Known to horror fans for his brief but memorable appearance as Tommy in Don Coscarelli’s original horror classic Phantasm (1979), actor and musician Bill Cone has passed away.

Bill Cone also worked behind the scenes on the horror classic, providing key contributions to its iconic soundtrack. Story goes that Cone was a fan of horror movies and expressed an interest in dying onscreen in one, which led to Coscarelli casting him as the ill-fated Tommy, whose death kickstarts the events of the film. And into the hallowed halls of horror history he went.

The official Phantasm page on Facebook writes, “We are saddened to learn of the passing of one of the core Phantasm cast members, Bill Cone (aka Tommy from the original Phantasm). In addition to acting, Bill was a superlative musician. He was a key collaborator on the original Phantasm soundtrack, providing skilled guitar work.

“Previous to that, Bill had contributed his musical skills to Phantasm director Don Coscarelli’s film Kenny & Company. Bill and Phantasm star Reggie Bannister were good friends and bandmates and Bill once confided to Reggie that he loved horror films and would love to die onscreen in one. Reggie mentioned this fact to Coscarelli and Phantasm producer Paul Pepperman and within weeks Bill was on his back in a graveyard being knifed by the luscious Lady in Lavender (Kat Lester) in the memorable opening sequence of the film.

“Bill Cone will be dearly missed by Phantasm cast, crew and fans everywhere.”

We send our deepest condolences to the entire Phantasm family at this time.