Sid Haig, a character actor whose credits extend from 1970s blaxploitation films to cult horror classics such as “House of 1000 Corpses,” died Saturday. He was 80.
Haig’s wife, Susan L. Oberg, announced his passing via Instagram: “He was my angel, my husband, my best friend and always will be. He adored his family, his friends and his fans.”
Haig appeared in more than 50 films, from George Lucas’ “THX 1138” to the 1971 James Bond film “Diamonds Are Forever” to Quentin Tarantino’s 1997 crime film “Jackie Brown,” playing a judge in a role written specifically for him.
But he’s best remembered for his work in low-budget films, particularly horror films like director Rob Zombie’s trilogy “House of 1000 Corpses,” “The Devil’s Rejects” and “3 From Hell.” In the series, he played Captain Spaulding, the clown-makeup-wearing patriarch of the murderous Firefly family and the proprietor of a Museum of Monsters and Mayhem.
Born Sidney Eddy Mosesian, the son of an electrician, the Fresno, California, native first broke out in entertainment as a drummer, recording the No. 4 hit single “Full House” with the T-Birds in 1958.
After appearing in Jack Hill’s UCLA student film “The Host,” he acted in many of Hill’s blaxploitation films in the late 1960s and early ’70s, including 1968’s “Spider Baby,” 1973’s “Coffy” and 1974’s “Foxy Brown.”
Other big screen credits include John Boorman’s 1967 “Point Blank,” Eddie Romero’s 1973 film “Beyond Atlantis,” 1992’s “Boris and Natasha: The Movie” and 2015’s “Bone Tomahawk.”
Over the years, he also made multiple appearances on TV in series such as “Gunsmoke,” “Get Smart,” “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” “Charlie’s Angels” and “The A-Team.”