Tony Todd stars in ‘Candyman’. Photo: TriStar Pictures.
Preview:
- Character actor Tony Todd has died aged 69.
- He’ll be best remembered for the ‘Candyman’ franchise but had a huge list of credits.
- The likes of ‘Candyman’ co-star Virginia Madsen paid tribute.
Being best known for one major role might seem limiting to some actors, but to the towering, gravelly-voiced Tony Todd, it held no such restrictions. And despite becoming famous in genre circles for the ‘Candyman’ movies, he enjoyed a healthy career on screens big and small, while also finding time for his first love of stage acting.
Todd died at his home of Marina Del Rey, California, on November 6th. He was 69.
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Early life and Career
Tony Todd stars in ‘Hell Fest’. Photo: Lionsgate.
Born December 4th, 1954, in Washington, D.C., Todd studied at the University of Connecticut for two years before shifting to the Eugene O’Neill National Theatre Institute.
Trained for the stage, Todd would practice playwriting himself and teach it to high school students in Hartford. He would go on to originate the title role of August Wilson’s ‘King Hedley II’ with productions in Pittsburgh, Seattle and Boston.
Even with his busy screen career, he kept his hand in on the stage, aiming to appear in a play a year.
As he told fandom magazine Whoosh!:
“It’s honest work. It’s more direct, more interactive. It’s just real. You have a six-week rehearsal period as opposed to television where you basically have to rehearse on your own. In TV you just show up and do it. In theatre you learn to put more time into the material before you show up on the set.”
Stone’s theatre career also helped him secure film work –– Oliver Stone cast the actor in 1986’s ‘Platoon’ because he was looking for fresh faces.
‘Candyman’ Legacy
Tony Todd stars in ‘Candyman’. Photo: TriStar Pictures.
Perhaps Todd’s most enduring legacy is that of the iconic, vengeful spirit of the ‘Candyman’ movies, beginning with the 1992 original.
Candyman in the movie was the ghost of Daniel Robitaille, whose parents were enslaved in the 1800s and became an accomplished painter. But eventually he fell for a white woman whose enraged father sent a lynch mob to kill him.
Robitaille was burned on a spot where a public housing project later is built and where a series of unexplained murders occurs.
He becomes something of an urban legend –– and then all too real when summoned by saying his name three times in a mirror.
Todd would reprise the role in the three direct sequels, and for the 2021 sequel/remake.
The eminently personable actor recalled to Dread Central about fans’ reactions to him:
“I’ve gotten that a few times, where one partner of the couple will come up to me and they’ll say, ‘Oh, my wife or my husband is terrified of you!’ And the other partner will just be standing there. So I’ll say, ‘Well, it’s a character. Here I am.’ I think I’m one of the most approachable people that I know, speaking as a true sociopath. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Approach me.”
Other Movies and TV Roles
Tony Todd stars in ‘Hell Fest’. Photo: Lionsgate.
On the small screen, Todd was probably best known for playing Kurn, the brother of Michael Dorn’s Worf on ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation.’ The character would return several times on ‘Next Generation,’ and on ‘Deep Space Nine,’ where Todd also memorably played the grown Jake Sisko in a particularly effective episode.
Elsewhere in the ‘Trek’ universe, he also nabbed a role in ‘Voyager’.
Among Todd’s credits, totaling well above 100, the actor had a recurring role on shows including ‘Boston Public,’ one on ‘Chuck’ and made guest appearances on ‘Law & Order,’ ‘Homicide: Life on the Street,’ ‘The X-Files,’ ‘Smallville,’ ‘Psych’ and ‘24.’
On the big screen, he starred in the 1990 remake of ‘Night of the Living Dead’ and was one of the few actors to recur in the ‘Final Destination’ franchise, which would often kill off all its new characters by the end of each of its entries. Other credits included ‘The Rock,’ ‘The Crow,’ ‘Wishmaster,’
His recognizable voice can be heard across various projects, including playing The Fallen in ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,’ Zoom in The CW’s ‘The Flash’ and, most recently, Venom in Insomniac’s PlayStation smash “Spider-Man 2.”
Tributes
Tony Todd stars in ‘Candyman’. Photo: TriStar Pictures.
Todd’s manager Jeffrey Goldberg, who represented the actor for more than 40 years, confirmed his passing and was among the first to pay tribute:
According to him, Todd was:
“An amazing man and I will miss him every single day.”
Virginia Madsen, who appeared alongside the actor in the first ‘Candyman,’ took to Instagram to share her own thoughts.
Todd is survived by his children, Alex and Ariana.
Tony Todd stars in ‘Hell Fest’. Photo: Lionsgate.
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