We were saddened of the passing of horror legend Tony Todd. He passed away at 69 years of age with his family present. We honor the late Tony Todd by presenting a special show covering his legacy, along with an impromptu interview Kevin Nickelson conducted with him years prior. We hope you enjoy!
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"Candyman" star Tony Todd chats with Kevin Nickelson at the Monster-Mania 5 convention
KN: Kevin Nickelson for bloodzonemedia.com. We are here today with ìCandymanî himself. TT: Hey, Kevin. Whatís up, man? KN: First of all, Iíve got to ask you. Checking the Internet Movie Database this morning, I couldnít believe some of the credits that you have, uh, the background that you have in acting. The University of Connecticut, the Eugene OíNeill National Theatre Institute, the Hartman Conservatory....you seemed interested in acting. TT: Youíre forgetting about Trinity Rep. Seven years involved. KN: There you go. There you go. It seems like your interest in acting stemmed from a very early age. TT: Yeah, it came up in high school. I mean, I did all kindsÖI was an only kid. I did magic. Played with dummies, ventriloquist. Played with another dummyÖmyself. Made models and shitÖcan I say shit here? KN: Absolutely. TT: Shit, shit, shit, shit! Shit happens. KN: Why the fuck canít you say shit? TT: Lot of shit! TT: Oh my god! Fucking shit! KN: Now, when I was running across your credits, I couldnít believe that you were in some very esteemed films. ìLean on Meî, ìBirdîÖ TT: Yeah. ìBirdî was great. Good flick. KN: Yes! ìThe Crowî is, to me, a tremendous film. And then you go to ìStar Trekî. TT: YeahÖshit happens (Tony smiles a big grin). KN: And, I know, too, youíve even done extensive theatre work. You did the play... TT: Theatre is my first love. The hall is my only love. KN: You did a play by August WilsonÖ. TT: Yes. KN: ìKing Hedley IIî. TT: Did you see it? KN: Actually, I have not. But I have read extensively about it. TT: Did you catch the reviews? KN: Yes. TT: I got some of the best reviews of my life in there. There was one article written by a man that August, rest in peace, based it on. This guy, it was the sort of thing that, when he watched it, he felt, he said he was really sure that he felt his young spirit come alive. And, as an actor, to get that kind of thing was awe-inspiring. KN: I think the word that I saw most often in those reviews that I read was intensity, that you really throw passionÖ. TT: I donít know where they got that from, ëcause Iím a fun guy! You should see me at a Laker game! KN: Now, let me ask youÖ TT: Are they still in the playoffs? KN: I think so. I think so. TT: No, theyíre not! KN: All I know is the Warriors arenít. TT: OhhhhhÖÖ..youíre a Golden State man? KN: Absolutely. TT: (smiling again) Why? KN: Thatís a question I get often! TT: No. Actually, not this season but last season, they were actually looking like they were gonna make the playoffs. KN: But then, they did an about face. TT: But, didnít they winÖthey won like, what, in like í79 or something? KN: í75, actually. TT: í75? Ok. KN: Rick Barry. Rick Barry TT: Yeah, yeah, yeah. KN: Absolutely. The guy with the under-handed free throw. TT: Thatís right. Free throws. Where was their original city? KN: Oakland. TT: Oakland. KN: Well, actually, their original city was San Francisco. And then they, uhÖ TT: Back in the ABA? KN: Well, they wouldÖ.back in í62 they came hereÖ. TT: Ok. KN: In San Francisco, they played in the Civic Auditorium. And then they went to Oakland. And then, for some reason, theyíre called Golden State. TT: Well, theyíre still in Oakland? KN: Yes. But, uhÖ TT: You know why? Because Oakland has that connotation. You know what I mean? KN: Right. TT: But what they shouldnít be ashamed of is one of my, because Iím a music fan, and, uh, Tower of Power, man. Tower of Power. KN: Absolutely. TT: Oakland stroke. KN: There you go. You have an unbelievable taste in music. TT: I used to DJ when I was in college. I did the midnight shift. And I used to really, you remember when WKRP was on? KN: Yes. TT: I felt like I was Venus Flytrap. KN: I was going to say you didnít feel like you were Dr. Johnny Fever, did you? TT: No. KN: (Laughs) TT: I liked Howard Hesseman, but no. Venus Flytrap. I used to ring bells and shit. Light incense. Iím the only one in the studio for that eastern stuff! But I stood on the airÖburn, baby, burn! (laughs) KN: Ok. Iíve got to ask you, how did ìStar Trek: The Next Generationî come about for you? TT: I had auditioned for that, like, 6 times, I believe. And, as a matter of fact, the late, great Kevin Peter Hall. KN: Yes. TT: "Predator"? KN: Right. TT: He had booked the job just before I got there ëcause it was very close. So Kevin mayíve been flipped. And the next thing I know, they sent me the script. And, you know, I didnít know Worf from Worf. They said youíll read for his brother. I said ìok, I guess thatís great.