Actress Zelda Rubinstein died 27 January 2010, of complications from a heart attack she suffered two months ago. Born 28 May 1933 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she’ll be most remembered as the diminutive clairvoyant, Tangina, in the Poltergeist movies. She won a Saturn Award as best supporting actress for the role in the original film (1982), and was nominated for another when she reprised the role in Poltergeist III (1988). She was also nominated for Razzie Awards as worst supporting actress in Poltergerist II: The Other Side (1986) and Poltergeist III.
After attending the University of Pittsburgh and the University of California, Berkeley, she became a blood bank technician. But at the age of 47, she decided to change careers. In an interview with The Hartford Courant in 2000 (quoted in her New York Times obituary, she said “I had no idea what I would do next, but I knew it would involve advocacy for those people who were in danger of being disenfranchised. I wanted a platform to be visible as a person who is different, as a representative of several varieties of differences. This is the most effective way for me to carry a message saying, ‘Yes you can.’ I took a look at these shoulders in the mirror and they’re pretty big. They can carry a lot of Sturm und Drang on them.” At 4’3″, she said she was “the only one different in appearance” in her family. In 1981, she helped found the Michael Dunn Memorial Repertory Theater, whose tallest actor, Dunn, was 4’6″. In addition to advocating for the rights of little people, she was an advocate for AIDS education.
Her first film role was in 1981’s Wizard of Oz take-off Under the Rainbow. She had a recurring role on Picket Fences (1992-94), and most recently, narrated 15 episodes of The Scariest Places on Earth (2000-2006). Her sf/f/h roles were a significant percentage of her acting resume, and include: Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006), Southland Tales (2006), Revenge of the Mummy (2004), Wishcraft (2002), Maria & Jose (2000), Little Witches (1996), Poltergeist: The Legacy (1996), Timemaster (1995), Tales from the Crypt (1992), The Horror Hall of Fame (1990), Teen Witch (1989), Angustia (1987), and Faerie Tale Theatre (1987).
There are no known survivors.