Tony Todd: Candyman and Final Destination actor dies aged 69

Tony Todd played the role of Candyman in four movies, spanning from 1992 to 2021.

Tony Todd, the actor famed for his roles in the Candyman horror series, has passed away at the age of 69.

Reports indicate that the American actor passed away at his residence in Los Angeles on Wednesday evening.

He played the lead role in the horror series, portraying the spooky figure known as Candyman, who has a hook for a hand and can be summoned by repeating his name five times in front of a mirror.

Todd portrayed the character of Candyman from the initial film released in 1992 and continued with subsequent films in 1995 and 1999. He returned to this iconic role in 2021 for a fourth installment that acts as a direct sequel to the original movie.

During his 40-year career, Todd appeared in numerous movies, stage shows, and TV dramas, taking on roles in popular franchises like Transformers and Final Destination.

In Candyman, the main character, Todd, is actually the spirit of Daniel Robitaille, an artist who was a black man lynched during the 19th century.

In the 1992 movie, Todd’s character is unintentionally brought into the real world by a graduate student in Chicago who is fascinated by the urban legend of the Candyman. This incident triggers a series of deadly occurrences.

In a 2019 interview with the Guardian, Todd reminisced about the iconic moment in the film where Candyman is surrounded by bees. He revealed that he was stung 23 times during that scene and supposedly received a $1,000 bonus for each sting.

He noted that anything truly valuable requires a certain level of struggle or discomfort.

In the same interview, he discussed his role as Candyman, saying, "I've appeared in 200 films, but this is the one that really resonates with people. It impacts individuals from every background. I've even used it as a conversation starter in gang intervention programs by asking questions like: What scares you? What traumatic experiences have you gone through?"

Honoring his memory, actress Virginia Madsen, known for her role as student Helen Lyle in Candyman, expressed that Todd "is now an angel, just as he was during his lifetime."

She referred to him as a "genuinely poetic individual" who possesses "profound understanding of the arts."

"I'll really miss him, and I hope he visits me from time to time," she said with a smile. "But I definitely won't be trying to call him using the mirror!"

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Todd embracing Virginia Madsen in a moment from the 1992 film, Candyman.

The sequel to the original film, titled "Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh," takes place three years later and features the return of Todd's memorable character in New Orleans, where he meets a descendant of his daughter.

The third movie, titled Candyman: Day of the Dead, came out in 1999, although it takes place in Los Angeles in the year 2020.

Todd and the cast from the 1992 movie returned to their roles in the 2021 film.

In 2020, Todd described that version as "brilliant" and acknowledged the film's director, Nia DaCosta, as someone who really appreciates body horror.

In her tribute, Madsen expressed gratitude for the "gift" that the film's co-writer, Jordan Peele, had provided to her and Todd, allowing them to "experience love together once more."

Prior to Candyman, Todd had one of his initial film roles in 1986, where he portrayed Sgt. Warren in the war drama Platoon.