î I go in there, and I remember I had to go in twice, and as Iím going down the stairs, the casting man comes running up to me and says ìYou gotta go to wardrobe!î So, yeah, occasionally you get moments like that. Another moment I had like that was when I got ìPlatoonî, right? Iím in New York City. Itís raining. I get the call, right? I was doing a one man show called ìJohnny Got His Gunî. Oliver saw it. Oliver Stone. They called me in on a Saturday. I got the job on a Monday. But those two job-gettings is very, you know, one of those ìI canít believe Iím doing this and getting paid for it!î KN: One of those kismet or karma kind of things. TT: Yeah, yeah! Because a lot of the roles, you know, like whenever you play a cowboyÖthat was what I shot in CalgaryÖîBlack Foxî with Christopher Reeve. But, as a kid, you use imagination. Nowadays, you have videogames and Ipods and shit. But, then you had to use your imagination. Bang, bang, bang , shootíem up, chase, chase, chase. Throwing snowballs. Everything I did as a kid Iíve been able to do as an adult actor, you know what I mean? Being an astronaut or being a pirate, being a cowboy, being a crook, a bad guy. KN: Did you have any idea, when you first auditioned for ìStar Trekî, that they would be asking you back? TT: No. Had no idea. Doing ìStar Trekî is what introduced me to the whole convention world. I didnít know what a convention is. I thought that was something that people with fez hats had on and stayed away from their wives. I remember the firstÖ.I forget where it was exactly, but I remember a photo, at that time, was $3.00. I thought that was great, but it was a lot of change! KN: Did you have that look on your face like ëwhere the hell am I?í TT: Yeah! (Laughs) The ìStar Trekî people, god bless them, are very, very detail-oriented, you know. KN: You could say it. Weíre analÖ TT: Their full regalia andÖLike, the weirdest thing is people used to always come up and get insulted when they asked me to speak in Klingonese. And I said, if it wasnít in the script, I donít necessarily know it. Though I do know Marc Okrand, who wrote the book and stuff, but I just never really, you know, studied it, I must say. KN: You could say it about Trek fans. Theyíre anal-retentive! TT: I wouldnít go that far! I love them but, you know. Youíve seen ìTrekkiesî. KN: Yes. Yes. TT: Youíve seen ìGalaxy Questî. Itís not far from the truth. KN: Now, let me ask you. I was thinking about the genesis of ìCandymanî, which is one of my favorite horror films of the 1990ís. How did that come about, as far as your involvement with itÖWas it somethingÖdid they seek you out from ìNight of the Living Deadî? TT: No, it had nothing to do with ìNight of the Living Deadî. I did a film called ìLast Elephantî, which was shot in Africa. Nairobi. I spent six months in Africa. My son was born and, uh, Bernard Rose, the director, saw it. And he said, in his mind, what he saw, he told me that, as soon as he saw it, he knew that I was the guy. And he fought for me because the studio at that time, I didnít have many creditsÖîNight of the Living Deadî, but they didnít care about that. We had a lot of people who wanted the part. I had to go on a whole series of meetings. No auditions, just meetings with executives at eight oíclock in the morning. KN: I was going to say, if youíre actually picked out by the director, sought out by the director, do you have to go through auditions? TT: Well, Bernard had only done one other film, ìPaper Houseî, so he didnít have as much clout as he wanted. But, he threw fit, and they went with it. I had to meet with Virginia Madsen because she had a co-producing credit and she had approval. KN: Now, another question Iíve been asking some of the guests here is what is your take on typecasting? TT: Depends on how you look at it. I think that some people think that I only do sci-fi roles or horror roles but, if you look at my credits, you know that thatís not true. Fortunately or unfortunately, some of the most significan parts have been sci-fi. And thatís neither here nor there. Iím not ashamed of it, you know. But I fight hard. Whenever I feel that Iím getting too much in a rut, I go back to theatre. Which is where I can doÖ.I mean I was classically-trained, soÖ. KN: Boris Karloff used to say that, if they remember you for one thing, thatís great, because theyíre remembering you. TT: Exactly. Itís better to be remembered than not. KN: Of course, financially, it is always a good thing. TT: Yeah. You know, Iím still young at heart, and I still enjoy it. The day I donít enjoy it, is the day I go and do something, go to my farm or something and chop down trees. Like Karl Malone. KN: (Laughs) TT: Actually, he pulls a Mack truck, doesnít he? The Mail Man! KN: A couple of quick other questions. The state of horror films today. What do you think? TT: Well, there certainly are a lot of them now, right? And, I think, horror films have always been cyclical for Hollywood, whoís always