Where Poltergeist cast are now – grisly deaths, Beyonce link and chilling murder case

1982 film Poltergeist followed a family terrorised by violent ghosts that invade their home and abduct their daughter.

Steven Spielberg’s supernatural horror film, which was directed by Tobe Hooper, won high critical praise as it nominated for three Oscars.

It also spawned a Poltergeist franchise that so far has two sequels and a 2015 remake.

However, in real life, the cast was hit by horrific tragedies in their own right, ranging from tragic deaths to a chilling murder case.

In fact, two out of three of the flick’s former child stars died in horrific circumstances, which meant their promising careers were cut short.

On the anniversary of Poltergeist star Heather O’Rourke’s passing, Daily Star have taken a look at what happened to the cast of Poltergeist.

Heather O’Rourke

Child star Heather O’Rourke found her breakthrough role as Carol Ann Freeling in Poltergeist, and she went on to star in the next two films in the franchise.

She’d already established herself as a TV star too, because she appeared as Heather Pfister on the famous sitcom, Happy Days.

Tragically, though, the youngster’s career was cut short when she passed away at just twelve years old.

In 1987, Heather fell ill with giardiasis – a parasitic disease – which she caught from well water at her family’s home in Big Bear Lake, California.

She was later diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, and took cortisone injections to treat the condition during the filming of the third Poltergeist movie.

Heather’s mother said her daughter used to feel self-conscious about the facial swelling in her cheeks caused by the injections.

Nightmare struck on 1 February 1988, when she collapsed at home and was rushed to hospital – after experiencing flu-like symptoms the day before.

Heather suffered a cardiac arrest on the way there, but paramedics saved her, and she was flown to the Children’s Hospital of San Diego.

There, it was found that Heather had intestinal stenosis, severe narrowing of the blood vessels, and she entered emergency surgery before passing away from a second cardiac arrest.

Her death was ruled as congenital stenosis of the intestine – exacerbated by septic shock.

JoBeth Williams

JoBeth played protective mum Diane Freeling in the monstrous movie.

The critically-acclaimed actress gained an Oscar nod for her directorial duties in the 1994 On Hope, but she also reprised her Poltergeist roles in the sequels.

Williams has now got a mega-important showbiz role, because she sits as the President Emeritus of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.

The three-time Emmy Award nominee has starred in plenty of major projects, including the 1980 film Stir Crazy, the hit sitcom Frasier (1994), and TV shows Dexter (2007), and Private Practice (2009-2011).

She met her husband John Pasquin, a fellow film director, on the set of his film Jungle 2 Jungle.

They share two sons, Will and Nick, and JoBeth’s step-daughter is Sarah from John’s previous marriage.

Craig T. Nelson

Craig played dad Steve, who is a real estate developer in the flick.

The actor won a Primetime Emmy Award for his role as Hayden Fox in the ABC sitcom Coach.

He also played Deputy Ward Wilson in Stir Crazy, where he worked alongside his former Poltergeist co-star JoBeth.

His other notable roles include Chief Howard Hyde in Turner & Hooch (1989), and Peter Dellaplane in Action Jackson (1988), where he joined the likes of Sharon Stone.

However, many fans will know him best as muscly Mr Incredible in Disney Pixar’s iconic 2004 superhero film, The Incredibles – which he reprised in its 2018 sequel as a voiceover star.

His beloved wife Doria Cook-Nelson also has an acting background, because she is a former film and TV actress who worked on Mame – the 1974 movie musical.

Dominique Dunne

Dominique played Dana Freeling in the flick, and she shot to fame as a horror icon in the role.

However, the young star would fall victim to a horrific murder at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, John Thomas Sweeney, before the world could watch her career blossom.

On October 30 182, the 22-year-old actress was strangled by John on her driveway in West Hollywood, and she died five days later after falling into a coma.

Dunne had been rehearsing for her new miniseries role V with her pal David Packer (also cast in the series) at the house when the attack happened.

David phoned a friend and told him that if he were to be found dead, John had killed him.

When police arrived at the scene, he held his hands up in the air and admitted: “I killed my girlfriend, and I tried to kill myself.”

He later claimed the pair had argued, but he could not remember what happened afterwards and only remembered being on top of her with his hands around her neck.

Oliver Robins

Writer, director and actor Oliver played Robbie Freeling in the film, and he reprised his role in the 1986 sequel – Poltergeist II: The Other Side.

In 1982, he had also starred in the second Airplane film – Airplane II: The Sequel.

Following the deaths of Dominique and Heather, he became the only surviving child star from Poltergeist.

He turned his back on acting after 1986, but her later returned to showbiz as a writer and director.

Zelda Rubinstein

Zelda played the quirky medium Tangina Barrons in the Poltergeist films.

She also starred on two seasons of the Emmy-winning TV series Picket Fences.

One of her more unique roles came as the voice of Skittles sweets in their Taste the Rainbow ad campaign.

As well as being a famous actress though, she was a human rights activist known for her campaigns for little people and raising awareness for HIV/AIDS.

Sadly, Zelda passed away at the age of 76 on January 27, 2010 – following a mild heart attack she suffered from a few months prior.

Her agent, Eric Stevens, said: “She had several pre-existing conditions that she had been dealing with for years, and unfortunately they began to overtake her.”

Beatrice Straight

Broadway veteran Beatrice played Dr Martha Lesh, but she gained tons of acting acclaim on the stage and screen for other projects during her lifetime.

She won the historic Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role as Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible (1953).

She also won the an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1976 – for her work on the satire film Network.

She made history with the win as it is the shortest ever performance to win an Academy Award for acting – with her screen time coming in at just five minutes and two seconds.

Tragedy struck her family in 1952 when her 7-year-old son Willard, from her first marriage, drowned in a pond on their farm in New York – having been playing in a small rowing boat that was tied to the dock.

In April 2001, Straight passed away from pneumonia in Los Angeles at the age of 86 – following a reported battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Richard Lawson

Richard Lawson is arguably best known for his role as Ryan in Poltergeist.

That being said, he also played Dr. Ben Taylor in the NBC miniseries V – which Dominique has originally been cast in before she died.

As well as acting, Richard served 21 months in the Vietnam War for the US Army, becoming a medic and getting wounded in action.

Richard also has a major link to iconic singer Beyonce, because he began dating her mother Tina Knowles in 2013 – a fashion designer.

Richard and Tina had known each other for over 30 years, because she was best friends with his late sister.

Lawson said he had “always admired her from afar and up close too,”, and the pair tied the knot in April 2015.

Richard’s hectic life also included him surviving the USAir Flight 405 plane crash in March 1992 – where a plane crashed into the water shorly after taking off from LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York City.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk