Reggie Bannister, star of 'Phantasm' cult film franchise, dies at 80

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.

Set us as preferred Reggie Bannister, the actor who devoted his decades-long career primarily to independent horror thrillers including all five films of the the cult “Phantasm” franchise, has died.Bannister died Sunday morning at age 80 at home in Crestline in the San Bernardino Mountains, his wife Gigi Bannister announced Monday on Facebook.

“In the snap of fingers, my best friend, my confidant, my partner, my soul mate was transitioned to another dimension — a higher plane,” she wrote in her post.“He no longer suffers.

He’s no longer in pain,” she continued.“That gives me solace.

I will see you on the flip side, honey bunny.”Reggie Bannister died after a decade of battling dementia and Parkinson’s disease and deteriorating health.Gigi Bannister told TMZ, which first reported the actor’s death, that her late husband was a Vietnam War vet and was exposed to Agent Orange during his service.

“Phantasm” director Don Coscarelli also shared news of his longtime collaborator’s death on Facebook, celebrating Bannister’s work on the horror films.Television Ben Jones, the actor who played Cooter Davenport on “The Dukes of Hazzard” then represented Georgia for two terms in Congress, has died at age 84.The first of Coscarelli’s “Phantasm” films was released in 1979 and was a surreal and supernatural thriller set in a small Oregon town.

“Phantasm” revolves around a young man named Mike (A.Michael Baldwin), his older brother Jody (Bill Thornbury) and Bannister’s ice cream man Reggie as they seek to uncover the mysteries behind a local funeral home and its frightening mortician — the Tall Man — played by Angus Scrimm.

The “Phantasm” films gained popularity with their dreamlike feel and mind-boggling narratives of “real” and “dream” worlds.Bannister’s Reggie remained a...