At a glance
| Born | December 4, 1954, Washington, D.C. |
| Died | November 6, 2024, Los Angeles |
| Known for | Candyman; Final Destination |
| Role | Actor |
Overview
Tony Todd played Daniel Robitaille, the Candyman, in the 1992 film and its sequels, and returned for Nia DaCosta’s 2021 film. He also played William Bludworth, the coroner who knows too much, across the Final Destination series. The voice is the instrument. Candyman is a ghost story about a lynching and a mirror ritual. Todd played it as a tragic figure who still kills, which is why the performance outlasted the sequels.
Career
Todd worked on stage, including a long association with August Wilson’s plays, and in film from Platoon onward. Night of the Living Dead (1990), the Tom Savini remake, cast him as Ben. Candyman followed. Bernard Rose’s film sets the legend in Cabrini-Green and gives the ghost a name, a hook, and bees. Todd reprised the role in Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995) and Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999). The 2021 film uses him carefully, as the original figure rather than a cameo in a gallery, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays the man the story moves into.
Final Destination (2000) and its sequels use him as the man who explains that you do not cheat death. He is in the first two films and returned for Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025), released after he died. Other credits include The Crow, The Rock, and a Klingon on Star Trek. He died at home in Los Angeles on November 6, 2024, at 69.
Notable horror credits
- Night of the Living Dead (1990) — Ben
- Candyman (1992), Farewell to the Flesh (1995), Day of the Dead (1999)
- Candyman (2021)
- Final Destination (2000) and Final Destination 2 (2003) — Bludworth
- Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025)
Trivia
- Real bees were used in Candyman. He was stung during the shoot and stayed in the scene.
- The voice was deepened in the mix. The base of it is still his.
- He stood about six foot five, which the films use. The coat does the rest.
- DaCosta has said his 2021 appearance had to be the character, not a wink at the audience.
- He died in November 2024. Bloodlines, already filmed, came out the next year.