Tony Todd
Todd's major foray into horror began in 1992 when he was cast as the murderous Candyman, a role he reprised in two sequels, and he soon became a familiar presence in genre films such as "Wishmaster" and the remake of "Night of the Living Dead" along with TV series including "The X-Files," "Hercules," "Xena: Warrior Princess," "Babylon 5," "Angel," "Andromeda" and "Smallville." But he also landed several straightforward, non-genre parts, including the title role as Black Fox in a series of 1995 CBS TV Westerns in which he co-starred with Christopher Reeve, and "The Truman Show." Todd bolstered his Hollywood career with acclaimed turns on the stage, including originating the lead role in Athol Fugard's 1998 play "The Captain's Tiger," for which Todd was nominated for a Helen Hayes award, and in August Wilson's 1999 play "King Hedley II." Todd added a second horror film fixture to his resume when he was cast as the bizarre mortician Bill Bludworth in "Final Destination" (2000), a role he reprised in the 2003 sequel, and he found yet another popular recurring role on television when he was cast as Lester Lipschultz, the illegitimate son of venerable teacher Harvey Lipschultz (Fyvush Finkel), on David E. Kelley's Fox TV drama "Boston Public." Tony Todd died on November 6, 2024 in Marina del Rey, CA at the age of 69.