002), Wishmaster (1997), The Demolitionist (1995), and Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990).
Why it matters: Bannister's death closes the chapter on a 37-year, five-film horror franchise that outlived most of its peers; for the cult audience that grew up with it, he was the human anchor. His Agent Orange-related illnesses also spotlight the continuing health toll borne by aging Vietnam veterans decades after their service.
Ask SkimNews
