American actor Tony Todd, known for leading the “Candyman” horror franchise as the eponymous hook-wielding ghost, died on November 6 at his home in Marina Del Rey, California. He was 69 years old.

Todd’s death was confirmed by the actor’s representative. The cause of death was not disclosed.

A reliable presence in the genre for four decades, Todd’s credits include such iconic productions as Alex Proyas’ comic book adaptation “The Crow,” Michael Bay’s Alcatraz action movie “The Rock” and the elaborate death settee drama “Final Destination.” . .”

One of his first film performances came in his early thirties, in Oliver Stone’s Oscar-winning war epic “Platoon.” Todd donned alien makeup to portray Kurn, Commander of the Klingon Defense Force and brother of Worf (played by series regular Michael Dorn), on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

But Todd secured his name in the genre pantheon with his performance in Bernard Rose’s early 1990s “Candyman,” an Americanized take on Clive Barker that put a haunting supernatural spin on themes of gentrification and racism.

Todd played Daniel Robitaille, also known as Candyman, a 5-foot-11, ghost of an African-American artist and the son of a slave murdered for his affair with a white woman. The film starred Virginia Madsen as a Chicago graduate student who researches the interior of Chicago and prepares a thesis on the Candyman legend.

“My love. May you be in good strength,” Madsen He wrote in a post on Instagram. “The great actor Tony Todd has passed away and is now an angel. Just like in life. Later but I can’t right now. I love you.”

“Candyman” positioned itself as a somewhat polished genre play and made its debut in the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto International Film Festival.

Its treatment of serious themes did not go unchallenged at the time, and there were accusations of trafficking in some racist stereotypes, but the film has survived in critical and genre circles for its unblinking approach to serious issues, tying America’s history of racism to suffering. contemporary urban life

A sympathetic killer, Todd reprized his Candyman role several times. He returned with the 1995 sequel “Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh” (the feature film debut of Oscar nominee Bill Condon) and Turi Meyer’s “Candyman: Day of the Dead” in 1999.

After decades of development, the property was revived at Universal in 2021 by director Nia DaCosta as simply “Candyman.” It was a direct sequel to the 1992 original and was co-written by DaCosta, Jordan Peele, and Win Rosenfeld. Todd reprized his role in the new film, which stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as an artist caught up in the Candyman legend. (Universal Pictures is owned by NBC Universal, the parent company of NBC News.)

Born in Washington, D.C., on December 4, 1954, Todd studied at the University of Connecticut for two years before transferring to the Eugene O’Neill National Theater Institute.

Training for the stage, Todd would practice playwriting himself and teach it to high school students in Hartford. He would star in August Wilson’s “King Hedley II,” with productions in Pittsburgh, Seattle and Boston. Variety’s performance was “an unforgettable tour de force” he wrote in a review at the time.

Among Todd’s film and television credits, which have totaled over 100 points, the actor had a recurring role on “Boston Public” and guest stars on “Law & Order,” “Homicide: Life on the Street,” “The X-Files.” He took part as an actor. “Smallville,” “Psych” and “24.” He also frequently did voice-overs; He played The Fallen in “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” Zoom in The CW’s “The Flash,” and most recently Venom in Insomniac’s PlayStation game “Spider-Man 2.”

He starred in the 1990 remake of “Night of the Living Dead” and was one of the few recurring actors in the “Final Destination” series, often killing off all new characters at the end of each entry.

Todd never stopped working; in recent years he has transferred his gravitas and genre cred to direct-to-video thrillers. His profile on IMDb lists more than nine films currently in post-production.

Todd is survived by his two children, Alex and Ariana.