Reggie Bannister, actor best known for starring in the Phantasma film series, has died. He was 80.
The actor died on Sunday, August 9, in his home in Crestline, his wife, Gigi Bannister told TMZ.
According to Bannister’s wife, the actor had been exposed to Agent Orange while serving in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. Agent Orange is a powerful chemical that kills weeds and acts as a defoliant, which the military used during the war in Vietnam to clear dense jungle and destroy food crops.
Bannister also battled with Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
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In 1979, Bannister would star in the supernatural horror film directed and written by Don Coscarelli. The film starred A. Michael Baldwin as Mike, a teenager in a small town, as he investigates strange things going on at a local funeral home alongside his older brother Jody (Bill Thornbury) and family friend Reggie (Bannister).
The film was followed by four sequels, in which Bannister would reprise his role as Reggie starting with 1988’s Phantasm II, 1993’s Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead, 1998’s Phantasm IV: Oblivion, and 2016’s Phantasm: Ravager.
Bannister’s other credits include Silent Night, Deadline Night 4: Initiation (1990), The Demolitionist (1995), Wishmaster (1997), Bubba Ho-Tep (2002), Cemetery Gates (2004), The Mangler Rebor (2005), Last Rites (2006), The Rage (2007), The Quiet Ones (2008), Carnies (2009), Sawblade (2010), Not Another B Movie (2011), The Ghastly Love of Johnny X (2012), Bloody Bloody Biuble Camp (2012), The Obsidian Curse (2016), and Bonejangles (2017).