Soon after the original “Poltergeist” terrified audiences, it began freaking out fans who noticed that several cast members died under unusual circumstances. Expect more talk of “The ‘Poltergeist’ Curse” now that the remake is hitting theaters. Let’s look at the calamities that hit that production and the other movies said to be “cursed” by misfortunes.
‘Poltergeist’ (1982)
Dominique Dunne, daughter of Vanity Fair columnist and movie producer Dominick Dunne, starred as the teen daughter in the haunted house. She was strangled less than six months after the film came out — by her boyfriend, who served only 3½ years after being convicted of voluntary manslaughter. Heather O’Rourke, the “They’re heeere” and “They’re baaack!” girl, died of a rare disease at age 12, shortly after filming “Poltergeist III,” which was released after her death. Meanwhile, Will Sampson, who played the medicine man in “Poltergeist II” — he also played Chief Bromden in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” — died at 53 of scleroderma; Julian Beck, the evil preacher in the second film, died at 60 of stomach cancer.
‘The Crow’ (1994)
A crew member was badly burned by a power cable on the first day of shooting, another crew member pierced his own hand with a screwdriver and the set was destroyed by a storm. But the worst was yet to come: Star Brandon Lee, son of martial-arts master Bruce, died after a prop gun that inexplicably contained a live bullet was fired at him. Lee was 28.
‘Superman’ (1978)
Christopher Reeve was paralyzed in an equestrian accident in 1995, then died nine years later at age 52; his Lois Lane, Margot Kidder, suffered from bipolar disorder and in 1996 went missing for several days. Looking back, TV’s flabby 1950s Superman, George Reeves, died in 1959 of a gunshot to the head that was ruled a suicide in a case that sounded to some like a coverup: No fingerprints were found on the weapon and Reeves was said to be having an affair with the wife of a top Hollywood executive. Some curse-theorists also mention Richard Pryor, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis three years after co-starring in “Superman III,” and Christopher Reeve’s wife, Dana, who died of lung cancer at 44 (though she didn’t smoke). Going back even further to what may have kicked off the curse: Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster sold the rights for $130 in 1938, with no share in the billions of profits to come.
‘The Conqueror’ (1956)
The Genghis Khan epic that filmed in Utah downwind from a US Army site where 11 nuclear bombs were tested starred John Wayne, Susan Hayward and Agnes Moorehead, all of whom died of cancer, as did director Dick Powell. By late 1980, a survey found that 91 cast and crew members (out of 220) had developed cancer, 46 of them dying of it. The film was also plagued by a sudden flood and by a panther that nearly bit Hayward.
‘Atuk’ (never filmed)
Based on a novel by Mordecai Richler (“The Incomparable Atuk”), this comedy about an Eskimo who comes to New York attracted the interest of John Belushi, Sam Kinison, John Candy and Chris Farley, each of whom died before he could film it. The details are more complicated: Kinison actually began production on the film in 1988, then clashed with producers and dropped out of the project. He died four years later. Curse-mongers point out that two others tangentially associated with the film also died young: writer and Candy pal Michael O’Donoghue, who read the script; and Farley’s friend and “SNL” co-star Phil Hartman, who reportedly planned to take a supporting role in the film.