An imposing 6’5”, Todd beat out Eddie Murphy to become the film’s titular focal point, luring blonde academic Virginia Madsen into examining the murkier corners of American race relations. Yet like many of the most memorable movie boogeymen, Todd cut a courtly, even romantic figure as one both sinning and sinned against: the leads took ballroom dancing classes together to strengthen their bond.
Such an unsettling role was not without its hardships, not least the bees that at points could be seen emerging from the Candyman’s mouth and chest cavity; demonstrating admirable foresight, Todd negotiated a $1,000 bonus for every bee sting incurred. Although young bees, generally considered unlikely to sting, were used on set, Todd eventually found himself stung some twenty-odd times. “I had a great lawyer,” he later chuckled. “A thousand dollars a pop.”
His performance earned him a nomination for Best Actor at horror magazine Fangoria’s Chainsaw Awards; the film also earned a Golden Chainsaw Award for Best Death. Todd duly reprised the role in the theatrically released sequel Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995), the straight-to-video Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999) and the recent reboot Candyman (2021).
For thirty years, Todd found the role opening doors that might otherwise have stayed firmly shut: “I’ve walked into redneck bars where there might have been a problem and somebody would say ‘Candyman!’” At conventions, he received an even warmer reception, though as he keenly pointed out, any resemblance between himself and his best-known role was purely incidental: “I’m actually a very well-adjusted man… I guess there are some dark shadows somewhere in there, but I’m a big kid.”
Anthony Tiran Todd was born in Washington on December 4, 1954, the only child of Evetta Lyons Gaither, though he was raised from the age of three by an aunt, Clara Elliston, who worked as a domestic: “My mother was going through some issues. So the family intervened… [Aunt Clara] would bring me to some of her places, and I would stay in the library while she cleaned the house. I loved books at an early age, so I was content.”
An enthusiastic Boy Scout (“it literally moulded me and set me in the direction of public speaking, which led to acting”), Todd attended Hartford Public High School and won scholarships to the University of Connecticut and the Eugene O’Neill National Theatre Institute. The stage seemed one likely destination: he trained at Providence’s Trinity Rep Conservatory, and later won raves in the title role of August Wilson’s play King Hedley II.
Yet Todd made his biggest impression in the movies. Debuting in indie fantasy Sleepwalk (1986), he essayed a soldier in Oliver Stone’s Platoon (1986) and a workman in 86 Charing Cross Road (1987) before landing the role of doomed hero Ben in a full-colour 1990 remake of George Romero’s black-and-white landmark Night of the Living Dead (1968), of which the actor was a lifelong fan: “I ran into the office – I found the production office – and I grabbed [director] Tom Savini by his lapels, literally, and said, ‘You got to read me. You got to read me.’”
Post-Candyman, he could be seen in such prominent multiplex horror as the Gothic-skewing The Crow (1994) and the Wes Craven-presented Wishmaster (1997); he recurred as the deathly William Bludworth in the joshing Final Destination films (2000-2011); and appeared in a slew of straight-to-DVD and direct-to-streaming titles that capitalised on his name and presence.
He worked until his death, reuniting with Candyman director Rose for a thoughtful latter-day Frankenstein (2015) and the pandemic-shot Traveling Light (2021); he won a BAFTA nomination earlier this year for his voicework as Venom in the Sony Interactive game Spider-Man 2 (2023), while William Bludworth is set to return in the forthcoming Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025 tbc).
Yet it was the seductive Candyman that haunted the popular imagination, as he recalled in 2010: “My first time in Chicago, we went to the Kingston Mines, me and Bernard [Rose], listening to some great blues. Keith Richards stopped by that night, and he was just saying, ‘This role is going to change your life.’ And at the time, I’m going ‘Okay, I’ve heard this before. I’ve done some things. I’ve had some life interruptions, but change my life?” […] But in fact, he was right, because not a day goes by without people, I mean multiple people, coming up and saying ‘Candyman!’”
He is survived by a wife, Fatima, and two children, Ariana and Alexander.
Tony Todd, born December 4, 1954, died November 6, 2024.
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