Candyman star Tony Todd dies aged 69 as co-star shares emotional tribute

Tony Todd, the actor best known for his role as the titular killer in the classic horror film Candyman, has died at the age of 69. His wife, Fatima, confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter that he died at their Los Angeles home on Wednesday (November 6) following a long illness.

In addition to his iconic role in the 1992 supernatural horror Candyman, Todd also starred alongside Nicolas Cage in 1996's The Rock and played funeral home owner William Bludworth in the Final Destination franchise. On the small screen, Todd made appearances in numerous popular series such as 24, The X-Files, 21 Jump Street, Law and Order, Beverly Hills 90210, Xena: Warrior Princess and Murder, She Wrote.

Star Trek fans will recognise him from multiple roles including the Klingon Kurn, brother of Worf, in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. Despite his extensive filmography, Todd acknowledged that it was his role as the hook-handed killer in Candyman that resonated most with audiences.

"I've done 200 movies, this is the one that stays in people's minds. It affects people of all race," he said. "I've used it as an introductory tool in gang-intervention work: what frightens you? What horrible things have you experienced? ".

The character of Daniel Robitaille, played by Todd, was lynched by a white mob in the location where a public housing project is later built, which he haunts. In an interview with The Guardian in 2019, Todd revealed that he received an extra $1,000 each time he was stung by a bee during one of the film's most iconic scenes.

"And I got stung 23 times. Everything that's worth making has to involve some sort of pain," he reminisced. The character first appeared in Clive Barker's 1985 short story "The Forbidden".

In the film series, he is portrayed as an African-American man who was brutally murdered for a forbidden 19th-century interracial love affair and returns as an urban legend seeking revenge. After the massive success of the first film, Todd reprised his leading role in Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995), and Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999), reports the Mirror.

He returned to the role in 2021's Candyman, a sequel to the original 1992 film. Following the announcement of Todd's death today, his Candyman co-star Virginia Madsen posted an emotional video on Instagram, admitting: "I don't know what to say right now."

In her caption, she wrote: "My beloved. May you rest in power sweet to the sweet in heaven. The great actor Tony Todd has left us and now is an angel. As he was in life. More later but I can't right now. I love you. #candyman."

In a recent video, Madsen expressed her shock at the news, stating: "Hey you guys, I just, just, just found out about Tony, and I will - I don't know what to say right now. But yeah, I know about it. I will say more about my beloved Candyman. Anyway, thanks for your kind wishes."

In the iconic film, Madsen portrayed the character of Helen Lyle, a sceptical graduate student who finds herself pursued by the eponymous hook-wielding spectre (played by Todd) while she investigates urban myths in a Chicago housing project. Todd's representative confirmed earlier that he passed away "peacefully" at his Los Angeles residence on Wednesday, but did not disclose the cause of death.