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[R.I.P.] ‘Assault on Precinct 13’ and ‘Escape from New York’ Star Frank Doubleday
John Carpenter fans in particular are no doubt familiar with Frank Doubleday, who memorably played villains in two of Carpenter’s beloved films. Doubleday, in one of his earliest acting roles, was “White Warlord” in Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13, and he later played the villainous Romero in Escape from New York.
Sadly, we’ve just learned that Doubleday recently passed away at 73.
Via THR, “Doubleday died March 3 of complications from esophageal cancer at his home in Los Angeles, his wife and companion of 40 years, actress Christina Hart (Charley Varrick), told The Hollywood Reporter. She revealed the news of his death just this week.”
The site adds that Doubleday is also survived by his daughters, actresses Portia Doubleday (Mr. Robot) and Kaitlin Doubleday (Nashville, Empire), and his mother, Jane.
Frank Doubleday also appeared in “Starsky and Hutch,” “Wonder Woman,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “CHiPS,” “Amazing Stories” and Dollman.
The best part about engaging with collaborative genre fiction on the internet is that anyone can get in on the action, with worldwide accessibility often resulting in absurd story beats that wouldn’t be possible if any single person was responsible for the entire narrative. And while Kane Parsons’ Backrooms film is definitely the young filmmaker’s own unique take on the infamous creepypasta, it’s fun to see other creators join the Backrooms sandbox now that the big screen adaptation is getting ready for a record-shattering opening weekend.
As if cleverly timed releases like Puppet Combo’s The Backrooms game weren’t enough (not to mention that Scary Movie poster poking fun at Parsons’ flick), McDonald’s official social media accounts have now released an analog horror video of their own celebrating the liminal terrors of the McRooms – complete with a familiar purple surprise at the end of the footage.
While it’s funny enough to see the world’s most recognizable Fast Food giant engage with internet-borne Found Footage thrills seemingly out of the blue, the video is actually referencing a long-running gag among the Backrooms fandom where creators jokingly talk about there being a fully functional McDonald’s restaurant hidden somewhere in level 0 of the infamous liminal labyrinth.
Now, would it be too much to hope for a moist-carpet-flavored McShake to tie in with the film?
Backrooms is now playing only in theaters from A24.
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