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IMDbPro

Angus Scrimm(1926-2016)

  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Angus Scrimm in Phantasm II (1988)
Trailer for Phantasm: Ravager
Play trailer1:44
Phantasm: Ravager (2016)
9 Videos
35 Photos
The evil screen villain Angus Scrimm, most famous as "The Tall Man" in Don Coscarelli's Phantasm (1979) and its sequels, grew up in Kansas City, but in his teens moved to California and studied drama at USC under William C. de Mille (brother of Cecil B. DeMille). His film debut came as another "Tall Man" he played Abraham Lincoln in an educational film made by Encyclopaedia Brittanica, which led him to a steady career in theater, television and film. His big-screen debut was in Jim, the World's Greatest (1975), directed by then 18-year-old Coscarelli. During this time he was using his birth name, Lawrence Rory Guy. He adopted the stage name Angus Scrimm three years later for his performance in Coscarelli's horror/sci-fi opus "Phantasm", which would mark Scrimm's permanent impression upon modern cinema. His role as the infamous Tall Man has earned him the praise of critics worldwide, as well as a large following of fans. His success in the "Phantasm" films has been parlayed into numerous other malevolent roles including the evil Dr. Sin Do in The Lost Empire (1984), Vlad the Vampire King in Subspecies (1991) and the nefarious Dr. Lyme opposite Nicolas Cage and Charlie Sheen in Deadfall (1993). Scrimm did intriguing double duty as the diabolical Seer and the angelic Systems Operator in Mindwarp (1991), co-starring Bruce Campbell. He did a shock cameo in the Italian film Fatal Frames (1996), opposite Stefania Stella and Donald Pleasence, and managed a gleeful parody of himself as the hulking henchman in Transylvania Twist (1989). Scrimm has not limited his career efforts to simply acting, however. As a journalist he has written and edited for "TV Guide", "Cinema Magazine", the now-defunct "Los Angeles Herald-Examiner" and other publications. He has also written liner notes for thousands of LPs and CDs, for just about every genre from classical music to jazz, from Frank Sinatra and The Beatles to Artur Rubinstein and Itzhak Perlman. He won a Grammy award for best album liner notes.
BornAugust 19, 1926
DiedJanuary 9, 2016(89)
BornAugust 19, 1926
DiedJanuary 9, 2016(89)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Awards

Photos35

A. Michael Baldwin and Angus Scrimm in Phantasm (1979)
Angus Scrimm in Phantasm II (1988)
Angus Scrimm in Phantasm II (1988)
Angus Scrimm in Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)
Paula Irvine and Angus Scrimm in Phantasm II (1988)
Ron Perlman, Eileen Colgan, Larry Fessenden, Joel Marsh Garland, James Godwin, Dominic Monaghan, Angus Scrimm, John Speredakos, Brenda Cooney, and Daniel Manche in I Sell the Dead (2008)
Angus Scrimm in I Sell the Dead (2008)
Angus Scrimm in Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)
James Le Gros, Paula Irvine, and Angus Scrimm in Phantasm II (1988)
James Le Gros, Paula Irvine, and Angus Scrimm in Phantasm II (1988)
A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, and Angus Scrimm in Phantasm: Ravager (2016)
James Le Gros, Paula Irvine, and Angus Scrimm in Phantasm II (1988)

Known for

Angus Scrimm in Phantasm (1979)
Phantasm
6.6
  • The Tall Man
  • 1979
Clancy Brown, Paul Giamatti, Glynn Turman, Rob Mayes, and Chase Williamson in John Dies at the End (2012)
John Dies at the End
6.3
  • Father Shellnut
  • 2012
Angus Scrimm in Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)
Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead
6.0
  • The Tall Man
  • 1994
James Le Gros, Paula Irvine, and Angus Scrimm in Phantasm II (1988)
Phantasm II
6.4
  • The Tall Man
  • 1988

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Dances with Werewolves (2017)
    Dances with Werewolves
  • A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, and Angus Scrimm in Phantasm: Ravager (2016)
    Phantasm: Ravager
  • Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story (2015)
    Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story
  • Disciples (2014)
    Disciples
  • The Trick Is the Treat
  • Clancy Brown, Paul Giamatti, Glynn Turman, Rob Mayes, and Chase Williamson in John Dies at the End (2012)
    John Dies at the End
  • Tanit Phoenix in Femme Fatales (2011)
    Femme Fatales
  • Satan Hates You (2010)
    Satan Hates You
  • Spaceman on Earth (2009)
    Spaceman on Earth
  • Ron Perlman, Eileen Colgan, Larry Fessenden, Joel Marsh Garland, James Godwin, Dominic Monaghan, Angus Scrimm, John Speredakos, Brenda Cooney, and Daniel Manche in I Sell the Dead (2008)
    I Sell the Dead
  • Michelle Belegrin in Red 71 (2008)
    Red 71
  • Christine Spencer in Automatons (2006)
    Automatons
  • Robert and Theresa
  • Satanic (2006)
    Satanic
  • Hollywood Horror (2005)
    Hollywood Horror

Videos10

Trailer
Trailer 1:13
Trailer
I Sell the Dead
Trailer 1:03
I Sell the Dead
Mindwarp
Trailer 1:40
Mindwarp
Mindwarp
Trailer 1:28
Mindwarp
Phantasm: Remastered
Trailer 1:53
Phantasm: Remastered
Phantasm: Ravager
Trailer 1:44
Phantasm: Ravager
Phantasm II
Trailer 1:23
Phantasm II
Phantasm
Trailer 1:44
Phantasm
Satanic
Trailer 1:00
Satanic
I SELL THE DEAD
Trailer 2:07
I SELL THE DEAD

Personal details

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    • August 19, 1926
    • Kansas City, Kansas, USA
    • January 9, 2016
    • Tarzana, California, USA(natural causes)
  • Other works
    TV commercial: The Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, as his "Tall Man" character from the "Phantasm" film series.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Interview
    • 3 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    In the mid-1990s, the British Encyclopedia of Horror printed a book with a little thumbnail sketch in which Angus was alluded to as a minor American horror icon. He subsequently wrote them a letter saying the following: "I'm so grateful to be listed at all, and I realize at my age I'm not apt to attain the record of a Boris Karloff or a Bela Lugosi, but if I manage before my end to make another two or three significant horror films do you think I might be up to a middling horror icon?". He never got a reply back.
  • Quotes
    I still want to do that drawing room comedy. If they ever revive that.
    • His character The Tall Man in the Phantasm movie series and in several parodies and commercials.

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