Actor George P. Wilbur, who appeared in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, has recently gone away. During the course of his career, which spanned more than half a century, the actor and stunt performer amassed more than 150 credits in a wide variety of roles. Nevertheless, he is most likely best known for his performance as the iconic slasher villain Michael Myers, a role he would return to in Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers, becoming the first actor to ever reprise the role. However, he is likely best known for his turn behind the mask as Michael Myers.
According to Collider, Wilbur passed away on Wednesday at the age of 81. A flood of condolences from friends, coworkers, and fans all across the internet have already begun to come in. His Halloween 4 co-star Erik Preston, who played Young Michael Myers, is one of the people who has already paid their respects.
George P. Wilbur’s Contribution to Hollywood and Its Legacy
Wilbur began his illustrious career in the 1960s, despite the fact that he was born in Connecticut on March 6, 1941. After gaining employment on the production of the Western film El Dorado in Arizona in 1966 as an extra, he was later offered a position as a stand-in for the legendary actor John Wayne. After that, he relocated to California and started his career as a stunt performer, making his debut in front of the camera in the film Escape from the Planet of the Apes in 1971 as an uncredited boxer.
Following his work as a stunt performer in disaster movies of the 1970s, such as The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno, he shifted his focus more toward the horror genre towards the beginning of the 1980s. Films such as Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist, the groundbreaking horror-comedy Ghostbusters, and the H.P. Lovecraft gorefest Re-Animator were some of the movies on which he worked during the decade. Even though Don Shanks played the role of Michael Myers in the film Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, which was released in 1989, he still did some of the film’s stunts.
Those who loved him and admired the job he did will grieve deeply at the loss of the famous performer who appeared in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. Despite the fact that, like the majority of stunt performers, he was never quite a household name, his contributions to numerous films that have become classics over the past few decades have been immeasurable. It’s possible that classic movies like “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Total Recall,” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child” might have been drastically different if he hadn’t worked on them.
Read Also: The son of Rachel Nickell wants the police to be held responsible for mistakes.