Actor Reggie Bannister, best known for his role in horror series Phantasm, has died aged 80.
The Californian-born actor, was remembered as “my best friend, my confidant, my partner, my soul mate” by his wife Gigi in a statement on Facebook.
She said: “At 3.45am on Sunday, August 9, 2026, I last checked on my beloved Reggie Bannister’s condition.
“He was panting but quiet and asleep. I was exhausted so I went back to sleep.
“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.
“He looked so quiet and peaceful, like he was asleep, in his bed, In Our Mountain Home, as his song goes. 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 appeared as the gun-toting ice cream man Reggie in 1979’s Phantasm.
He also appeared in its sequels Phantasm II (1988), Phantasm III: Lord Of The Dead (1993) and Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998), all directed by Don Coscarelli, and Phantasm: Ravager (2016), which was co-written by Coscarelli and directed by David Hartman.
In a tribute on Facebook, Coscarelli said: “In the Phantasm series, only Reggie could turn a simple role as an ice cream vendor sidekick into an unlikely action hero for the ages.
“He channelled himself into that role. All the fans who met him at the horror conventions could attest that in-person, Reg was cool, funny, loyal, and steadfast.
“Reggie the character was Reggie the friend. In real life, he embodied all the qualities of his character in Phantasm and no one questioned that Reg was that guy, the one willing to lay his body down on the fires of hell for his friends.”
He added: “Reggie Bannister was a gifted creative collaborator, a dear friend and he will be sincerely missed. Yes, Reg, to me and your legion of fans, you’ll always be ‘Hot As Love’.”
Bannister’s other film roles included in Survival Quest (1989), comedy horror film Bubba Ho-Tep (2002), both directed by Coscarelli, and Bugs (1990).
Born in 1945, Bannister was also a US army veteran who served in the Vietnam War before becoming an actor.
He was reportedly diagnosed with Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease in 2016.
