This week we said goodbye to our friend Tony Todd (CANDYMAN, FINAL DESTINATION, HATCHET, and more). An icon of cinema and one of the most beloved actors in the horror genre, Tony leaves behind a legacy of timeless film and television performances as well as a heartbroken genre community that will never forget his kindness, his hilarious sense of humor and his larger than life laugh.
Here at ArieScope we worked with Tony on several of the HATCHET films and, of course, his incredible episode of Adam Green’s SCARY SLEEPOVER that continues to move fans almost a decade after it premiered. We wanted to celebrate our absolute favorite experience working with Tony by sharing his episode of HOLLISTON with you all. Whether you’ve seen it before or you are new to the show, the “Candyman” episode of HOLLISTON has been a fan favorite since it originally aired on television on April 24, 2012.
From Adam Green: “What many don’t know is that even though “Candyman” was technically the 4th episode of HOLLISTON Season 1, it was actually the very first episode that we ever filmed. In 2011 when I first told Tony that I was creating “a sit-com for horror fans” and asked him to guest star as a comically terrible version of himself, I honestly expected him to pass. We may have worked together with success on the first two HATCHET films at that point, but… a horror sit-com with a main cast that included myself and Joe Lynch? Two guys who were known only as directors at that point? How would that ever possibly work? To make things even more risky, “Candyman” would be the very first episode of the show that we filmed so I had nothing to show Tony to prove that my crazy idea would work. Yet here I was, asking him to portray himself as a complete asshole who takes advantage of two young aspiring filmmakers, moves in with them, does drugs in their apartment… and far worse. Tony had every reason to say “no” or at the very least, to say, “let me wait until Season 2 (if there ever even is a Season 2) so I can see what I’d be signing up for first.” But Tony fearlessly trusted me and said “yes” on the spot. I have no doubt that Tony’s participation made every other guest star that we approached feel more comfortable signing up for such a weird experiment. Once Season 1 had aired, we had genre celebrities reaching out to us and asking if they could be on the show in Season 2. What if Tony had never said “yes” and taken a gamble by coming to play with us? Maybe HOLLISTON still would have found its way, but Tony’s early endorsement of what we were doing certainly made casting other guest stars easier and his mere presence on the show helped convince genre fans who normally wouldn’t watch a sit-com to give the show a chance. Tony was so much more than just a fantastic actor, he was a true friend. I know I speak for so, so many when I say that our hearts are shattered today.”
Watch HOLLISTON S1 Ep4 “Candyman” below and be sure to check out Tony’s amazing episode of Adam Green’s SCARY SLEEPOVER available in the ORIGINAL SERIES section of this website.
Click the image above to watch. This episode will be offered free for a limited time but you can purchase/rent HOLLISTON Seasons 1 and 2 digitally where available or pick up the Blu-rays in the BUY STUFF store on this website.