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GoFundMe Launched to Support ‘Phantasm’ Star Reggie Bannister’s Hospice Care
As you may recall, Phantasm favorite Reggie Bannister entered hospice care last year. A GoFundMe has been launched to support the cult actor and his wife, Gigi, in their time of need.
Bannister was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease in 2016. They were stabilized until he collapsed last year, requiring the move to in-home hospice care.
GoFundMe organizer Billy Ferguson writes, “Gigi, who has promised to never leave Reggie’s side, is doing everything she can to care for him at home. However, she is now facing the very real fear of losing essential services, including the oxygen care that Reggie desperately needs.
“The funds raised through this campaign will go directly toward covering medical expenses, utility bills, and ensuring that Reggie receives the hospice care he needs in the comfort of his own home. Your support will help ease the financial burden on Gigi and allow her to focus on what matters most — being there for Reggie during this incredibly difficult time.”
Bannister played shotgun-toting ice cream man Reggie in Phantasm and all four of its sequels. He also appeared in Bubba Ho-Tep, Wishmaster, Silent Night Deadly Night 4: Initiation, The Mangler Reborn, and The Rage, among others.
A military veteran, Bannister served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He used his GI Bill to study acting.
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
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