Angus Scrimm (born Lawrence Rory Guy; August 19, 1926 – January 9, 2016) was an American actor, author, and journalist, known for his portrayal of the
Tall Man in the 1979 horror film ''
Phantasm'' and
its sequels.
Early life
Scrimm was born in
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...
to Alfred David and Pearl Guy.
Scrimm graduated from the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
, where he majored in drama.
[
He was originally a journalist and wrote and edited for '']TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'', ''Cinema Magazine'', the ''Los Angeles Herald Examiner
The ''Los Angeles Herald Examiner'' was a major Los Angeles daily newspaper, published in the afternoon from Monday to Friday and in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays. It was part of the Hearst syndicate. It was formed when the afternoon ' ...
'' and many other publications. He also worked for Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
, writing liner notes
Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes.
Origin
Liner notes are desce ...
for many LPs and CDs for artists ranging from Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
to the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
, as well as Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist. and Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman ( he, יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world. Perlman has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that hav ...
. Scrimm won a Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
(credited as Rory Guy, as were his early film roles) for his liner notes to the 1974 album ''Korngold: The Classic Erich Wolfgang Korngold''.[
]
Career
Scrimm had several minor supporting roles in the early 1970s before being cast as the Tall Man, the chief villain in Don Coscarelli
Don Coscarelli Jr. (born February 17, 1954) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born to Italian settlers in Libya, he is best known for his work in horror films. His directing credits include the first four films in the ' ...
's independent horror film '' Phantasm'' (1979). Scrimm stood approximately .[ To appear even taller when playing the Tall Man, he wore suits that were several sizes too small and ]platform shoes
Platform shoes are shoes, boots, or sandals with an obvious thick sole, usually in the range of . Platform shoes may also be high heels, in which case the heel is raised significantly higher than the ball of the foot. Extreme heights, of bot ...
. His ''Phantasm'' role led to a steady acting career in theater and television. Scrimm had a recurring role as an SD-6
Alliance of Twelve
The Alliance of Twelve is a fictional international organized crime group in the television series ''Alias''. It is involved in the trade of intelligence and weapons as well as in blackmail. SD-6 is one of its subsidiary cell ...
agent on ''Alias
Alias may refer to:
* Pseudonym
* Pen name
* Nickname
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film
* ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006
* ''Alias the ...
''.[
]
Death
On January 9, 2016, Scrimm died of prostate cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
at the age of 89 in Tarzana, Los Angeles
Tarzana is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Tarzana is on the site of a former ranch owned by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is named after Burroughs' fictional jungle hero, Tarzan.
History ...
, California.
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
The Phantasm Archives
Unpublished Interview from 1992
Phantasm website
Totalscifionline.com
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scrimm, Angus
1926 births
2016 deaths
American male film actors
American male journalists
American male television actors
American male voice actors
Grammy Award winners
Writers from Kansas City, Kansas
Male actors from Kansas City, Kansas
Writers from California
Male actors from California
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
University of Southern California alumni
Deaths from prostate cancer
Deaths from cancer in California