I saw a recent picture of him and man has he lost a lot of weight. Too bad he's gone.
Glenn Shadix, an actor who starred in the dark comedy film Beetlejuice and who was known for his booming baritone voice and burly frame, died on Tuesday at age 58.
"He was having mobility problems, and he was in a wheelchair," Susan Gagne, Shadix's sister, told the Alabama-based Birmingham News newspaper. "It looks like he fell and hit his head in the kitchen, and that's the cause of death."
Shadix, who has often struggled with his weight, underwent gastric-bypass surgery in April 2002. He retired from acting and moved from Los Angeles back to Alabama about four years ago to be close to his family and had been living in a condo, his sister said.
Shadix was born in Bessemer, Alabama in 1952. He became friends with playwright Tennessee Williams in the late 1970s while working on a play in New York and moved to Hollywood to pursue his dream to become a film actor.
Glenn Shadix and Michael Keaton in a scene from 'Beetlejuice'. (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.) His breakout role came in 1988, when played Otho, an interior decorator, in Beetlejuice. He also voiced the mayor in another Tim Burton film, the animated The Nightmare Before Christmas in 1993, and provided voices for many other cartoons, such as Teen Titans.
Shadix also played Father Ripper in the 1989 comedy thriller Heathers, which starred Winona Ryder and Christian Slayer and had a recurring role as a clumsy giant named Typhon in the 1990s adventure series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
Shadix was reported to have died earlier this year but the actor later debunked the rumors on his website, which features a blog about his latest endeavors as well as a section where fans could purchase autographed photographs of him for $25.
He said in recent posts that he was busy with his acting projects, adding that he screen-tested for the new Robert Pattinson film Water for Elephants, but was not sure he would be cast. He also said that in 2011, he planned to tour military hospitals in the United States and later visit active duty troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.