Angus Scrimm (born Lawrence Rory Guy; August 19, 1926 – January 9, 2016) was an American actor, author, and journalist, known for his portrayal of the Tall Man in the 1979 horror film Phantasm and its sequels.
Early life Scrimm was born in Kansas City, Kansas, to Alfred David and Pearl Guy. Scrimm graduated from the University of Southern California, where he majored in drama.
He was originally a journalist and wrote and edited for TV Guide, Cinema Magazine, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and many other publications. He also worked for Capitol Records, writing liner notes for many LPs and CDs for artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to the Beatles, as well as Arthur Rubinstein and Itzhak Perlman. Scrimm won a Grammy (credited as Rory Guy, as were his early film roles) for his liner notes to the 1974 album Korngold: The Classic Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
Career Scrimm had several minor supporting roles in the early 1970s before being cast as the Tall Man, the chief villain in Don Coscarelli's independent horror film Phantasm (1979). Scrimm stood approximately . To appear even taller when playing the Tall Man, he wore suits that were several sizes too small and platform shoes. His Phantasm role led to a steady acting career in horror films, as well as theater and television. Scrimm had a recurring role as an SD-6 agent on Alias.
Death On January 9, 2016, Scrimm died at the age of 89 from prostate cancer in Tarzana, Los Angeles, California.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1973 The Severed Arm Mailman Uncredited 1973 Sweet Kill Henry As Rory Guy 1973 Scream Bloody Murder Doctor Epstein As Rory Guy 1976 Jim the World's Greatest Jim's Father As Rory Guy 1977 A Piece of the Action Monk As Lawrence Guy 1979 Phantasm The Tall Man As Angus Scrimm 1980 Witches' Brew Carl Groton 1980 Nightkill Scenes deleted 1984 The Lost Empire Dr. Sin Do/Lee Chuck 1986 Chopping Mall Dr. Carrington As Lawrence Guy1988 Phantasm II The Tall Man 1989 Transylvania Twist Stefan/The Tall Man 1990 Subspecies King Vladislas 1992 Mindwarp The Seer 1993 Deadfall Dr. Lyme 1994 Munchie Strikes Back Kronas 1994 Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead The Tall Man 1997 Wishmaster Narrator 1998 Phantasm IV: Oblivion The Tall Man 2004 The Off Season Ted 2005 Masters of Horror: Incident On and Off a Mountain Road Buddy 2006 Automatons The Scientist 2006 Satanic Dr. Barbary 2008 I Sell The Dead Doctor Quint 2009 Hollywood Horror 2009 Satan Hates You Dr. Michael Gabriel 2012 John Dies at the End Father Shellnut 2014 Disciples Winston 2015 Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story Percy 2015Tales From Beyond The Pale Podcast: The Tribunal of MinosTheodore DadeVoice Actor 2016 Phantasm: Ravager The Tall Man Released posthumously 2017 Dances with Werewolves Neumann Released posthumously
References
External links
The Phantasm Archives Unpublished Interview from 1992 Phantasm website PHANTASMAGORIA Totalscifionline.com