The Horror Community lost a Titan on Friday. Tony Todd, The Candyman, passed away at age 69 from complications of a lingering illness. He may be the most iconic black horror actor in history. The gravelly-voiced performer boasted over 256 IMdB acting credits to his name, but he will be remembered mostly for his horror roles that he was in from 1986 up to this day. He was a unique actor who you would never mistake for anyone else.
Keep an eye out for The Activated Man and The Bunker. These two recent films brought him back to the top of the call sheet, and have strong IMDb ratings.
The tall (6′-5″) and imposing Todd was a thriving member of the horror community. He often joined his legendary peers in collaborations and was a regular on the film festival circuit. Todd was fortunate to be cast in the Oscar-winning Oliver Stone Vietnam epic Platoon as part of the titular platoon. (What a cast!)
Outside of the horror genre and live cinema, he lent his distinctive voice to the comic book world. You can hear his distinctive baritone as Venom (Spider-Man 2 Video Game), Zoom (The Flash), and Darkseid (Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, Reign of the Supermen, Lego DC).
The Scariest Things is grateful for all of his films, and are saddened by his passing.
Here is a review of Todd’s career within the horror genre.
Night of the Living Dead (1990): Ben
When George Romero decided to do an R-rated color remake of his landmark Night of the Living Dead (1968), Tony Todd was tasked to follow in Duane Jone’s groundbreaking shoes to play the iconic hero, Ben. Todd managed it with aplomb, keeping it steely cool, and ably becoming the leading man. Unlike Jones, whom Romero plucked out of obscurity, Todd had a portfolio of credits to his name by this point in his career. This, however, was the film that put Todd into the public consciousness. It helped that he cut the same tall, angular figure as his predecessor. Tony made the remake his own, and a horror legend was born.
Candyman (1992): Daniel Robitaille, The Candyman
This will be forever Tony Todd’s legacy. Candyman is carved into the slasher movie Mt. Rushmore, along with Jason, Freddy, and Michael. Unlike the others on the horror monument, Candyman is something of a sympathetic character. Cursed into being a force of vengeance, Daniel Robitaille was an innocent man murdered by a mob. There is something poetic about the Candyman. The Clive Barker-penned story is certainly more literate than its slasher peers. What begins as a Chicago slum urban legend morphs into a tragedy by its conclusion. Tony Todd’s charismatic performance elevated this role into legendary status. He exuded menace and dread without dropping into mustache-twirling bravado.
Fun fact: The sequence where Candyman spews bees from his mouth was all practical effects. He had a mouth guard liner to protect him from the bees, which also were of the newly hatched flightless non-stinging variety. Not all of the bees that they used were stinger-less, though, since once they can fly, they can sting. 200,000 honey bees were used in total. Todd was contracted $1000 for any bee stings he received during the filming of the infamous bee sequence. He got 23 stings. Totally worth it!
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh follows the Candyman myth from Chicago to New Orleans, in a sequel with a bigger body count, but a decided step down in story craft. The boogeyman and Bloody Mary aspect remain, but the lyrical feel of the original is largely absent. We do receive the dramatization of Candyman’s origin story. His lynching is a powerful moment, which makes this film relevant to the franchise. Otherwise, the plot is full of characters who are loosely connected to create a web of destruction and death by saying his name too many times.
Don’t even bother with the straight-to-video third film:Candyman: Day of the Dead. It’s not worth your time, even for Tony Todd completionists. Even Todd doesn’t think much of that film. (7% Rotten Tomatoes Score)
Fortunately, Artisan Entertainment pulled the brakes on this franchise after three films. (Not including the 2019 remake). The films were going down the Nightmare on Elm Street Path, with the possibility of the Candyman showing up in any town for anyone that would repeat the incantation. Diminishing box office convinced the producers that the series had run its course.
Wishmaster (1997): Johnny Valentine
Considering Candyman only had two franchise installments at the time of Wishmaster, it confirmed the power of Tony Todd’s performance that had him sharing the cameo parade with Freddie (Robert Englund) and Jason (Kane Hodder), in the fun, if fan-service heavy Wishmaster. Tony plays a doorman, Johnny Valentine. Johnny denies Andrew Divoff’s Djinn entry to a party, and makes the fateful mistake of wishing aloud for a way “…to escape from his routine life.” Be careful what you wish for, Tony! Also keep your eyes open for Joe Pilato (Day of the Dead), Reggie Bannister (Phantasm), George “Buck” Flower (They Live), and Ted Raimi (Evil Dead)
Final Destination (2000), Final Destination 2 (2003), and Final Destination 5 (2011): William Bludworth
Play your hunch, Alex, if you think you can get away with it. But, remember the risk of cheating the plan, of disrespecting the design… could infitiate a fury that would terrorize the the Grim Reaper, and you don’t even want to fuck with that MacDaddy.”
William Bludworth to Alex and Clear in Final Destination
By 2000, Tony stayed busy with supporting roles. In the Final Destination series, he embodied the throughline by being the only character to appear in more than two of the films. (Most of the characters in this series end up DEAD, of course.) William Bludworth was the cranky Oracle of death. As a coroner, he had seen more deaths than anyone alive in the town. Bludworth was the living exposition dump, in the guise of a glowering and gravelly-voiced harbinger of doom.
