Reggie Bannister, the horror icon that starred in the “Phantasm” film series, died on Sunday after a decade-long health battle, his wife Gigi shared on social media. He was 80.
In a Facebook post shared on Monday evening, Bannister’s wife revealed that she checked in on the actor at 3:45 a.m. Sunday morning, where she found him “panting but quiet and asleep.”
“I was exhausted so I went back to sleep,” she continued. “At 0600 hours, our kitty, GG (Grey Guy) who has been sleeping on Reggie’s bed at night, came running upstairs and jumped onto the bed meowing! I went down to see what the problem was…Somewhere inside… in my soul… I knew. Reggie was gone.”
As Gigi went on, she recalled her husband looking “so quiet and peaceful” after his passing, adding, “Like he was asleep.”
“In his bed, ‘In Our Mountain Home’ as his song goes,” she further shared. “In the snap of fingers, my best friend, my confidant, my partner, my soul mate was transitioned to another dimension – a higher plane. He no longer suffers. He’s no longer in pain. That gives me solace. I will see you on the flip side, honey bunny. Save me a hug! Wait for me.”
Bannister entered home hospice care in February of last year, with his friend Russell “GreWolf” Mauck confirming at the time that the actor had been previously treated at a VA hospital as his “condition had progressed to the next stage.”
In a GoFundMe launched for Bannister’s hospice costs, it was said that the actor was facing “the challenges of Lewy Body dementia and Parkinson’s disease.”
Born in Long Beach, Calif. on Sept. 29, 1945, Bannister went on to serve in U.S. military during the Vietnam War, where he was reportedly exposed to Agent Orange.
Through the GI bill, Bannister chose to study acting, later landing the part of armed, ex-ice cream man Reggie in 1979’s “Phantasm,” which was directed by Don Coscarelli. He went on to appear in the sequels, including 1988’s “Phantasm II,” 1994’s “Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead,” 1998’s “Phantasm IV: Oblivion” and 2016’s “Phantasm: Ravager.”
Other credits included “Jim the World’s Greatest,” “Survival Quest,” “Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation,” “Wishmaster” and “Not Another B Movie.”
