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[R.I.P.] ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘The People Under the Stairs’ Actor John Mahon Has Passed Away
Some sad news to report today as we’ve learned that actor John Mahon, who appeared in horror films including The Exorcist, passed away earlier this month at the age of 82.
John Mahon played “Language Lab Director” in William Friedkin’s horror classic The Exorcist, the actor’s very first on-screen appearance in a feature film. He subsequently played a police sergeant in Wes Craven’s The People Under the Stairs, while also appearing in episodes of genre shows “Roswell,” “The X-Files,” “Angel” and “Star Trek: Enterprise.”
The actor frequently played law enforcement characters in both films and television, also appearing in “T.J. Hooker,” “MacGyver,” “Baywatch,” “Knots Landing,” One False Move, L.A. Confidential, Armageddon, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Zodiac.
Mahon wrote the 2014 book A Life of Make Believe: From Paralysis to Hollywood, telling the inspiring story of how he overcame polio as a child and became an actor in Hollywood.
As The Hollywood Reporter explains, “When he was 12, Mahon contracted poliomyelitis, or infantile paralysis, and spent almost nine months fully paralyzed. He never recovered full use of his left arm but became a mentor to actors with disabilities.”
We offer our condolences to the family and friends of John Mahon.
John Mahon in ‘L.A. Confidential’
We have learned the sad news this week that prolific horror author Ray Garton, who wrote nearly 70 books over the course of his career, has passed away after a battle with lung cancer.
Ray Garton was 61 years old.
Stephen King tweets, “I’m hearing that Ray Garton, horror novelist and friend, died yesterday. This is sad news, and a loss to those who enjoyed his amusing, often surreal, posts on Twitter.”
Ray Garton’s novels include Seductions, Darklings, Live Girls, Night Life, and Crucifax in the 1980s, followed in later decades by output including A Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting, Trade Secrets, The New Neighbor, Lot Lizards, Dark Channel, Shackled, The Girl in the Basement, The Loveliest Dead, Ravenous, Bestial, and most recently, Trailer Park Noir.
Garton also wrote young adult novels under the name Joseph Locke, including the novelizations for A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Master and The Dream Child. He also wrote the novelizations for Tobe Hooper’s Invaders from Mars and Warlock, as well as several books for the Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchises.
Other young adult horror novels you may remember the name Joseph Locke from include Petrified, Kiss of Death, Game Over, 1-900-Killer, Vengeance, and Kill the Teacher’s Pet.
You can browse Ray Garton’s full bibliography over on his official website.
He wrote on his website when it launched, “Since I was eight years old, all I’ve wanted to be was a writer, and since 1984, I have been fortunate enough to spend my life writing full time. I’ve written over 60 books—novels and novellas in the horror and suspense genres, collections of short stories, movie novelizations, and TV tie-ins—with more in the works.”
“My readers have made it possible for me to indulge my love of writing and I get a tremendous amount of joy out of communicating with them,” Garton added at the time.
Ray Garton is survived by his longtime wife, Dawn.
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