Many have speculated that he isn’t completely human. He knows too much about the Death List. Perhaps he is death itself, in human form, here to warn the living of their fates. Also, despite his knowledge and foresight, he does not help those he warns of the treacherous nature of messing with destiny. That’s cold. And, that’s why he’s a beloved character. He is cold truth personified.
Minotaur (2006): King Deucalion
Does anybody remember this movie? This straight-to-DVD issuance had Todd in a leading villain role again, and it had a young Tom Hardy in the lead role, along with genre icons Rutger Hauer and Ingrid Pitt (!) in minor roles. The wicked king ritually sacrifices youths in his labyrinth to the dread minotaur. Hardy plays Theo, who leads a group of his friends in a rescue attempt for his lost love that ends up with all of them trapped in the labyrinth.
Unfortunately, the minotaur does not impress. It is a mediocre CGI skeletal bull that sadly does not look like a minotaur. King Deucalion is a Disney Level villain, who exudes evil intent, and you can tell from his long black fingernails. Todd also wears a ridiculous high-fantasy evil-doer costume, and it doesn’t do him any favors. Skeletor called and wants his costume back.
This might be the low point in the Tony Todd credits. However, if you are a fan of cheesy creature features with a high body count, you might enjoy this. Might. YMMV.
Hatchet (2006), Hatchet II (2010): Reverend Zombie
Todd got another opportunity to team up with Kane Hodder, this time in a more significant role for both of them. In the first Hatchet film, Reverend Zombie was a mere cameo role for Todd. He plays a spooky bayou swamp guide recently shut down for negligence. He sends them to another guide who, as it turns out is clueless. Almost the entire tour group gets butchered by the legendary deformed killer, Victor Crowly.
Reverend Zombie has a much more prominent role in the sequel. In a misguided attempt to reverse the curse put upon Victor Crowley, the Reverend organizes a doomed expedition into the bayou. Though his intentions are solid, his methods are treacherous. Due to a single mistaken identity, he meets a grisly dismemberment from Crowley. These films are a fun return to the ’80s-style slasher film. The slapstick comedy that usually lands, and spectacularly over-the-top gore sequences thrilled splatter fare fans.
Horror Noire (2019): Himself
We’ve always loved horror. It’s just that horror hasn’t always loved us.”
Robin R. Means Coleman, Author Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror
If you haven’t seen Horror Noire, stop reading this, and go to Netflix and watch it. This is the history of Black Horror Cinema and features a roll call of the most important names in Black Horror including Jordan Peele, Keith David, Rusty Cundieff, Ken Foree, Rachel True, William Crain, and of course… Tony Todd. They pay homage to the groundbreaking William Marshall (Blacula) and Duane Jones (Night of the Living Dead). They discuss the “Black Guy Gets Killed First” trope, and all of the problematic cultural aspects of blacks in horror. The documentary discusses the improving representation within the community. You cannot discuss the impact of black horror, without discussing Candyman.
Candyman (2021): Daniel Robitaille
It’s a digitally enhanced de-aged Tony Todd that appears in Nia DaCosta’s reboot of Candyman. Yaya Abdul-Mateen II does an excellent job in the titular role this time out, but it was wonderfully poetic to see Daniel Robitaille back, and covered in bees, if even for just a moment. The remake made the original movie proud. It also had the added benefit of being delivered by a black writer (Jordan Peele) and a black director. In an environment that isn’t always kind to big-budget reboots of beloved originals, this movie was different enough and done with such craft that both films enhance each other.
Hellblazers (2022): Harry
Hellblazers is the last headlining performance from Tony. Though, truthfully, he’s fourth on the call sheet, but he does get the poster cover. Harry is a small-town local who helps battle a demon-summoning cult, armed with a big sledgehammer. He joins an ensemble cast with Ed Morrone, Crash Buist, Bruce Dern, Adrienne Barbeau, and Billy Zane that feels like a last hurrah for battle-scarred veteran horror actors. I’m glad he got a chance to go out with a bang with this one, even though the plot is rather meh. Go down fighting, Tony!
The Bunker (2024): Major Frank Lawrence
I had the opportunity to watch the Indie Sci-Fi/Horror flick The Bunker, which was screened as part of this year’s Popcorn Frights Film Festival. In this pandemic era alien invasion film, Todd’s Major Lawrence heads up a group trying to find a way to fend off an Alien Invasion. The difficulty is that all of the researchers are isolated in underground silos. So, victory over alien invaders must be achieved via ZOOM calls. This simple but effective film squeezed a lot of drama out of a situation we all can identify with: Fear and Isolation during hard times. The movie delivered plenty of thrills and tense moments and provided a nice CODA for Todd’s career.
Plus… an extra personal non-horror favorite:
Star Trek Deep Space 9: Kurn and Old Jake Sisko
I had to squeeze these into this post. Deep Space Nine, for me, is the pinnacle of Star Trek. Tony Todd makes for a fantastic brother to Worf, as Kurn. However it was his turn as an older version of Jake Cisco (usually portrayed by Cirocc Lofton, then a teenager) that created one of the best episodes of the whole series. “The Visitor” was a tear-jerker, in a classic Start Trek move, the story looked at an alternate future where Ben Sisko dies, and Jake struggles to cope without him.
Farewell to the Flesh, Tony Todd. Thank you for all you gave to the Horror community.