Actor Tony Todd, known for horror films, dies at 69
Prolific actor with more than 200 film and TV credits, including Final Destination, The Rock, The Crow and Platoon, died at home after a long illness
Tony Todd, the iconic actor known for his chilling role as the hook-handed killer in Candyman and memorable parts in Final Destination, The Rock, and Platoon, has passed away at 69. Todd died peacefully at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday after a prolonged illness, confirmed by his wife, Fatima, to the Hollywood Reporter on Friday.
Born in Washington D.C. in 1954, Todd had an expansive career spanning 40 years with hundreds of film and television credits. One of his earliest standout roles was as the heroin-addicted Sergeant Warren in Oliver Stone’s Oscar-winning war film Platoon. He also shared the screen with Nicolas Cage in 1996’s The Rock, portrayed funeral home director William Bludworth in the Final Destination series, and played Grange in 1994’s The Crow with Brandon Lee.
On television, Todd appeared in numerous popular series, including 24, Homicide: Life on the Street, The X-Files, 21 Jump Street, Night Court, MacGyver, Matlock, Law & Order, Beverly Hills 90210, Xena: Warrior Princess, and Murder, She Wrote. He also held multiple roles in the Star Trek franchise, most notably as Kurn, the Klingon brother of Worf, in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.
Todd was a celebrated voice actor as well, contributing to the Call of Duty and Half-Life games and voicing Venom in Spider-Man 2 and the villain in Transformers: Rise of the Fallen.
In 1992, Todd’s portrayal of Candyman—summoned by repeating his name five times before a mirror—cemented his place in horror history. The film explored themes of racism and social injustice; Todd’s character, Daniel Robitaille, was a Black artist brutally lynched by a white mob on the grounds of a future public housing project, which he then haunts.
Todd reprised his role in the 2021 reboot of Candyman produced by Jordan Peele. Reflecting on the original, he revealed in a 2019 interview with The Guardian that he received $1,000 for each bee sting endured during one of the film’s famous scenes, getting stung 23 times in total. “Everything that’s worth making has to involve some sort of pain,” he remarked.
Todd used his fame to support social causes, working in gang outreach and leading acting workshops for underprivileged youth. Of his most famous role, he once shared, “I’ve done 200 movies, but Candyman is the one that stays with people. It resonates across all races. I’ve even used it in gang-intervention work, asking, ‘What frightens you? What horrible things have you experienced?’”
New Line Cinema, producer of the Final Destination series, honored him with a heartfelt post on Instagram, saying, “The industry has lost a legend. We have lost a cherished friend. Rest in peace, Tony. – Your Final Destination Family.” Story By theguardian
