Sid Haig: 1939 - 2019

Actor Sid Haig has passed away at the age of 80. 

An actor, film producer, and musician…Sid Haig was born Sidney Eddie Mosesian in 1939 in Fresno, California. His career began as a young man, when his rapid growth interfered with his motor-coordination, which prompted him to take dancing lessons. At the age of seven he was a paid dancer at a children’s Christmas show and later in a vaudeville revival. He developed a talent for the drums, which he mastered in styles of swing, country, jazz, blues, and rock. 

He acted in high school and was encouraged to pursue it as a career. He enrolled in the Pasadena Playhouse; the school that had produced famed actors Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman. After moving to Hollywood, his first acting job was in future exploitation director Jack Hill’s student film THE HOST. Haig would then become a regular player for producer and director Roger Corman, and would appear in George Lucas’ THX-1138 (1971), and the James Bond flick DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971). He would also have an impressive list of television credits such as BATMAN, GUNSMOKE, GET SMART, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25^THCENTURY, CHARLIE’S ANGELS, THE DUKES OF HAZZARD, MACGYVER, and THE A-TEAM. He would take on the role of the central villain in TV’s JASON OF STAR COMMAND, and the role of the bad guy in many exploitation films of the 1970’s. 

He retired in 1992, but was soon talked into a comeback by Quentin Tarantino, who wanted him for the role of Marsellus Wallace in PULP FICTION (1994). Haig passed on the project, but then in 1997 Tarantino wrote the part of a judge in his JACKIE BROWN (1997), specifically for Haig. He would also appear in Tarantino’s KILL BILL VOL. 2 (2004). 

In 2003 his career went to a new level when he appeared in Rob Zombie’s horror romp HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES as Captain Spaulding; a villainous clown and the de facto leader of the gruesome Firefly Family. Haig would earn a Best Supporting Actor award at the 13^thannual Fangoria Chainsaw Awards for the part, and an induction into the Horror Hall of Fame. He would reprise the role in Zombie’s sequel, THE DEVILS REJECTS in 2005, and with Captain Spaulding a new horror icon, would win Best Actor again at Fangoria. Haig would become a regular for Rob Zombie, and would appear in his remake of HALLOWEEN (2007), THE LORDS OF SALEM (2012), and the follow-up to DEVILS REJECTS…3 FROM HELL (2019), in what would be his final screen appearance.

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No tribute to Sid Haig could be summed up better than in Rob Zombie’s social media post, which offered a revealing look at the man behind the clown makeup. Haig was 80 years old and sick when he took on the filming of 3 FROM HELL, but he wanted to give the character its due, and knew on-set that it would be his final performance. That level of commitment speaks volumes about what Haig was made of. On the screen, his character of Spaulding was evil, but at the same time lovable and funny; a balance not easy to write or act. Haig played the balance perfectly, and created an icon for horror that will prove to be tough to top.