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‘Halloween 6’ Actor Mitchell Ryan Has Passed Away at 88
Over the weekend we learned the sad news that veteran actor Mitchell Ryan has passed away at the age of 88, leaving behind a 50+ year career in stage, film and television.
To horror fans, Mitchell Ryan is remembered as Dr. Terence Wynn in Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers, the secondary antagonist of the franchise. A key figure in the infamous “Thorn Cult” storyline from Halloween 4-6, Dr. Wynn is revealed to be the man responsible for Michael’s evil, with Mitchell Ryan playing the character for his appearance in Halloween 6.
On the small screen, Mitchell Ryan memorably played Burke Devlin in 107 episodes of the classic horror series “Dark Shadows,” one of the earliest roles in his decades-spanning career.
Mitchell Ryan is also known outside the horror genre for his roles in Lethal Weapon and “Dharma & Greg,” as well as High Plains Drifter, Of Mice and Men (1981), “Santa Barbara,” Hot Shots! Part Deux, Judge Dredd, The Devil’s Own, Liar Liar, and Grosse Pointe Blank.
SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in statement over the weekend (via Deadline), “We are deeply saddened to say goodbye to Mitch, who was an active and proud member of Screen Actors Guild for decades. He inspired many to union service and loved the craft of acting, helping to create many of the performer programs at the then-Screen Actors Guild Foundation. We are grateful and better as a union for his dedication.”
You can watch a tribute to Mitchell Ryan below. All of us here at Bloody Disgusting send our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and many colleagues of the late actor.
Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor best known for his role in 1993’s Jurassic Park, has passed away this week at 78 years old. In a statement shared on Neill’s Instagram page this morning, the actor’s family said that his passing was “sudden and unexpected.”
Neill had been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer in 2022, but stated the following year that he was in remission. The family notes that he “remained cancer free” at the time of his passing.
The family statement reads, “It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.
“They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care. More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”
In addition to his iconic role as Dr. Alan Grant in the original Jurassic Park and the sequels Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World: Dominion, Sam Neill left an indelible mark on the horror genre with memorable roles in Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, The Omen: The Final Conflict, John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness, and sci-fi horror favorite Event Horizon.
Sam Neill’s vast resume in film and television began in the early 1970s and also includes the films Sleeping Dogs, Enigma, The Good Wife, A Cry in the Dark, Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Hostage, The Jungle Book, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, The Horse Whisperer, Bicentennial Man, Daybreakers, Escape Plan, and Thor: Ragnarok.
Sam Neill is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.
Steven Spielberg said in a statement to Variety, “I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park. Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him.”
Spielberg adds, “Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
Sam Neill in ‘Event Horizon’
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