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Originally, as Tobe Hooper, Steven Spielberg and the screenwriters were plotting out the screenplay, Carol Ann was going to be killed in the 1st act and then haunt the house in the second. They eventually decided this was too dark, and opted to have her kidnapped by the ghosts. In fact, eventually, so many of the dark elements were removed because Spielberg wanted a PG rating so that the film could run as a double feature in theaters with the concurrently released E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982); so much so that there was only 1 death (Tweety the bird) in the final movie, and only a couple of injuries.
On October 30, 1982, Dominique Dunne's ex-boyfriend strangled her unconscious in the driveway of her West Hollywood home. She died on November 4, having never regained consciousness, at the age of 22. Heather O'Rourke died of intestinal stenosis on February 1, 1988, at the age of 12. Both are are buried at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles.
(at around 43 mins) When Steve tells the parapsychologists his family members' ages, he says that Dana, his oldest daughter, is 16 and that his wife, Diane, is 32. Many viewers interpret this to mean that Diane was only 16 when she gave birth to Dana. However, the novelization of the film clarifies that Diane is Steve's second wife and that Dana is actually Diane's stepdaughter. In the movie, when telling the parapsychologists about his family, Steve specifically says, "My daughter, Dana, ..." and not "Our daughter, Dana."
Both of the terrors that plague Robbie came from Steven Spielberg's own fears as a child: a fear of clowns and a tree outside his window.
James Karen at the time was also the commercial spokesman for Pathmark supermarkets. He received hate mail from people saying they would never shop there again because of his character's treatment of the Freelings.