Original ‘Halloween’ Actor Charles Cyphers Has Passed Away at 85

We’ve learned the sad news this week that Charles Cyphers, a veteran actor best known to horror fans for his role in John Carpenter’s Halloween, has passed away at the age of 85.

Variety reports that Cyphers passed away “from a brief illness in Tucson, Arizona, on Sunday.”

Chris Roe Management said in a statement to Variety, “Charles was a lovable and sensitive man. He always had the best stories, and you got a full performance while he told you. He was a close friend and client on many years who will be dearly missed.”

Charles Cyphers played Sheriff Leigh Brackett in both Halloween and Halloween II, the sheriff of Haddonfield and the father of Michael Myers victim Annie Brackett. He more recently reprised the iconic role from those movies in legacy sequel Halloween Kills (2021).

“So sorry to hear about dear Chuck,” said Nancy Kyes, who played the daughter of Sheriff Leigh Brackett in the original Halloween. “My friend of many years, he could always be relied on for a kind word, a good laugh and a great story. How he will be missed.”

Charles Cyphers worked with John Carpenter multiple times both before and after Halloween, on films including Assault on Precinct 13, Someone’s Watching Me!, The Fog, and Escape from New York. His 100 film and television acting credits also include “Charlie’s Angels,” “Wonder Woman,” “Starsky & Hutch,” Death Wish II, Grizzly II: Revenge, “The Dukes of Hazzard,” Hunter’s Blood, Major League, Gleaming the Cube, “Seinfeld,” “ER,” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Prior to his return to the big screen in Halloween Kills, Cyphers had appeared in a small handful of horror movies throughout the 2000s, including Critical Mass, Dead Calling and Methodic.

‘Halloween Kills’