James Winburn dead at 85: Tributes pour in for legendary Halloween stuntman best known for Michael Myers role
ICONIC actor and stuntman James Winburn, who famously portrayed Michael Myers in the original 1978 horror flick Halloween, has died at the age of 85.
Winburn is believed to have died sometime over the weekend from an undisclosed health issue.
Monopoly Events, who featured Winburn in their For the Love of Horror fan convention last month, paid tribute to the legendary stuntman saying he was an “absolute pleasure to work with”.
“We are extremely sad to learn of the passing of James Winburn, who joined us for @ftlohorror last month,” Monopoly Events tweeted on Monday.
“James was an absolute pleasure to work and shared some amazing stories with everyone over the weekend. Our sincere condolences go out to his family, friends and fans. #RIP.”
Monster-Mania Con, a semi-annual horror film fan convention held across New Jersey, Mayland and Pennsylvania, mourned the actor – who reportedly missed this year’s event due to health issues.
“Sad to learn of the passing of James Winburn today,” the fan convention posted on Facebook.
“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.
“James was always appreciative of the Halloween fans and truly enjoyed meeting everyone. Our sincere condolences go out to his family, friends and fans.”
Winburn’s iconic moment in film came on 1978’s Halloween when the masked knife-wielding Michael Myers was shot six times by Dr. Samuel Loomis and fell over the balcony before mysteriously vanishing.
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Winburn reprised his role as Michael in the horror film’s 1981 sequel Halloween II.
His stunt acts were portrayed throughout the ’80s in Escape from New York, Colors, TRON, The Night Stalker, Glory and The Couch Trip, among other films.
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