Ed Gale, the actor who brought the murderous Chucky doll to life in the 1988 horror film Child’s Play, is dead at 61.
His niece Kayse Gale announced with good humour on Facebook that her diminutive dad died Tuesday in a Los Angeles hospice.
“It is with a heavy heart and a surprisingly light coffin (see what I did there?) that we announce the sudden passing of our uncle,” she wrote.
In addition to portraying Chucky in three movies in the Child’s Play saga, Gale played the title character in Howard The Duck and also had roles in Spaceballs and Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey.
The character of Chucky has been voiced throughout the franchise’s history by actor Brad Dourif.
Kayse said her uncled “has taken his final bow and is now headlining in the afterlife.”
She remembered him as man who loved 7-Eleven hot dogs covered in ketchup and hated comedian Bill Maher for reasons she can’t explain.
“Rest in love you cranky bastard,” she concluded her informal obituary.
The Michigan native’s big screen successes preceded a slew of television appearances on programmes including Land Of The Lost, in which he played a dinosaur named Tasha on more than two-dozen episodes, according to IMDb.
His television credits also include roles on Baywatch, Family Matters, 3rd Rock From The Sun, Just Shoot Me and The Hughleys.
“Ed hitched a ride to California when he was 20 years old, with US$41 and a dream, and he never looked back,” his niece recalled.
Gale, who was born with dwarfism and stood 40 inches tall, played Chucky in Child’s Play, Child’s Play 2 and Bride Of Chucky in the series, which consisted of eight instalments including a 2019 reboot of the original.
He told iHorror.com in a 2015 interview playing the knife-swinging doll when it turned evil required legitimate acting chops.
“I will not allow people to merely say I was Chucky’s stunt double,” Gale insisted.
He found himself depicted as a real-life monster in 2023 when a Southern California group called Creep Catchers Unit released video it said proves Gale admitted to pursuing a sexual encounter online with what he thought was a 14-year-old boy, according to Los Angeles station KTLA. That footage appeared to show Gale admitting to other acts of similar improprieties.
“I’m admitting I know it was wrong and it was illegal,” he confessed. “I’m admitting that and I’m sorry.”
The Los Angeles Police Department was reportedly investigating his alleged activities. He hadn’t been charged with a crime at the time of his death.
In an interview with a 2014 blog that was recycled by the site Rediscover the 80s, Gale thanked The Wizard Of Oz for inspiring him to enter show business when he was a child. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
