Horror Movie Facts #6
So much has happened behind the scenes of the Poltergeist trilogy that it is said there is a Poltergeist curse. In the six years it took for the trilogy to be completed, five people attached to the film died:
Dominique Dunne, the oldest sister in the first movie, was murdered by her boyfriend.
Heather O'Rouke - main character Carol Ann in the trilogy - died of septic shock as a result of an obstructed bowel.
Julian Beck, who played Kane in Poltergeist II, died of stomach cancer.
Louis Perryman - Beck from the first movie - was murdered.
Will Sampson - The Medicine Man in Poltergeist II, died of kidney failure.
Robbie, played by Oliver Robbins, was injured filming a scene in which he was being choked by a mechanical clown. The choking became too tight, and when he began to yell that he couldn't breathe, everyone thought he was acting. No one realized what was happening until his face turned purple.