Cinema has lost one of its coolest character actors, as this morning brings the said news that the great Sid Haig has passed away at the age of 80. Haig's wife Susan posted on his official Instagram page that he passed away on Saturday, September 21st.
As Rob Zombie has indicated in interviews for his new film 3 FROM HELL, in which Haig briefly returns as his HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES and THE DEVIL'S REJECTS character Captain Spaulding, Haig had been battling health issues for a while. Things took a turn for the worse earlier this month when he was hospitalized after a fall. For a while his condition seemed to be improving, but unfortunately he wasn't to recover.
Born Sidney Eddie Mosesian on July 14, 1939, Haig got into dancing and music as a child, and began acting while in high school. He earned his first screen credit on THE HOST, a short directed by UCLA student Jack Hill. Haig and Hill would go on to work together several more times, their collaborations resulting in some of Haig's most popular films: SPIDER BABY, THE BIG DOLL HOUSE, THE BIG BIRD CAGE, COFFY, and FOXY BROWN.
Haig worked steadily from 1960 through the early '90s, landing notable roles both on film – he turns up in George Lucas's THX 1138, the James Bond movie DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, and the Roger Corman production GALAXY OF TERROR, among many others – and on television, where he appeared on such classic shows as Batman, Star Trek, Gunsmoke, Get Smart, Mission: Impossible, Charlie's Angels, The Dukes of Hazzard, The A-Team, The Fall Guy, and MacGyver.
Tired of playing "the heavy", Haig retired from acting in 1992. He was lured back to the screen by Quentin Tarantino for an appearance in 1997's JACKIE BROWN, which reunited him with his frequent '70s co-star Pam Grier (in addition to THE BIG DOLL HOUSE, THE BIG BIRD CAGE, COFFY, and FOXY BROWN, Haig and Grier were also in BLACK MAMA WHITE MAMA together.) A couple years later, Haig agreed to play Captain Spaulding in Zombie's HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES – and that's when his career resurgence truly began.
In the sixteen years since the release of Zombie's first film, Haig has added more than 30 credits to his résumé, boosting his final total to over 145. Some of the movies he made in that period were KILL BILL: VOLUME 2, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 3D, HALLOWEEN, THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO, THE LORDS OF SALEM, HATCHET III, and BONE TOMAHAWK.
Haig still had a couple projects in the works when he passed away, so 3 FROM HELL may not be the last time we see a new Haig performance on screen. It's sad to know that we don't have a lot more of them to look forward to, but he did leave behind a ton of work for us to continue to enjoy.
Our sincere condolences go out to Haig's family, friends, and fans.