rescued it. According to who you talk with, itís a dying art form. Movies in theory. What I donít like about a lot of the horror films that are done is that the people who are making themÖI donít necessarily think theyíre in love with the medium. I think theyíre doing it to cash in on something. A lot of things come and go. I donít think a lot of things have a lasting ability like some of the classics of the Universal days. KN: Nobodyís making franchises anymore. TT: Well, no. They are making franchises, but they are notÖyou knowÖ.These days the franchise is something that turns to traffic, as opposed to something like an important character. KN: Iíve had discussions with fans before on this subject, and the general consensus seems to be that, in the U.S., as far as Hollywood is concerned, they donít trust a horror film. So they take a thriller and they build it up. They dress it up as a horror film. Do you agree with that? TT: Yeah. You know, I think that people are ashamed of making horror films. I think that came , probably, from the ë60s, when there was a lot of bad things that came out, with names like ìThe Hand That Leaked Bloody Bloodî or whatever. It was a bad period. But it was also a fun period because I love drive-in theaters, and those were drive-in staples. KN: So, you loved Roger Corman then? TT: Well, Roger never really moved me that much, but Iíve seen my share. KN: He wasnít ashamed. TT: No. And heís still active. As a matter of fact, I did a film that isnít out yet, that is kind of ironically owned by Roger. But, when I took the deal, I didnít know that. John Carl Buechler, the special effects guy, directed it. Itís called ìTyrannosaurus Wrecksî. But, I think the title may be changed. It was me, Jeff Fahey, Dee Wallace Stone being chased by this dinosaur (chuckles). I think it was a leftover from ìCarnosaurî. Iím not sure. KN: Considering Roger, Iím sure it was. TT: Yeah. KN: Final question. What does the future hold for Tony Todd? TT: Good things. I might hit the lottery. That would be nice. Then I could do some shit of my own. KN: You wouldnít have to do conventions, would you? TT: (Laughs) You know what? I do a lot of them, and itís only because, and I need the fans, but this is exhausting. Iím an empath so Iím, like, dealing with energy all day long thatís not necessarily my own, and itís hard to decompress. But, Iíve got 5 good things in the can. ìMercy Streetî, ìDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hydeî, and ìShadow Puppetsî, among others. And weíre proud of them. Theyíre diverse. I might be doing a play at the end of this year, on Broadway. Weíll see. KN: Any chance of another ìCandymanî movie? TT: Yeah. They talk about it every six months but, the problem is that ìCandymanî is owned by three different studios and, to get them all to, like, agree to disagree is the problem. KN: Right. TT: Which is unfortunate, because I know it would be special. The thing is when the first ìCandymanî came out, financially it did not do well in the theaters. But itís become a durable cult classic. TT: Yeah! And it was huge on cable, because cable was really starting up. But, if we had another crack at it, Iím sure we could do a twenty-five million dollar opening weekend. With the right script, and the right publicity and leading ladyÖ KN: I donít think ìCandymanî did that badly in the theaters. It actually seemed to hold its own. TT: Yeah, it did. KN: And then hung around awhile. TT: But, in terms of that big twenty million dollar opening weekend, it didnít do that. KN: No. TT: But it couldíve. Also, there were some other things that were going on in our country at the time. And, with the second one, we had the O.J. Simpson shit going on, and that really hurt us. I remember they had me on doing a publicity tour, and they tried to sabotage me and tried to compare it to that situation, which didnít make any fucking sense. And that really bothered me. It really bothered me. Itís not and no, Iím not. And no, I donít know him and what are you asking me these stupid questions for? KN: I think it was a very tough time for a lot of folks but, having to deal with that, in that situationÖ TT: It was horrible. I lost money during that whole time period because, literally, Hollywood, for a second, stopped doing ìurbanî films. Literally. KN: Theyíre scared. They were scared. TT: It was a horrendous time, absolutely. But, you gotta learn how to separate and compartmentalize. I was reading about that incident that happened here, about the guy that killed the cop? KN: Right. TT: I didnít realize how huge that was. KN: Wow. TT: They just caught him yesterday. KN: Anyway, itís been great talking with you. TT: Life is good. Life is beautiful. Itís all a good thing. KN: There you go. I wish you all the best. TT: Thank you. Thank you, Kevin. Appreciate it. KN: Thatís been Tony Todd. This is Kevin Nickelson for Blood Zone Media.
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