Photo: Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic
James Winburn, the stunt double for Michael Myers inJohn Carpenter’s iconic original 1978 slasher movieHalloween, has died. He was 85.
The longtime Hollywood stuntman died over the weekend due to an undisclosed health issue,Entertainment Weeklyconfirmed. His cause of death is unknown as of this time.
Winburn returned as the iconic masked villain’s stunt double alongside returning cast members Pleasance andJamie Lee Curtisin 1981’sHalloweenIIas well.
“We are extremely sad to learn of the passing of James Winburn,” U.K.-based Monopoly Eventswrote on Twitterafter news of Winburn’s death went public Monday. The event and exhibition company wrote that Winburn had attended its For the Love of Horror convention in October.
“James was an absolute pleasure to work and shared some amazing stories with everyone over the weekend,” the company wrote. “Our sincere condolences go out to his family, friends and fans.”
Another convention organization, Monster-Mania Convention, shared astatement on FacebookSunday that indicated Winburn was expected to appear at one of its events in November but pulled out due to a health issue.
“Sad to learn of the passing of James Winburn today,” the organization wrote. “James was an absolute pleasure to work with and we had hoped to see him again for our show in Oaks, PA but sadly a health issue prevented that.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“James was always appreciative of theHalloweenfans and truly enjoyed meeting everyone,” the statement read. “Our sincere condolences go out to his family, friends and fans.”
Winburn worked as a stunt artist or stunt coordinator in 78 movies and television shows between 1970 and 2005, according toIMDB.
Aside from his physical appearances as Michael Myers inHalloween, Winburn also notably worked on director Carpenter’s 1981 filmEscape from New York, as well as the original 1982 movieTron.
Kristian Dowling/Getty
While Winburn did not continue his work on theHalloweenfranchise after the sequel, his work helped launch one of horror’s longest-running franchises.
TheHalloweenseries spawned 13 movies in total, the most recent of which,Halloween Ends, released in October, almost 44 years after the originalHalloweenreleased in theaters Oct. 25, 1978.
source: people.com
